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AmsOil 0w-20

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by edwardjd, Jun 11, 2012.

  1. edwardjd

    edwardjd Junior Member

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    Any one have used Ams oil 02-20 for Toyota Prius, please give the opinion? Reading the CarDriver magazin, I found advertising that AmsOild can used up to 25,000 mile.

    Thanks Ed
     
  2. NASCAR Mike

    NASCAR Mike Senior Member

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    It may go 25k miles but you will still need to change the oil filter at every 10k miles. You will lose some oil when you do that. You will also need to run an oil analysis at 10k miles to verify the oil is still good. The cost of the test is $25 plus you pay to ship oil to them. The cost will exceed the cost of new oil so it's not really worth it.

    Keep good records if you are going to do this as the dealer will void your warranty if you go past 10k miles and you don't have proof the oil was still good.

    Using oil for extended periods makes sense for trucks as they can use in excess of 25 quarts of oil. They typically run multi oil filters and do oil tests frequently.
     
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  3. anewhouse

    anewhouse Active Member

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    Thanks Mike - I think that's a good summary.
    Based on my own reading and experience, any good synthetic oil will likely last much longer than the mfr's recommended interval. I used to own a Scion xD, and actually did send some oil out for analysis after a 5000 mile recommended change interval. (I used Mobil1 0W-20). The lab said the oil basically hadn't degraded at all, and should be fine to go at least that much longer again. They did notice some particulate matter (still in "normal" range), so I didn't want to go much longer on the same filter.
    I started doing filter-only changes every other change - this results in changing 0.5-1 qt of oil also. I feel this is a good compromise. However, I don't think the specific brand of synthetic oil makes a big difference - I might stay away from the very cheapest no-name Walmart stuff, but any of the "real" brands (Amsoil, Mobil1, Royal Purple, etc., and I've also heard good things about Pennzoil) should be fine.
    The mfr warranty is another thing to consider - Toyota really wants to do the oil changes and tire rotations (!) at the dealership during the warranty period, and they reserve the right to deny warranty coverage if they didn't do it, OR if you don't have evidence that it was done.
    All in all, you need to decide what you're comfortable with and how much you want to pay...
    Good luck,
    Andy
     
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  4. edwardjd

    edwardjd Junior Member

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    Thanks a lot for your opinion: it's logic & useful to me.
    Have a nice day!
     
  5. anewhouse

    anewhouse Active Member

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    Woah - what's this? I think the internet is broken. :eek:
    Oil and oil changes are supposed to be a hot-button topic in which nobody agrees on anything...
    Either this is a uniquely respectful reply, or some really smooth sarcasm. Either way, well done, edwardjd. ;)
    Andy