Oil change interval for a "young" Gen 2 with exclusively suburban driving

Once a year that's all it needs or stay with the five weight 30 I didn't even look to check where you live but that's all you need to do with this car it should outlast you actually under those conditions maybe take it out a few more times for whatever reason.

 

5W-30 (5 Winter 30) non-synthetic will suffice at a 1-year interval.

You have a bigger consideration though. At the usage you outlined you should seriously consider driving more or selling the car while it is still problem-free. You will be replacing the battery soon due to the low usage.

Replace the car with a compact non-hybrid.

 

Our Canadian gen 3 oil change interval, as specified by Toyota Canada, is 6 months or 8000 kms, whichever comes first. I’ve been following that since day one (November of 2010).

In the earlier years of ownership the kms and months were pretty much neck-and-neck with the maintenance interval criteria, but with retirement, COVID, getting older, our usage has dropped dramatically, to about 3000 kilometres yearly.

accordingly, months have governed, and I’ve been changing oil every April and October. Last April I changed oil as usual, then writing it up in the log, saw it was barely over 1000 kms (less driving in winter) since I’d last changed it.

right now I’m pretty much resolved to skip the October oil change, move to once a year, say in April. I do check oil level frequently, and so far it has never budged.

fwiw: Honda employs a much more advanced maintenance system, apparently monitoring several criteria, counting down in percent to next service interval, and then specifying (with an alpha/numeric code) what’s involved in that maintenance.

still, in the Owner’s Manual description of the Honda system (billed as “Maintenance Minder”) it says even if the MM is still counting down the percent remaining, change the oil at least yearly.

 

It is the 12V that will go out. Either drive the car for a longer period once a week (roughly an hour with it on), or get a battery tender for the 12V.

No ICE car, including the Prius (unless it is a plugin hybrid), gives its best mileage on very short trips. The motor will be in open loop mode almost the entire trip. An EV would be perfect for the short trips described here, except for the high cost of buying one. If the OP happens to live in one of those few locations where modified golf carts are allowed on city streets, an electric one could work and cost 1/3 or 1/4 of a "cheap" EV like a Bolt or Leaf. Unfortunately we are not yet at the point where "buy a used EV" makes sense, since the remaining pack life is not known, and all pack replacements are still very expensive.

I wonder if any of the old 12V based EVs that people used to build by converting ICE cars are still available? Those just used a bunch of car batteries, and so replacing the "pack" wasn't all that expensive.

 

Yep it's a hotly debated topic these days! Personally, I love my vehicles and do oil changed every 6-months or 5,000 miles, whichever comes first. Sometimes my wife's 2017 Prius only has 1,500 miles on it...doesn't matter, gets changed. We have two adult kids with husbands and I do oil changes on their non-Toyota vehicles every 6-months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first. (Suzuki, Hyundai, VW)