Using Synthetic Motor Oil?

0W20 (synthetic by default, I believe) is recommended just as it is for the Gen 3 liftback, which is what I fully intend to use. The 2 free oil changes are supposed to be what is recommended in the owner/recommended maintenance manual (0W20), but my faith in my dealer to use it is close to nonexistent and I will likely rely upon a local mechanic to do it with oil that I purchase for the occasion (Mobil, Toyota, Castro or other).

 

I have the Prius V, but still use the same weight oil--0w-20. Bottom line, 0w-20 only comes in SYNTHETIC ... so I'm not sure what dino/conventional oil your dealer is thinking about putting in your engine. Might want to check back with your dealership's service department and see if they know that all new Prii (regardless of model) are required to use 0w-20 SYNTHETIC oil.

BTW, I currently have Mobil 1 in my V.

 

folks, i always use what the manufacturer recommends. i remember looking at my benz warranty to find out that if i did not use mobile 1 my engine warranty could be voided. if toyota says do only their recommended oil, i do it. but fred, but fred, it costs much more. AND????. their oil will work. you wont have a warranty fight. thats what i do and will continue to do.

 

Toyota recommends 0W20.. and Toyota's 0W20 oil is ONLY synthetic.

unless the Toyota tech is a complete and utter moron to put anything else but 0W20 in your car.. he's going to be using Toyota's 0W20.. which i'll mention again.. is synthetic.

and duh.. Toyota has 0w20 oil...

i think i've repeated myself enough already... wait i'll say it again.
Toyota 0W20 oil is synthetic.

 

One dealership (the one from which I purchased and the only one within 100 miles) has actually admitted they will use whatever's lying around on the FREE changes, which means they can rely upon the out in the maintenance guides that allows for 5W20:

This is probably not the sole dealer who enacts this fraudulent policy, so it's best to verify with the service manager if you have doubts.

And this is why I'll likely bring it in to a local mechanic with the oil in hand to have it done.

 

with regards to any damages from neglect on the dealership's part... they will have service records.. and if there's anything wrong.. you can go after the dealership..

and unarguably.. you can go up to Toyota corporate if they mess it up and won't fix it for you.. which is nice luxury....

if you go to a local mechanic... it's much more difficult to deal with..

say for example.. your car needs to be repaired under warranty because something happened that warrants that repair.. Toyota will investigate.. and probably look at your service records that they can see... so, if you have records of getting your service done elsewhere... depending on the situation.. you'll most likely have a harder time trying to convince them that the repair is actually under warranty.

if you already know a particular dealership sucks... just avoid them.. contact corporate if you have to complain... (if they're the only one within 100 miles.. that just sucks to be you..)

 

Great points, which is why I should addend with local "trusted" mechanic. I'm more or less thinking of engine longevity beyond the powertrain warranty.

 

76 and Valvoline both make synthetic-blend 0W20 oils.

Also, Honda has been using 0W20 in some of their vehicles for many years. It is a synthetic-blend 0W20 product, that is now also made by ConocoPhillips.

 

The maintenance booklet says you can use 5-20 oil and stick to 5k mile intervals. 5-20 comes in conventional and synthetic. I would think a synthetic 5-20 would also be good for 10k mile intervals, should you be so inclined.

 

Every engine i own gets synthetic and their brand of oil filter. No sludge and no engine problems. That includes the mower, snow blower and 2 cycle tools.

 

A little of topic but related to oil changes. Is there a online Toyota parts company to get filters and parts other then the dealer? For my old TDI I got my parts from germanautoparts

Joe

 

i used to purchase parts and stuff for my old car from an east coast dealership called trdsparks that does online sales and tends to be pretty cheap to get genuine Toyota parts.

they have stuff like oil filters and whatnot in boxes you can get for a good price... as well as accessories most times... the only thing is i don't think they carry everything for all cars (at least on their site).. though you can probably call them and discuss prices. i know that they don't have anything listed for a Prius.. much less the Prius C.

 

I have been using Mobil One synthetic oil (0W20) in our
Prius now with over 70,000 miles. We change at
every 10,000 miles with a new oil filter of course.

No oil consumption during that time frame.

I recently purchased a case (12 quarts) from my
local Toyota Dealer for $5.50/ quart. The next
oil change I will use this oil to see if there is any
differences in MPG. The parts salesman stated
that he believes their oil is manufactured by
Mobil.

 

That's the sticking point (for me).

 

mobil 1's quality has been real questionable for me in the past recent years.. however I have seen Toyota branded oil to have been more consistent...

(just step back and think for a minute... why is Mobil1 oil so cheap.. especially at Walmart? what.. unless you think Mobil1 manufactures a different formula just for Wally-world? nah.. maybe they've worked on a cheaper method to make it.. i do not know.. still questionable for me.. but i used it in previous cars and it seems the engine loves to burn it away quicker than others)

with regards to oil filters, i remember someone doing a cutout of the Toyota filter along with other major brands.. and it ended up that the Toyota filter being a clear winner... so I don't have a problem trusting and using only Toyota's oil filters.

while I'm there, might as well use Toyota's oil as well.. there's no reason why anyone shouldn't trust it... also notably, the only other brand oil I'd think of using is Eneos.

 

I think the greatest advantage to using Toyota branded Oil and Oil filters comes with ease and availability.

If you don't do Oil Changes yourself, and rely on the dealership, you won't run into having to provide your own alternatives, or hoping the dealership offers them.

People have their own personal rituals involved in Oil Changes.

My basic philosophy is Dealership or Brand Quality is fine. High Quality alternatives...are also IMO fine.

The trick, or key, is to change the Oil and The Filter routinely and on schedule.

 

Toyota does not make oil or filters. They have mobil make oil for them, and denso makes filters. That does not mean that the mobil or denso brand will have the same specification. I doubt that mobil 1 is an inferior formula to the oil mobil makes for toyota. The difference in price between mobil 1 and toyota synthetic is likely the toyota mark up.

Did the engines that burned mobil 1 burn other synthetic oils?

 

the engines i had that burned mobil 1 did burn other synthetic as well, just not as quickly.

most of the cause was due to the engine being older. pushing over 100K miles and such... so burning oil was nothing unusual.

i wouldn't know the specs between the formulas, if there are any.. and i wouldn't tell someone to stay away from mobil 1.. i'm just noting what i've seen from personal experience. (thus why i made sure to write "questionable for me")