Myth or Fact--Oil Change

I've not heard of the extra oil change at the factory - perhaps others can verify this or not. Could be just salesman BS.

RE your concern about changing oil @ 10K intervals, you can search the Gen-III Maintenance & Troubleshooting thread for opinions. Toyota went thru a lot of grief with sludge issues recently, so when they extended the Prius oil change interval last year from 5K to 10K miles, they should have data showing no harm to those engines with synthetic 0W-20 oil.

You could just ease your way into the 10K change interval like I did - first change @ 1500 miles, then @ 5000 miles, then 10K and 10K intervals thereafter using Mobil 1 0W-20. Doesn't cost much more, particularly if you do them yourself & you get peace of mind. I've got used oil analyses (UOAs) showing this process @ 20K miles hasn't harmed the engine.

 

Were the dealers lips moving when he told you that?

The changed the oil at the factory sounds like pure nonsense. Lots of high end cars leave the factory with the original factory fill synthetic oil, there is no reason to believe that Toyota would go to an extra unnecessary step.

I'm puzzled by your owners manual saying you have a 5k mile interval. Mine only mentions 5k miles if you don't use 0W-20 oil. The wording isn't very clear so some confusion on that point is understandable.

10k miles is not a particularly long interval for a good synthetic oil in a modern car engine.

 

0W20 ensures good performance and fuel economy. The service interval has been increased to 10,000 miles if this oil is used (it's not cheap).

I can't imagine you'd have any worries about a 10k mile service interval. Over here in Europe 10k miles is regarded as quite low - most cars manage 12k, 15k or even 20k miles between oil changes if the correct oil is used and a warranty period of 100k miles is now common place. To futher try and put your mind at rest we have similar climatic conditions - cold in northern Scandinavia and heat in Greece.

 

Your oil standards (ACEA) are generally better than North American (API) standards. Your oil is also a lot more expensive (for various reasons) so the old argument that gandpa changed his oil every 3k miles doesn't carry much weight in Europe

 

10k oil changes are fine. Don't waste your money or make the oil companies profits even higher by changing your oil early all the time.

If you truly worried about it change it at 3k the first time then 10k then 20k, 30k ect. ect. Nobdy on this site has proved that 10k on 0w-20 does any harm to the motor They just say it does. I have another concern with letting others change your oil more often, they screw up all the time, and the more often you change it the higher the risk you run of getting a screw up. I have said this before and everyone attacked me about saying it. So...

1. Search dealer over filled my oil. oil change place/dealer left oil drain plug loose fell out.
2. Firestone over filled our truck by 1.5 quarts and pressure in the motor blew the dipstick out on the 1 mile drive home. They overtourqed the drain plug so much they bent it.
3. 6 Months later a goodyear oil change place over filled the truck 1 quart.

4. I have seen jiffy lube forget to put the new oil filter in on a 94 s-10(it has the filter upside down right next to the headlights. This caused all of the oil to shoot out of where the filter should have been, engine starting knocking and smoking from the oil burning off the engine.

5. All dealers and oil changes places pay very, very little to the oil change guy, thus you get someone that is willing to work for close to minium wage. There are some very good ones but most are not good/ don't like or care about their job. I would like to praise the good ones, I wish we could walk back their and tip you, or do something to make you feel proud about doing a good job.

6. My parent almost got in a bad accident. They had a 2001 astro van and the oil change place said they drained and filled the rear axel. They didn't it only had enought fluid to go about 50 miles then it locked up and the van skidded off the road. They could have died if they were going faster. They paid $100 to "extend the life of the rear axel" but ended up ruining it and almost getting in a bad accident.


If you do your own service or have a person you can trust you can ignore everything i just said.

 

I'll stick to 5000 miles (8000 kilometers) or 6 months, for several reasons:

1. It's still the Canadian spec.

2. I work cheap, do my own changes. FWIW, I turned down a free first change by the dealer.

3. A few liters of oil is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds and hundreds of liters of gas you run through the car.

4. It's my car: stretching oil change interval is secondary to engine longevity, for me.

5. All the above also apply to the transaxle fluid change for me, particulary for the first change.

 

This takes the cake for a dealer talking out of his you-know-what.

 

Then the "If his lips are moving..." test means he is lying, but if his lips aren't moving he may still be lying.

 

Toyota took a really huge hit on the sludged engines around the 2000 years. I suspect they took a long time to move their current recommendation from 5k to 10k.

I don't know if they drain the first oil batch at the factory, and don't really care. I think the 10k interval has been tested and is fine.

However, the conservative streak in some people might incline them to change it early. I'm in this batch. My new 2010 Prius just hit 5k last week, and I went ahead and pulled the oil out through the dipstick and replaced the oil, since I had already confirmed the dealer will not perform their first oil change until it hits 10k. Now that the first two oil changes will be 5k apart, I think I will be happy to let the remainder stay at 10k intervals.

Vic

 

This is a pretty hotly debated topic, and I really don't think it matters whether or not they run the motor in Aichi for a few hours (or minutes) drain and refill. If I were building motors for a living, I'd assemble them and then stick them on a test stand (with an external oil supply) test for X minutes, disconnect, fill fluids, and then stick it in the car.
To be sure...they're not running the motor for hours and hours to 'test' them, or else Priuses would be in even shorter supply than they are right now.

If you're going to keep your car for 250,000 miles, it matters a little.
If you're "only" going to keep your G3 for 5/100,000 then it probably doesn't matter a bit.
I'm in the 5K club myself. I'm more worried about flushing contaminants out of my motor every 5K than I am about thermal loading, oil breakdown, etc.
Half of the people that I talk to think I'm moronic for waiting until I get to 5K. The other half think I'm an idiot for not waiting until I get to 10K, which probably means I'm OK with my maintenance procedures.
Personally?
I don't care. My labor rate is pretty cheap (when I'm not fixing phones... ), and while the oil isn't cheap...neither is the car.

Short answer:
Do it the way YOU want to. If you stick to the OEM maintenance schedule....you're covered.

 

I'm doing 10K and debating whether or not I want to extend it to 15K since I drive under light to normal driving conditions. Engine oil definitely serves a lifeline function for the engine, but generally, these interval changes are way too frequent under normal driving conditions. IMO

Why shouldn't the dealer/salesperson tell a new owner to come back at 5K. It's a chance to see the customer again, maybe sell some service or sell a friend or get a referral. It's just good business.

 

I am very skeptical of that. In fact I don't believe any auto manufacturer does such a thing. Sounds like some of the stuff dealers tell their customers so they won't have to say "I don't know". I do beleive the first fill is with Toyota 0W20 synthetic.

I think a 10K interval using good quality synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 or the Toyota branded oil sold by dealers is very reasonable. Some European manufacturers have recommended 15K or more for years. I did change mine at 1500 to get rid of the leftover silicone from the casting process. Some, including Toyota, say that is not needed but it's my car and my money so I changed it early that one time.

 

I think you are fine changing it at 10,000 miles. I also think if YOU want to change it at 5000 or even earlier? It's your vehicle, do what you want...

The only concievable arguement that even remotely would be valid would be if Toyota is using a "break in" Oil. Then sometimes manufacturers recommend a minimun amount of time you leave that oil in as the engine is broke in.

If that isn't the case? Then while changing it earlier may or may not give you benefit it certainly wouldn't hurt. And it's your vehicle...if an extra oil change is going to make you feel better about it's entire mechanical present and future? Then go ahead if you want.

 

1. You should be checking your own fluids more often that that.

2. 5k mile rotation intervals are a bit short, but as poor as Prius factory alignment is (and as sloppy as their spec is) is it's probably not a total waste of effort.

If you actually check your own fluid levels at reasonable intervals and you get a real 4 wheel alignment where they actually adjust the camber and toe on the front and rear to tighter than factory specs, there is no reason to get a 5k mile service. That's well under 1% of Prius owners though.

 

Not just the Prius but other Canadian market Toyota vehicles. With the same oil change interval as before, and the mandatory use of their 0W-20, the total cost of ownership really goes up for something like a Toyota SUV or pickup

Since my FJ sits in the garage for days on end, and rarely has a long highway drive even in summer to vaporize water and VOC's, I change the oil and filter twice a year. Do it myself too

 

Perhaps their dealerships need the extra income.
Or....they're just used to having more rules and regulations.
Just kidding...OK? I've been up there and it's a cool place. No...I mean the other cool!

I wonder if it's environmental?
Colder starts? More initial top end wear?
Either that or the whole oil change interval really isn't as critical as we always argue that it is, and the folks that are determining the maintenance schedule are just using the SWAG method.

 

When I took my car in at 5k and was told I didn't need an oil change, I asked my service tech why the car gave me that message. His answer was that the computer system wasn't updated for the 2011's, and when the 2010's shipped they had a 5k maintenance interval which was extended to 10k later. I fell for it, it's at least a plausible dealer lie.