Oil Change question

Why would you tempt Toyota to void your warranty?

 

Good News! Your Powertrain warranty is 6 years or 60,000 miles, so you have almost 2 years!
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-13PriusPHV/pdf/2013_Toyota_Prius Plug in Hybrid_WMG_lr.pdf

More good news, it is likely you have free services to 25,000 miles, so you would not save money by skimping on service. Go see the dealer every 7 weeks, (5000 miles) at least while it is free.

 

To answer your Question in short, no it is not necessary in your case and yes you can last 15,000 miles as long only 7,500 are on the engine.

These prius engines have what is called "fully synthetic oil". Fully synthetic oil can easily last up to 7500 miles, to say the least. Obviously just use your hv/ev ratio screen to find out how much you have used. oil should also be changed at a recommend 6 months but going a few months over will not hurt as long as you aren't reluctant. There is no such thing as a "void warranty", warranty has to last as long as it lasts, what does exist though is "claim denial" that is for example, your lifters start ticking and you take it to your dealer and some how they can prove that the oil is older than 6 months(which is absurd) or not up to OEM specs, this particular claim will not be covered under warranty. Toyota has to have in undeniable proof that it was due to you not changing your oil on time, is the reason you have said lifter ticking. For another example, you have trouble with your fuel pump, Toyota cannot deny the claim on the basis that you didn't change your oil, you not changing the oil must be the only fault. Fully synthetic oil is proven to last high millage and to be great in extreme conditions, so keeping the same oil for about 6-8 months and 7,500 hv miles is not a big deal. My question to you would be, do you plan on keeping the car for a long term? If so, why not protect your investment with a oil change at 10,000 miles or 6 months which ever comes first. Toyotas' are very reliable and will hardly give you any trouble if you use genuine parts at the right time and that is key. I would recommend redline brand or royal purple brand oil if you do plan on prolonging a oil change because they are the best on the market and are trusted to be used in cars that are stored for short periods. In the long run, I highly doubt you'll run into any trouble even if you do use genuine Toyota fully synthetic oil for 7,500 engine miles, but taking the safer side and protecting your investment will give you peace of mind and assurance that you have kept the car in the best possible mechanical condition. I own my own mechanic shop so I have some first hand experience with this stuff and people have done much worse things. I once had a customer who didnt do a oil change for 20,000 miles on a non hybrid with standard (non synthetic) oil and when we drained the oil, only about one quart came out the rest burnt away.
Hope this helps
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

I wish Toyota monitored engine revolutions and operating conditions to determine a more accurate oil change interval for the Plugin Prius.
This technology appears to work well in most General motor vehicles where it first showed up in 1988
Here is a good article on the technology from Edmunds: Oil Life Monitoring Systems - Edmunds.com

 

I agree with you Potorap. Why change the oil more if you don't need to? These fully synthetic oil changes aren't cheap. $75ish, right?

 

I remember when the Prius was recommended to a oil change every 5k and that was the norm.
10k to 15k isn't going to save you a whole lot of money, but it will increase you stress about the car


iPhone ?

 

my question is, what is the wear and tear on an engine the turns on and off as much as the prius in regards to oil degradation and contaminents? i have the opposite problem, 4-5000 miles per year on the ice, so i change it every spring. but i'm not in it for the long haul.

 

I haven't read the PIP's OM but it should have a maximum time interval for changes regardless of mileage.

The two plug-in's I've owned are spec'ed at two year intervals. My Energi is 2 yrs or 20,000 miles total mileage but like the GM cars mentioned previously it also has an oil life monitor that may trigger at any time or mileage. At 4,200 miles, I'm at 90% EV so just a little over 400 miles on the ICE since the Nov. purchase.

 

I can't help but wonder why auto makers have not stated using "Engine Hour Meters".
Even my riding lawn mower has one now and the oil change recommendations are based on engine hours.
I believe all construction and farm equipment has been that way for a LONG time.

 

Good question.

 

Even the regular Prii are now 10k. And there is evidence (through oil testing) that most cars in most environments could even go quite a few more miles. So no, there shouldn't be any extra stress to the car. And even if I save a few oil changes I could be saving a few percentage points off the total cost of ownership.

The oil companies and dealers have beat it into our heads for decades and decades that it has to be 3 months or 3k miles. That is old thinking, and even back then people were throwing good oil away.

 

I think Toyota is just pandering to the lowest common denominator. Namely, a PiP that never gets plugged in. It would have the same 10k OCI as a regular Prius. There's no way for Toyota to know how many miles are EV. Toyota could either install oil life calculators or monitors like Honda and BMW or just blanket recommend 10k OCI.

I think if you drive 33% EV, 15k OCI or one year is perfectly safe. A 50/50 split works out to a 20k OCI. Then again, I'm not a mechanic and I follow my owners manual.


iPhone ?

 

I had a 2005 Porsche Cayenne and they recommended 2/years or 20000 miles on full synthetic 0-20w.

 

Seriously? You don't think that there is some internal data that keeps track of dozens of parameters that Toyota can extract from the car? And if they don't, that they could if they wanted to.

The real reason, IMO, that they don't extend the OCI is so the dealers get more service business.
When they changed the interval on the 2010 Prius from 5K to 10K my dealer insisted this wasn't true.

Mike

 

My college-age son had a 2003 Mercedes SLK AMG sports car, and its recommended service interval was 12 mo/12,000 miles with synthetic oil. (As painful as it was for him, he traded it for a Highlander Hybrid. The two-seater was real sporty and cool with the ladies, but just wasn't practical for things like ski trips, and cost a fortune to operate.)

 

You are dead on, IMO. They get a lot of pressure from the dealers.

 

What does the HyHi recommend? Same as Prius?