Oil Change 2010 Prius - do it yourself

Thats a very good question.... I wouldn't be surprised if it performed the same... but when "they" won't even back it, I"m not trying.

 

I don't have a clue either... but based on their added recommendations:
The

Seems to imply it was pretty good... especially if they are suggesting to up the ante and go to 27K next!

 

After thinking about it.. I suppose the high silicon readings are due to prolonged collection of air intake particles "silicon"... not sure if an oil filter is supposed to rid that or not.

I was told that if an oil filter is not performing well, the metals numbers will be high and the "insoluables" % number at the bottom would be high too and those are great.

I conclude that "any" oil would show high silicon numbers if it went 25K.. not due to a breakdown of the oil or even the oil filter, but rather sheet time spent collecting so many cubic feet of air... I'm sure 25K worth of driving collects quite a bit.

 

In Virginia Castrol Edge 0w20 is available at Advance Auto Parts stores. They now have an oil change special in affect. You can get five quarts of oil and a K&N filter for $32.99 + tax. Of course K&N doesn't make an oil filer for the 2010 Prius yet. But you could get a K&N filter with the deal that you could use one of you other cars. This oil change special at Advance saves you $23.45 off the regular price. Nice savings.

 

Thank God, and let's pray they never do.

 

Too much speculation, too little knowledge.

Since this is your only 2nd oil change, the silicon is not necessary dirt contamination but rather silicon leaching from seals. Normal in new engines.

Your UOA numbers are very good for 25,000 miles in new engine.

However, UOA is not everything and will not detect plugged up filter by insoluble particles, the usual Amsoil oil/filter failure mode at those very long OCI.

 

Of course, due to the sludge lawsuit in North America, the Toyota oil change interval was lowered on all models from 7,5000 miles or 12 months to 5,000 miles or 6 months.

That didn't happen in the EU

Can we infer that Toyota vehicles in the EU all suffer from sludged up motors? Or can we infer that oils intended to meet ACEA specs are far better than oils that meet API specs?

A case in point is that the API makes no distinction whatsoever for quality of oil, in their myopic eye all oils are rated the same. So, the cheapest generic and the most expensive synthetic are stamped API SM

With the ACEA, a clear distinction is made with different quality oils, different expected service environments (Normal to severe) and different oil change intervals. Which in the EU can stretch to 2 years or 30,000 miles

Only recently has Toyota changed the oil change requirement back to 12 months or 10,000 miles, using their "specially blended" 0W-20 oil. They obviously have enough test data to allow them to offer such an oil change interval

We may be shocked by such a long oil change interval, but that has been common in the EU for a long time now.

 

Dark Oil Color Means Little

To the people changing their oil early because they are concerned that the oil turned dark compared what it looks like out of the bottle:

That is a huge waste of time. My oil was just changed a couple hundred miles ago and it's already dark and "dirty-looking." There is no way oil run through an engine will keep looking new very long.

 

That just means the oil is doing its job, holding contamination in suspension instead of allowing sludge and deposits to form

The heavy duty diesel engine oils look almost that dark fresh out of the jug. I recently changed the oil in my FJ, I ran Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40 as a summer oil.

It looked almost black, however peer down the oil fill and the motor looks spotless inside. I'm really curious what the lab tests uncover

 

That may be one of the finest and most logical points I have ever read in thread about oil. I warn you... I may steal that eloquence and use it as my own... and not give you credit.

I took your Used Oil Analysis over to Bobistheoilguy... those guys make an oil fetish seem normal... Anyway, it caused quite the hub-bub, as I knew it would. Anytime an Oil Change Interval runs over 15k... you get a lot of looks.

The main question generated, that I cannot answer without this forum's help is:
Can the Prius give the actual breakdown in miles or hours that the motor was actually running during that duration?

For example, on the 25k mile OCI... how many of those miles were run by the motor?... 15k? more? less? It helps put into perspective the demands that a Prius actually puts on oil.

They also seemed to think that the OEM filter was doing it's job nicely and that the SI was more a product of motor break in than anything else. I think an early poster surmised that also.

Thanks a lot windstrings for taking the time to post and cost to have your oil examined!

 

would you believe I have to post 5 times before adding a link to a post?

... so I beg forgiveness as I run my post count to 6!

 

You guys have a nice forum... nice to not see it cluttered with a bunch of ads and people just bashing each other... of course I've only read through this thread... but the vibe seems pleasant.

Only 2 more to go... I do have a point with this...

 

sorry... I know this keeps down on spam...

 

last one.

 

Thanks for your patience... now what I was trying to post is:

Ask and ye shall recieve. The following are links to one mans madness as he wanted to find out if there was really anything to the synthetic hype... and which was the best on the market.

He only got 2 oils tested over a two year period... and they would happen to be M1 and Amsoil in the 5w-30 weight. His test vehicle was a used '01 Camaro with a LS1. He tested every 1000 miles for 1 year per oil, and posted his results, including a virgin sample to give the reader a base.

The cliffs notes version is that the Amsoil cut the big wear metals (aluminum, iron, copper) in half, but by the end of the year had thickened to a 40weight and its' TBN was starting to get low (still safe for use though). The M1 stayed in viscosity range with a higher TBN, but did not perform as well based on ppm counts.

Worth a read... especially if you are an oil nerd.
<--- (raises hand)

If you look at the oil reports, in a conveneint readible chart,... please understand that the GM LSx v8 is a very different animal than an import 4. The LS series is known to throw a lot of copper... So often you will see double digit wear metal counts on a GM motor and not be phased too much, but you see it on like a Nissan VQ or Toyota motor, and you might pause to wonder what's up with that.

Genesis of study:
Synthetic Oil Life Study

M1 Results, 1yr:
Mobil 1 Test Results

Amsoil Results, 1yr:
Amsoil Test Results

 

Does anyone know the part numbers for the push on clips. It's pretty cold here and they break trying to pry them off. Thanks.

 

Some info here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...tic-push-pins-replacement-diy-oil-change.html

 

Mine have a little slit in them where a small flat head screwdriver fits perfect.... they release pretty easy if you do it that way.

But after two oil changes and before I figured out how to release them, I had several that didn't' make it... I simply went to the local auto parts and they had a whole shelf if different types of push on clips.

I chose a box of ones that appeared to fit the thickness "or greater" of my original ones and they worked fine... think they cost less than 3.00 dollars.

 

A small flat blade screw driver does work well.

What I've found even better in a lot of instances is a paint can opener. It's basically the same except the blade has a 90 deg hook right at the tip. This allows you to reach fasteners in tight spots. The hook provides built-in leverage. Usually a bit of leverage coupled with a bit of tug will pop the fastener out in one motion.

 

another link for oil change diy:

http://john1701a.com/prius/documents/Prius_Maintenance_Changing-Oil.pdf