0w-20 synthetic - now in bulk at dealers?

Yes, we have it in bulk now. And we charge by .5 quarts to accomodate the odd amounts.

 

Interestingly, I just got a letter from my Lewiston, ID Toyota dealer YESTERDAY stating "The following important services are recommended . . . 5W30 EXPRESS LUBE" Looking at another Post I gather that 5W20 is suitable for a short period of time and that 0W20 synthetic IS THE called for oil. Toyota, Toyota Toyota!!! Get your act together!!!

 

When I got the same letter from "my" Lewiston, Idaho Toyota dealer, I e-mailed them about that, pointing out the 0W20 requirement. They replied, "Yes, we know it needs 0W20 and that is just a form letter that goes out...".

I did my own first oil change so have not been to them yet (I do have a one free oil change certificate with them).

 

I got an email reminder from my dealer that my Prius is probably due for service. No mention of oil. I only have about 3500 miles on it, so the notice is premature, especially since it can now go 10K miles. I have decided I will change oil the first time at 5K, however. Will certainly watch that the correct oil is used--0W20. You can bring in your own oil according to the service department if it saves you money.

 

Most dealerships have a generic form letter that gets generated by the last date of service. We are in the process of changing those letters to reflect the new OCI. It just takes time.

 

Always physically check the oil level yourself before leaving the delear. They regularly 'over fill' the oil level at every dealer I've ever gone to, Toyota included. The people who do oil changes in these shops are encouraged to do them, " Fast, Quick, and In a Hurry", precision isn't something they get a 'gold star' for. I also always make them remove the excess oil every time they do this, as the instructions from the manufacturer always warn:nono: that one should NEVER over fill the engine oil.

Bulk oil encourages this, and one other problem. The shop usually uses a galvanized 'pitcher' to load the oil from the 55 gallon drum into the car. The technician turns a hand crank at most shops to pump the oil into this pitcher, he then empties the pitcher (which has a long metal fill tube for a spout) into the engine fill. I have watched as the pitcher half full of ordinary cheapo petroleum and not sythetic, is then filled 'the rest of the way' with 100% synthetic, before the whole mess is dumped into your new motor. Thus the 100% synthetic is only the part they add to whatever was 'left over' from the last oil change they did.

 

Apparently the push is on because I looked at 4 new Priuses that had just unloaded at my dealer, and they now have a green sticker on the rear side window that explains it's got 0w-20 synthetic. Probably ties into the longer interval (Southeast Toyota Distributor dealer).

 

My gen III is three weeks old with 1k miles. Is a break-in period oil change a good idea?

 

I had the toyota dealership change my oil at 500 miles.

 

The next time you want to get rid of some money, why don't you just send it to me? You won't even have to wait in the customer lounge!

 

Oh goody, the 0W-20 is now available in bulk.

I wonder if it tests out as "good" as the dealership 5W-30 I had sampled back in 2004, when I and Mobil were trying our damndest to track down all the weird results from alarming used oil analysis I had?

I have frequently commented on the many problems with bulk oil systems, not the least of which is poor quality source oil

 

One of my local dealers told me they now only carry the Toyota 0w-20 in bulk. I plan to visit the dealer and physically check for myself, since they are only charging $42 out-the-door for a synthetic 0w-20 oil change.

 

We went to an open house for new owners at our purchase dealership. They demo'd an oil change, and had the oil in big plastic pitchers, looked like heavy duty juice pitchers. They were just pumping it from some bulk source. Also, they mentioned it was Toyota 0W20. They also stock it in bottles for DIY'rs, under $6Can per liter.

 

I would not trust most dealers to keep the bulk oil clean and free from contamination. I won't be surprised if some dealers use a generic 10W40, or something, and claim it is 0W20 synthetic. If I had to have a dealer change my oil I would take my own oil and hope they use it, I would watch them if they let me.

An early oil change at 1000 or 1500 miles might be a good idea. Some of the UOA reports we have seen on here indicate a lot of silicone left over from the casting process in both the ICE and the transaxle. OK, I'm nor sure that silicone actually hurts anything but it sure doesn't hurt to do an early change and get rid of it.

I changed my ICE oil and filter at 1500 miles and changed the transaxle fluid at 20K miles. At the worst I'm out a few bucks for oil and filter and I gained some peace of mind.

 

Thats how I put myself through college, you really don't want to know what goes on in the back room. I had mine done by the dealer at 3000 , bought a new filter and got Mobile one and ran the dealer stuff for 100 miles and dumped it. They gave me an empty plastic can, theirs no info on the can just 0w-20 synthetic , which is very strange because they helped to develop GF-5