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15,000 mile oil change interval

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Latin Hybrid, Apr 15, 2009.

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  1. Latin Hybrid

    Latin Hybrid New Member

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    Well, I know I will get some heat for this, but I decided to go with a 15,000 mile oil change interval, but the way I am going to go with this is the same way I went with my old Cadillac eldorado. I will keep an eye on the status of the oil and quality with the good old fashioned senses. None of them fancy shmansy oil analysis, times are tough, so I will have to go by color, feel and smell of the oil to see if the progress of the oil change interval is a good idea or not.:eek:

    But I will do what I did with the cadi, I will use full synthetic oil and a really good oil filter, which will be changed at the same interval of the oil itself.:eek:

    Also, the same goes for the air filter, but that is a 15,000 mile interval already, I do not see any changes there. :D

    I will do this at the 85000 mile oil change interval. which will be with in 2 weeks. I will inform you all when this is done and keep every one updated of the progress.

    Later....
     
    #1 Latin Hybrid, Apr 15, 2009
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Well, I would strongly recommend the oil analysis

    That said, based on oil analysis, running Mobil 1 0W-20 and the dealership oil filter up to 16,000 km was ok for me
     
    #2 jayman, Apr 15, 2009
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    While I think 15k miles is probably OK if you don't run the car too hard (extreme temps, frequent high speed driving, etc.), the touch/smell method of determining if your silicone levels, TNB, aluminum levels, etc. is going to be too little too late if/when there is a problem.

    I've been doing every 10k mile changes for the past 2 changes, and will do another in about 4000 miles (my 90k mile change). I did do UOAs on both of those and it showed very good life left in the oil, they recommended another at 12k miles, but I'd already changed.

    My suggestion to you would be to do your 15k change, but send a UOA anyway just to confirm that all is well. If it is, then continue with your plan. But if not then you can back off to every 10k miles and feel more comfortable knowing you're not risking your engine.
     
    #3 efusco, Apr 15, 2009
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    True, a 2005 Prius is very much like an old Cadillac Eldorado, so that could work out OK, but: what do you consider to be a "really good" oil filter? Not a Fram, I hope...
     
    #4 richard schumacher, Apr 15, 2009
  5. Frayadjacent

    Frayadjacent Resident Conservative

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    I'd agree with efusco. Get a UOA. Don't gamble your engine's health on your ability to 'feel/smell/taste' all the stuff that is critical in the oil.

    I'd be the UOA and more frequent (10 or 12k) intervals will ultimately be much cheaper than having to replace an engine. ;)
     
    #5 Frayadjacent, Apr 15, 2009
  6. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    My dad used to have a '68 Chevy Pickup that burned a fair amount of oil. So, he started using reclaimed, non detergent oil from a 55 gal drum (he originally bought it to use as chain lube for his chain saws). I told him this probably wasn't a good idea, but he said that it worked fine, and he just added additional oil periodically instead of changing it. It worked for his Chevy, so I don't see why I couldn't do this for my Prius. :madgrin:
     
    #6 dogfriend, Apr 15, 2009
  7. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Maybe he was just yankin' our chains? Here, hand me some of your father's chain lube.
     
    #7 richard schumacher, Apr 15, 2009
  8. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I think he burned it all in the Chevy pickup. The barrel was gone when we sold his house last spring. I still have the spigot because my GF thought it was an antique so she threw it in with some of the other old tools that I saved.
     
    #8 dogfriend, Apr 15, 2009
  9. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Welcome 1st poster. UOA would be helpful (and not only to you) so if you simply cannot budget that, perhaps another PC member would take an interest in your experiment?

    A synthetic (or hydrocracked 'almost synthetic') would be a better choice than conventional as well. Those start at about $4/qt, but sometimes are sold on sale. Watch the ads.
     
    #9 tochatihu, Apr 15, 2009
  10. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    Hope you never need warranty coverage for something engine or oil related...

    Very foolish IMHO.

    Edit: I see you're out of warranty so no issue there, I'll amend that to read hope you never sell it to someone who wants service records...
     
    #10 SW03ES, Apr 15, 2009
  11. Latin Hybrid

    Latin Hybrid New Member

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    Ha, I knew I would get responses, but from what I read, I think I am gonna push it to 20,000 miles. I will be using Mobil 1 0w-20 and the oil filter will be a purolator pure one oil filter, model pl20195

    I had very good experience with Mobil 1, so I think it should work fine here also. and since I will be only doing such a long interval oil change it will offset the high price tag of the Mobil 1 which is about 6 dollars a quart.

    I should start the oil change this weekend instead of waiting for the 85,000 mile interval, no need to wait, I am hyped about this now.:cheer2:


    By the way, I ran out of warranty less than 2 years after I bought my prius. I put a lot of miles so warranty is so out of my mind.

    As for selling it, I am not planning on doing that, it will be a hand me down car after I get my new prius, the 2010 looks great, so I will not worry about keeping track of maintenance.
     
    #11 Latin Hybrid, Apr 16, 2009
  12. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    i would recommend an analysis... as person who undergoes long intervals and who's experienced flashing... check it before you wreck it. :)
     
    #12 V8Cobrakid, Apr 16, 2009
  13. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Good luck with that. You would do better using Pennzoil and changing it every 5K. Oil changes remove accumulated water, fuel and combustion products; it's not just a matter of oil breakdown.
     
    #13 richard schumacher, Apr 16, 2009
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    +1 on both. Bad idea if you ask me. It's totally not worth it from the time and/or money savings point of view IMHO. At least if you're going to try, get an oil analysis done at least at the 7500 mile mark and another time or two after that.

    If Toyota thought it was an ok/good idea, they'd have specified longer intervals in the manual.
     
    #14 cwerdna, Apr 16, 2009
  15. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I've had good results going 16,000 km running Mobil 1 0W-20 and the dealership filter. BTW 16,000 km or 12 months is the normal interval in the EU, running EU "ACEA" spec oil

    When I sold my '04 to a taxi operator, the detailed maintenance log, including used oil analysis, convinced him.
     
    #15 jayman, Apr 16, 2009
  16. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I haven't been following that issue. How did you resolve it??
     
    #16 jayman, Apr 16, 2009
  17. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    In the EU, Toyota calls for a "normal" 12 month or 16,000 km interval. That's 10,000 miles.

    That's running minimum spec ACEA rated oils, which are light years beyond the min-spec API garbage sold at Iffy Boob lube places

    Toyota got burned by sludged up motors run too long on API spec garbage oil. One consequence of the settlement, Toyota universally lowered the oil change interval down to 6 months or 5,000 miles

    An Aunt of mine had a Camry with one of the motors prone to sludging. My Uncle ran Mobil 1 all the time, when they finally had to to the valve adjustment, the motor was clean as a whistle. He only changed the oil once a year
     
    #17 jayman, Apr 16, 2009
  18. Latin Hybrid

    Latin Hybrid New Member

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    Update on long oil change interval.

    I am using M1 0W-20. I have seen a huge amount of oil consumption:eek:

    I have calculated about 1 quart every 5000 miles, well I am at the first oil interval now, but if the trend continues, I will go thru 4 quarts at the end of the experiment.

    Also as for the oil color, it is darker than when I started. not too much but I think it is darker.

    As for smell, I do not like it. I distinctly smell fuel, and as previous experience tells me, I will be burning oil, which correlates to the oil that I have added.

    Now for the feel of the oil, I rubbed it between my fingers and it feels oily, slippery, but a little thin. not water thin, but thinner than I would like.

    Now I wonder if all these symptoms have to do with the oil weight, I am not sure, but so far I have no other changes visible.

    Well, if there are any questions please ask.:D
     
    #18 Latin Hybrid, Jun 27, 2009
  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I also noticed unusual oil consumption when using 0W-20 so I switched back to 5W-30 for the summer. If you care about maximizing your engine's longevity I recommend you consider doing the same; and also move your oil change duration back down to 7,500 miles or less.
     
    #19 Patrick Wong, Jun 27, 2009
  20. alevinemi

    alevinemi Junior Member

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    If you are going to do this, do NOT use the Purolator Pure One oil filter.

    The PureOne filter is very good - it filters very well (as well as Amsoil or Mobil1), but clogs more easily. It's great for 5k miles. I doubt it could handle 15,000 miles. If it gets clogged, the bypass valve will kick in, which basically means the oil won't be filtered at all.

    If you choose to go to 15k miles, I would either:
    - Install a bypass filter
    - Replace the filter more often, without replacing the oil
    - Go with a filter that is more likely to last 15k miles, such as Amsoil or Mobil1.

    -->Adam
     
    #20 alevinemi, Jun 27, 2009
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