Prius 2010 Oil Change Interval Revised? Not yet... (closed)

I believe some may be missing my point (and perhaps on the minds of others here since this thread opened).

1. Certainly second-hand - but input from posts here indicate several dealers -esp the S Florida- substantiated the pending change to 10K. Not sure if "rumor" applies.

2. A very recent post here about the service manager's wink and nod about a probable 2011 change. And others - just not going to go thru pages of posts.....

3. I had seen quite a few instances when the Prius Marketing Team responded to specific topics in posts - but this one, silence. Of course they are not "officially Toyota" - but they must have seen this Thread and the constirnation of some here. If it is a "rumor" - why not end it?

I for one would not vary from the "recommendation". I'll let you fight it out in court with Toyota in the event your engine develops problems.

 

Toyota is NOT the industry leader in technical innovation, quality, or value. They are generally very good of course and the reason why I continue to buy the brand. But loyalty goes just so far. When companies stop listening to the customer and focus internally and listen primarily to the beancounters..... well, Detroit comes to mind.

Almost every carmaker is developing hybrid technology. The time is very near when the Prius will not be the defacto leader - MANY more purchase options will be out there. Competition will be fierce and the market will be large. It would be prudent for Toyota to maintain very high Prius customer loyalty. I had a 2006. Now have a 2010. Will I purchase a 2014? hmmm. It's much easier to sell current, satisfied customers of your brand rather than appeal to the competition's customers. Marketing 101.

Recommend Toyota put down that small violin and get with the program.

 

There are fewer topics debated amongst the automotive cognoscenti than OCI.

My concern for an extended OCI is not the oil itself (providing an appropriate oil is used), but for the longevity of the filter. While my Phaeton has a 10,000 mile OCI (and analysis after 10k miles reveals a TBN well within spec), the V8 also takes nine quarts of fully-synthetic oil and has a filter the size of a coffee can.

The filters I've seen for other Toyota products seem to be much, much smaller.

Toyota doesn't need to prove lack of service caused the failure. If you should suffer an oil-related failure and are not able to provide evidence of meeting the appropriate maintenace requirement, Toyota is well within their rights to deny warranty coverage. If there is a MY change from '10 to '11, then that change applies to '11. Should you choose to apply it to your '10, then you run the risk of giving Toyota an avenue to deny a warranty claim.

Magnuson-Moss doesn't apply to maintenance (or lack thereof). It applies to the installation of aftermarket devices and their impact in a given claim.

 

You can bet Toyota will NEVER cover an engine problem if you did not use the recommended OCI, despite of the fact that the same engine has a different recommendation in Europe and again the very same engine will have a new recommendation in the 2011 models.

Why? Because they do not need to prove anything. The recommendation for the 2010 is CLEAR in the manual and Toyota website.

I know, this is extremely frustrating for us, 2010 US owners.

Remember that if they do eventually change the recommendation to 5K OCI in our 2010 (I doubt it), the maintenance minder system in the MID will need to be reprogrammed. Who's going to pay for that?

 

In response only to this portion of your post (who will pay to reprogram). While I do not know the exact software or it's configurations involved, I would imagine that this sort of 'upgrade' is as simply as connecting the car to their diagnostics, as they do to reset the OCI warning light, or other basic checks, and should be able to simply have it update that 'driver' as easily as anything else.

If the car is there for service already, there should be no significant costs involved for Toyota, once the information is provided to dealers to patch this.

 

After rereading the act I think you are correct. I modified my previous post to remove the reference to the Magnuson-Moss Act. Thank you.

 

I hate to burst the bubble here, but Toyota does listen to its customers and does have a #1 design, engineering, and marketing team. Just because they are not changing their OCI for you all on the 2010 vehicles does not mean diddly. You all vastly over rate yourselves as auto engineering experts. Toyota is #1 for a reason.

Representative of Toyota may look at the internet forums, but I would be willing to bet that their design, engineering, and marketing groups have already finalized designs and specs well in advance of discovery by new car owners. Changes are generally derived from service records and testing. Not from internet forums.

29 pages later, the horse has been flogged and is beginning to smell.

Carry on!

 

True and agree, but what if you are approaching the 10K mark and then Toyota suddenly issue a new 10K OCI, then it would have to take your car to the dealer just for reprogramming and it will cost money. I can't wait until 15K because warnings bother me and I think many others share the same feeling...

 

Keep in mind, Europe has a much different oil requirement. For example, the variable OCI for the Phaeton in Europe requires a special oil which runs about $25 a quart.

 

Opinions of customers have a lot more value than what bloody service records and testing have to say. This forum is actually a very rich source of information that Toyota could be researching for improvement. Because of this whole OCI discrepancy, I am myself considering a non-Toyota hybrid to replace my Prius in the future, especially with many more options available in 4-5 years from now, which is when I intend to proceed. I bet many others are thinking similarly...

Carry on...

 

What OCI discrepancy are you speaking of?

Toyota 2010 OCI is clearly described in their manuals and specs. I see lots of owner speculation, rumor, and frenzie, but no discrepancy on Toyota's part.

 

Did you not read the post that began this thread?

 

SAME engine:
2010 US Prius: 5K OCI
2010 EU Prius: 10K OCI
2011 US Prius: 10K OCI

No discrepancy?

 

Yes, of course.

Toyota has not announced any change to the OCI for 2010. If they have done so, they have done it without telling the dealer network or their own customer support.

 

None. Because you disagree with their OCI, does not mean that Toyota is at variance with their recommendations. If you dont like their recommended OCI, then do whatever you want.

 

Just IM the Prius team about this... I know they are back checking the forum recently... so hopefully they will respond...

 

That is at odds with what was presented in the first post of this thread. It seems that at least some dealers are claiming to have been told by Toyota that the OCI is being changed for the 2010 Prius.

 

My recollection is that they have already posted to this thread saying that they can currently provide no official comment on the issue.

 

Those pictures dont show the document number at the bottom of the page. Can someone provide that number and date?

 

My recollection is that they are printouts of Power Point slides.