Oil Maintenance required soon message

What interval are you changing oil? 5000 miles? 7500 miles? 10,000 miles?
That message pops up at 5000 miles, well a little less than.
If you are changing it, or having it changed at 5000 miles, the extra 1000 miles won't hurt it.

 

The Maintenance Required Soon message appears after 4500 miles since the last reset. Then after 5000 miles the message changes to Maintenance Required.

SM-G781V ?

 

This is what I understood too.

If you are driving highway miles, especially on flat ground and in warm weather, then Toyota says in the manual that oil changes can wait until every 10,000 miles.

But, since most of us drive in winter, don't drive on road trips every trip, and some of us live in the mountains, every 5,000 miles is recommended.

If you're on a road trip, however, that isn't going to be that hard on the engine. If it's too much of a bother, then wait until you get back. You probably won't hurt anything. Just don't drive it to work and back in cold, stop and go driving for the next 1,000 miles.

 

Don't be afraid to drive the car anyway you want, anywhere you won't.
If you are really concerned about the oil change, go to a Toyota dealership and have
them change the oil.

 

True, but don't expect me to buy your car if you've only don't yearly or 10,000 mile oil changes. I bought one Toyota Prius driveway ornament once and I'm not doing it again.

 

???????? What?????
Where did you get the idea my Prius was for sale?
I NEVER change the oil in it. I just add WD40 when It gets low. That stuff keeps it clean!
I don't even have to change the oil filter!

I've never seen a Prius Ornament. That would be kool to see in my friends Christmas Tree!!

 

Well good for you. That doesn't help me get an engine for my Prius that I never have been able to drive since I bought it three years ago.

 

You're in the wrong section if you're looking for an engine.
Try the hybrid pit. They have them for sale.

 

It's not a ticking time bomb, just use the dip-stick to check your engine oil level on your next gas fill-up. At that age, those cars tend to burn a bit of oil, so you don't want it to run low on your road trip and seize the engine. If it's low, at the add line - give it 1/2 quart, not touching the dip-stick it'll take a quart or more. That engine has a 4 quart sump. If you don't know how to do that, you should probably google it or stop by a repair shop.
I was traveling cross country, delivering my best friends daughter to college on the east coast. We got to Michigan before checking the oil on the engine - it was down 3 quarts out of 5 quarts. It was full when we left, but running 80 mph down the highway in an old car that had over 200K miles on the engine, that's kinda expected. The car was new to us and I did give it the "once-over", replacing timing belt and tires. Checked brakes, flushed the brake system and ATF - so it was ready for four years of abuse by a student. She got a good education on what to check and look for before and during a long road trip. I just pointed her in the right directions and didn't just give her the answers - figuring things out, like an adult. It was funny when she asked me what kind of oil does it take - told her 'I don't know it's your car'. After 5 minutes of googling she finally figured it out, then I pointed to the oil fill cap and told her sometimes it's just easier to look first. That's how us old timer do things....

Hope this helps...

 

The Prius has a timing chain, not a belt.

 

it wasn't a Prius, Lexus RX300. The 3 out of 5 quarts should've gave it away.

 

Welllllll, my fault, I "assumed" since this is a PRIUS chat, and we've been writing about a Prius....
And since you didn't state a vehicle, it would only be normal for you to be driving a Prius.....

 

Apology accepted, since you also assumed that I don't know the difference between a timing chain and a timing belt.
I am driving a Prius, it in my bio.

 

Yeah, someone here is being a smart aleck. Anyhow, I'm not looking for a Prius engine. I've given up on that a long time ago. I'm protecting my future car purchases. Sure, go ahead, do whatever you want to your cars. Run them on WD-40, I don't care. All it means is that I will have a harder time finding a good used car. As if it weren't hard enough, used cars are still 10 times the price they were before the pandemic, and I'm finding way too many with engine damage because nobody cares to change the oil properly.

 

First, and MOST importantly, I did apologise!
I also didn't assume you didn't know the difference between a timing chain and a timing belt.
YOU said: it wasn't a Prius, Lexus RX300.
In post 10 you gave the assumption you were driving a Prius.

 

If OP comes back, and discloses how long it’s been since last oil change… hopefully knows. Appreciate being on the road he’s busy, limited time and internet access.

 

Post #6: That doesn't help me get an engine for my Prius that I never have been able to drive since I bought it three years ago.

Now you say you're "not" looking for an engine....
An engine is a lot less cost than a car. Depending on how cheap of a car you get.

Used cars are all over the place. Even craigslist has a lot of used cars.
And you still can't find one after 3 years???

You really believe I run wd40 in the engine. That's just sad.

When you buy a used car, the risk is yours.

 

Nope. I tried several times to get an engine, even driving across the state in a friend's pickup truck with a rented trailer and still not getting an engine. The car was pretty cheap as it had other work I knew it needed, mainly an HV battery and wheel bearing. But after buying it, then not only did I notice it chugs oil, like a qt every few hundred miles, but the CEL came on saying I need a new catalytic converter (and I'm in a California compliant state). Also, while trying to figure all this out, the dash and infotainment screens stopped working. So engine, Californian catalytic converter, wheel bearing, dash screens, and HV battery, I just don't know if an old 2006 with nearly 200,000 miles on it is worth all the work. If the engine were fine or easy to source for a good price I'd keep going at it. So far, not so good.

I never decided to replace the car. It was going to be a second car anyway, and we've managed all these decades with just one car, so the wife will just have to drive me around and I will drive her around.

Part of the reason this 2006 Prius it has so many problems is it was from off of craigslist with no maintenance records. The other is the price of used cars these days. I got the 2013 Avalon hybrid with 50k miles for $15k in 2018 with a clean CarFax and good mechanic report. But now I can't find a 5-year-old Corolla hybrid with less than, say, 60k miles for less than $20k. And those $20k ones are with salvage titles or major damage.

 

Wake me when OP returns.