I bought a used 2010 Toyota Certified Prius in January. Since then, I have put 5,000 miles on the car. The Prius display indicates that I should get my oil chanted. Hoewver, the little transparent sticker in the upper left-hand corner indicates the oil should no be changed for another 5,000 miles. Its a little disconcerting to get the oil change warning message every time I start up my car. If I really do have synthetic oil, shouldn't the Toyota dealership (which is where I bought it from) have been able to reprogram the Prius computer to hold off on the oil change warning until near the 10,000 mile mark? Should I take it to a dealership and have the oil checked? If so, can they reprogram the Prius so that the oil change warning statement does not occur until near 10,000 miles between oil changes?
The dealers don't reprogram the 5k warning, they just reset it. I seriously doubt that a dealership is equipped to reprogram it. You can turn the warning off yourself. The instructions are in the owners manual, page 428 in mine As with any car, you should still be checking the oil level on the dipstick at least every other tank of gas.
Yes, when the 2010 Gen III came out Toyota's oil change interval was 5,000 miles. Shortly after this Toyota agreed to extend the oil change interval to 10,000 with the use of the 0W-20 synthetic oil. Toyota still wants you to come in at 5,000 mile intervals for tire rotation and basic fluid level checks so they do not miss out on this service revenue. They probably will not change the oil change warning message. It is up to you if you want to take it to the dealership for the 5k intervals. If you are a DIY you can rotate your tires and do the basic fluid checks. If not, you may want to take it to the dealer or your favorite mechanic. You can reset the warning message easily by holding down the km/hr button while pressing the Power on button.
Yes my car still thinks the interval is 5k. I did my first oil change at 1075 mi. and i just broke 5000 miles yesterday and the oil maintenance reminder screen is on steady now. I was planing on taking it to the dealer for it's first on the books oil change at 6k.
