I am a new owner of Prius. Currently it has 72k on it. Do you experienced guys have any suggestion on what engine oil should I use? This is also my first car, so I am kind of naive on car maintenance in general. So if have any tips on maintainence, that would be awesome too. Thanks! 2014 Prius III
Unless someone begs to differ I think the recommended full synthetic oil should do fine. By the way, you own a 2014 Prius Three (Roman numerals were not used after 2010). Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
With about 70K kilometers on ours, I'm putting in Toyota 0W20, which the dealership sells very cheap, every 6 months or 8000 km's (Canadian schedule). So far no consumption, but that actually an anomaly for me: all our past vehicles (Hondas) would consume a little oil between changes, need maybe a pint top-up. The oil fill cap says 0W20 if I recall correctly. Still, around the world other weights are spec'd: Australia in particular has a much more traditional recomendation, multiple oil weights are acceptable, dependent on temperatures.
I agree with everyone above, except under certain circumstances. I'm at 150k and still using full synthetic 0W-20 (Mobil 1 Extended performance, but other brands are fine). Some people switch over to "High Mileage" oil after 75k-100k. I don't think it's necessary in the Prius, since at 75k your engine won't really have 75k miles on it. The big issue is if you start burning oil. That is to say; if you are checking you oil level regularly and you see it start to drop faster than normal. "High Mileage" oils contain seal conditioners to prevent oil leakage and consumption on older cars. In a nutshell, that's a fancy way of saying they contain ingredients that get absorbed in to rubber gaskets and seals and cause them to swell. Over time, gaskets and seals in the engine can begin to shrink or rot, causing them to be less effective. By making them swell up a little, it improves the quality of the seal. While I have not confirmed this, I have heard that once you switch to high mileage oil you must stay on it, since the rubber parts will degrade faster without those additives once they've been exposed. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but passing it along all the same.
Thank you guys for your inputs. I was wondering if I should use high mileage oil, with your suggestion seems it's not necessary and I can stick with Toyota's original recommendation of full synthetic 0W-20. Do you recommend any specific brand? Should I rely on the brand oil changers offer me to use? Where do you get your oil changed (in the US) if you are not doing it yourself? Thanks! 2014 Prius Three
I would not go to high mileage oil until you're forced to, a last ditch effort with high oil consumption: it works by swelling valve guides and various seals. And if you start using it, you should stay with it: returning to regular oil the rubber parts can shrink worse than they were at the outset, with accelerating consumption.
You are going to get 100 recommendations here. Talking about oil is like talking about politics/religion. Many great debates have occurred from all three!
Amsoil is great oil. BITOG (BobIsTheOilGuy.com) is a great site. And the debate about which oil is best could go on all day and half the night. But all reputable motor oils must meet a stringent set of performance specifications to earn the industry-standard SAE designation. All full synthetic oils, in particular, easily exceed the performance standards of even the best conventional oils. Use any of these synthetic oils with a 5,000-mile change interval, and you're extremely unlikely to ever see any oil-related failure to the engine of the Prius or any car.
In the US the best deal for oil appears to be Mobil One from Walmart in the 5 quart jug. I use Toyota oil filter. You will also need a filter wrench to remove the filter casing if you change it yourself. Here is the wrench recommended by my dealer. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0015PK3AG/ I order my filter from a dealer online.
After the ultimate cataclysm strikes (whatever that is) and the entire human race is dying out, the last man alive will still be asking: "What's the best oil to use ?"
Yeah, 4.2 liters (or 4.5 quarts) with filter change. Or about .3 liter less if the filter isn't changed. I was very careful with quantity last oil change, and like @CR94 the level was a bit low after. Not much, maybe 1/8"~3/16". In the course of a few weeks it seemed to stabilize a bit closer to the top mark though, not sure why. Now it's barely under the top mark. Which is fine.
Well here we go again! Another oil thread. I would not use 0W-20 oil. It is being forced upon us by government CAFE standards to eak out the most MPG at cost of long engine life. I recommend 0W-30 or 0W-40 weight oil. You will not see any affect on your MPG and will be protecting your engine. I am currently using 0W-40 Mobil 1 oil and doing 5,000 mile oil changes. Also only use Toyota oil filters. Best protection for like $5.00.
Since it seems that you're located in Georgia, I'd highly recommend going with 5W-30, as it's a bit thicker than 0W-20, and will hold up better in the heat. Personally, I use Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30 year-round. However, you'll be fine with any 5W-30 synthetic. For what it's worth, the general consensus seems to be that the top three oil brands are Mobil 1, Amsoil, and Penzoil.
If you plan on reselling it, then let dealers do it so it will show on carfax report. If you plan to drive it into the ground like some of us here, then any reputable motor oil brand with 0-20 will be fine. I'm thinking about going royal purple 0-40 next at 90,000 mi.
Noted. Why not 5W30? I'm getting soo many conflicting evidence. 0W30 on PriusChat and Youtube. Luscious Garage recommends 10W30 My local dealership recommends 15W40. I'm super lost. Based in South Africa and driving a 2nd Gen 2006 Prius with 300,00KM+, great weather year-round. Warm-ish country, never gets crazy hot, never snows.
