How does prius identifies that oil maintenance is required?

Official recommendation is every 5K miles, but whether or not they'll actually do it is based on wear. There's no reason to fight them because there's no Toyota warranty on OE tires. They have a separate warranty by the tire manufacturer that covers only tire defects. Some people don't rotate at all and replace two tires at a time. I personally rotate every 10K miles. You're not going to jeopardize your warranty by not following the official recommendation as they're not linked at all.

You're still required to "perform" every 5K miles service, whether yourself or by the dealer, regardless if you rotate the tires in order to keep the warranty in good standing. Visual inspections are also required.

 

We are veering off topic to this original post.
But I'd say, I got to the point with Honda where I insisted they rotate the tires as the manual and light recommended, regardless of whether they saw or identified wear.

My logic was, you basically rotate tires to try to ensure even wear, or as even as possible. If you wait until you see a difference in wear....you've waited too long. So I got with Honda, that I'd tell them rotate the tires, I don't care if you think it's unnecessary. Basically the owners manual (at least for Honda) said " Rotate The Tires" NOT " Inspect and Rotate if Necessary".

5000 miles might be a little early, but I think I'd want the tires rotated at least every 10,000.

 

They don't rotate if there's still more wear on the rear tires than front, not if there's no difference in wear.

 

Everyone has their own approach. I want to try to maintain as little difference in wear as possible all around. I think the dealership in my case was just being lazy.
If you rotate often enough, you shouldn't really reach a point where the rear tires have more wear than the front. If you wait until the front show more wear than the rear, and THEN rotate...that's when you have more wear on the back. Again, I think the goal of rotation should be to maintain as even a wear as possible front and back. So I don't care if they inspect and don't visibly SEE wear, or enough wear that they think rotation isn't necessary. I simply default to the idea that on a front heavy, front wheel drive vehicle more wear IS happening on the front, whether I can see it or not, and therefore I want my tires rotated on a schedule whether it is supported by visual inspection or not.

But that's just my approach. When I have owned cars long enough, my tire replacements have come in sets of four...and I consider that a success.

 

The front tires wear more quickly than rear tires on FWD cars so you want to do exactly that and why the dealer won't rotate if the rear tires are still showing more wear than the front.

 

Yes, I know.

That's why I say...if you wait until the front are showing more wear than the back...then put those worn tires on the back...that's when you have more wear on the back.
My point is that approach guarantees an inbalance in wear between front and back. My philosophy is rotate to try to maintain as little inbalance as possible. That's why I say rotate on a schedule...before you start to see significant inbalances in wear. I disagree with the idea of rotating ONLY when you recognize wear differences. I rotate to PREVENT wear differences.

 

I still change my oil at 5K so the reminder works well for me. I know i can go 10K but dont want too, plan on keeping my C for 10 plus years

 

5k oil change is a waste of good oil. Google it. It is not a green or economical thing to do. It is old school.

 

Oil is recycled, so being green does not really apply to my oil changes, since Toyota oil is really Mobil One synthetic.
As to the waste of money, I don't see it that way since I keep my cars 20 plus years, its cheap insurance for long life engine.

 

Since I average 13-15,000 miles per year, I do two oil changes every year - one in Spring, one in Autumn. Doing my own oil changes at around 7-7,500 miles works for me. I have no garage, so I just pick a day when the weather is nice. I use Toyota brand 0W-20 full synthetic and a Toyota oil filter. I may try a TRD oil filter in the future, but I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

I recently put on a set of Michelin Defenders, so I'll have Mavis do the free rotations every 5,000 miles or so.

 

There seems to be a problem with Internet Explorer. If you download and install Chrome, it should work properly.

 

There is no evidence that replacing the oil early prolongs the life of the vehicle, and your 5k number is completely arbitrary, why not 3k, or with every other tankful? It is the opposite if cheap insurance actually, as it's just adding an expense to a car you intend to keep because you're cheap or green(or both). There are millions of prius on the road owned by people who do not even follow the manufacturers schedule, and these cars go beyond 10 years routinely.
There is a carbon expense for producing synthetic oil, packaging it in bottles then in boxes, it must then be shipped, stored, you drive the store to buy it, you bring it home and swap then drive it back to the store, the oil to be recycled then needs to be trucked to be re-refined and trucked to it's destination. The cardboard box may be recycled, the bottle probably not. The "recycled" oil is burned as bunker fuel. Just because you don't pour it in a hole in the ground doesn't mean you're "green".

 

Who said I was green? How does my changing of oil at 5K miles make me cheap? I don't know what other Prii owners do or don't do, but I will place my trust in my friends and my mechanic who state it is always better to change your oil sooner than later.

 

Maintenance is up to the owner. I would always, at least, follow Toyota recommendations. My GenIII has 10,000 miles and I am headed for service today. This will be my second oil change and I also scheduled a transaxle oil change. Of course, they attempted to discourage this when I made the appointment, but I scheduled it anyway... If I invest $30,000 in a vehicle, I am going to make sure it lasts beyond what the manufacturer expects. In this economy, it may end up being the last new car I can afford!

 

Eclipse,
How much are they charging you for an ATF change? Are they discouraging you with a high price?
Shouldn't this fee be the same across the country? Does the cost of engine oil changes vary also?

Anyway, Good on you for forcing those guys to do the right thing !! (I just hope they don't hit you hard $$)

Use the words "It's just a simple drain and fill" , don't let them turn up the BS. Again....

 

The price for the trans service would be interesting to know. For VW DSG services, I've seen prices as low as $200 up to $800 and some VW dealers said it's not necessary at all.

 

Just got it done today. They charged $122.00. They discourage it because Toyota states that it is a lifetime fluid. Their recommendation is first change at 100,000 miles. They charged me $89 last time I had it done on my GenII. I guess it takes another $33 in labor for the tech to remove the plastic cover on the bottom... LOL However, they do compliment me on how well I take care of the car, and the tech mentioned he cleaned the transaxle fluid that dripped to keep it clean. I've had more than one tech tell me that when they see a clean car, they go the extra mile...

There was a Prius next to me with a black air filter and a nasty cabin filter. The tech looked at me and shook his head because the customer refused to replace them...

 

I was searching to see what the details are under ToyotaCare in term of service intervals. I received a courtesy call from my dealer to get my 2nd service which is suppose to be at 10k miles. I told them I'm only just over 8k miles and she said that's fine as it's been 6 months. So perhaps under ToyotaCare it's 10k or 6 month which ever comes first? 10k for first oil change does seem a bit long. Following ones at 10k I'm fine with.

 

I just checked the service interval guide and it's suppose to be 1 year or 10k miles, which ever comes first. It's only been 6 months and 8k but I guess 8k is close enough.