Oil Change By You Or The Dealer?

may i also add how many get it done by the el-cheapo places on the main drags of
each city? (if you dare ;-) )

thanks for letting me butt into your thread and hopefully i am adding to it.
i have yet to put enough miles on my 08 to get an oil change yet and this
thread could be very helpful to me.

 

Well, I have thought about it. However, it would take a bit of an investment of tools on my part and it would be for the sake of doing it. The cost benefit isn't huge unless your quick, and unbothered by the whole thing.

 

Actually! I tend to take mine to the Buick dealer where I got my previous automobile. They were extremely nice to me there. Even though they didn't end up having the car I wanted, I still like dealing with them on some level. I just take my car to them ever 5,000+ miles. (They still put a sticker on the window that has 3,000mi intervals but I just rip it down.)
lol

Plus, I told them about the 3.5 quart fill, no more and they do it perfectly! It comes off just between the lines when I check the dipstick. They also do the tire rotation properly. I watched the Toyota dealer doing the work once, and they did the cross rotation. Prius just calls for front to back.

 

I've never had my oil changed @ a dealer, or anywhere else, for the past 45yr, and with 17 different cars. It's just a waste of money, imho. I'm confident that I can do the job myself-- and do it better--because I'm never in a hurry.

 

The Changing Oil document for Prius has been averaging over 3,000 downloads per month lately. There's no way of knowing how many owners are doing their own as a result. But it certainly indicates interest in the topic.

.

 

Not just a waste of money, but a huge waste of time. It takes me no more than 10 minutes for an oil and filter on any of my cars...start to finish including cleanup.

How much time do you spend going to the dealer or waiting? How much extra gas to drive there?

 

Is there any reason why the oil document recommends a jack rather than $20 service ramps?

 

I change my own..Very easy on a Prius.. I have had some auto's that where a pain to change the oil but the prius was real easy..
all you need is:
1. Drain pan
2. Socket or wrench (for oil drain plug)
3. Oil filter socket (or do it by hand if your strong enough)
4. Funnel and some rags
5. Oil and Filter

Some might use ramps to get it up, but I just pull it to edge of the concrete pad in front of my garage and front hangs over the end makes it easy to get under..

 

I change my own about 99% of the time. Time? Do not know or really care. Will have cup of coffee or pop or a beer while doing it. Have not done it on our new Prius yet...only 800 miles. I do use Mobil I (assuming Prius 'requires' 5W30 or 10W30 oil and get it at Costco. Just did our van today.

 

WARNING: changing your own oil can void the Warranty. I had a vehicle with an egine issue, (valve tapping situation), and the dealer put me through hell because I did not have the reciepts from my oil changes. Not just the last oil change, but ALL the oil changes fro the 33,000 miles the vehicle had on it. My advise....stay with the dealer until out of warrenty. If you value your own time at all (especially if changing your own oil is done during your free time) and pay yourself slightly above minumum wage ( I don't know about you, but my saturdays are worth at least $25 per hour), you really save nothing by doing it yourself, plus you increase exposre
exponentially!

 

Yes, if you can't keep track of your receipts, whether you did the oil yourself or not, you're pretty much hosed if you have a failure due to forgetting to change your oil.

Note to those that buy their oil from Costco: You must make photo copies of your oil receipts or take a photograph, print and file, because the Costco thermal paper will turn black over time.

 

You know when you compose a post all the words underlined in red are misspelled words. If you right click them they will give you suggestions on the correct spelling. Then maybe your posts wouldn't look like there written by a fifth grader.

 

My Toyota dealer, Toyota of Santa Monica (CA) wants twice that for the same service. Their 5,000 mile service is about $100! I think I'm being a bit generous too, it's probably a bit more. That's what you get buying a Prius in one of the richest neighborhoods in the U.S.! (I don't live there)

 

doing the oil in between major tune up's is no big dealo

but i would take it in at the 30,000, 45000, 60000...etc just so they can over look things you may miss, unless your an expert..then by all means.

just keep those oil and filter receipts.

 

And just because the words are spelled correctly doesn't mean you're using them correctly.

Example: They're doing all their work over there.

You may want to double check your own grammar before throwing stones.

 

The low ground clearance of your Prius makes it hard to clear the ramps on the outside edge. I use a hydraulic jack and Jack stands. Besides, ramps will not help you rotate your tires.

JeffD

 

Re: Helpil/air Filter Aftermarket Question

For the $4 for Toyota OEM oil filters - I would strongly recommend sticking with OEM. Stock up on them via mail order.