2 mistakes made during 5000 miles service

When I had my Prius, I took it for its first oil change to Noho toy also, which is where I bought it. They made the same "errors" as you mention above, and so I stopped going to them, in favor of Robison Service in Springfield. He is not cheap, but his mechanics care, they seriously diagnose stuff, appointments are quick, and you can stand in the service bay and watch them work.

 

The latter. The only reason to change the oil that often in a Prius would be if (*gasp!*) they were using oil of a lower service grade than that specified by Toyota.

 

5000 miles is fine

 

5,000 miles is not only fine but if memory serves, somewhere buried in another thread it has been mentioned that in other parts of the world (?europe?) the distance recommended between oil changes is actually longer.

 

Remember that during perhaps 30 % of the 5000 miles the engine will be off!

 

In the Netherlands the maintenance 'schedule':
Service every 15,000 kms.

15,000 kms: just an oil change and general checkup
30,000 kms: larger service and oil change
45,000 kms: just an oil change and general checkup
60,000 kms: larger service and oil change

Etc. alternating services (large and small).

15,000 kms equals ~ 9320 miles. So every 3,000 is a bit extreme. Most of the time when weather conditions or road conditions are bad, you need to replace the air filter more often (desert areas and that sort of thing). Don't think it has that much influence on the oil.

 

That is a bit much. Funny thing that in my 01 prius they recommended 7500 mile oil changes. I drive around 3000 miles a month so I still get an oil change every other month :x

 

I had my first oil change done today. I did a little testing of the service guys and the tech who was going to do the work. I asked them what oil they were going to use, how much they would be putting in, and what they would set the psi on the tires at. I was told that Toyota suggested 5w30, but it was not necessary in Los Angeles as it never gets very cold. I told them to use it anyone. They did get the oil amount right saying it was just under 4 quarts. They were going to set the tires at 36 psi all the way around so I instructed them to set them at 40 in the front and 38 in the back. They did do as I asked on the tires, I checked them. The oil measures right underneath the second bump on the oil stick, if that is indeed the oil stick I looked at. The tires were rotated, and all seemed to go well. The price was just under $65 including tax.

Jeff

 

I'll venture a guess that you did not drive down to Carson for that service. Where did you get it done, Northridge Toyota? I think that is the closest Toyota dealership to West Hills.

 

You are correct, I did not go to Carson. Just a little too far to go to get an oil change. I took the car to Keyes Toyota in Van Nuys. It is right on my way home from school. I made the appointment today after school got out, and was there 30 minutes later. I thought about Northridge, but wasn't real impressed with the dealership, and when I checked out the service dept. all the people waiting for their cars looked very unhappy. Not a good sign in my book. Keyes has a nice waiting area with phones, a tv, and Internet ready computers. That works for me.

Jeff

 

Those are two dealerships I avoid.

I used to take my Mercedes to Keyes, in the early nineties, right after they took over from Valley Motor Center, when the Mercedes showroom and service department were still on Van Nuys Blvd. at Oxnard. After I was charged $1,200 to replace an air conditioning (titanium) hose, which I later found out could have been done for $400, with after market parts, at Lucas (a reputable a/c shop down Oxnard at Hazeltine), I never went back. The car was a couple of years out of warranty at the time and an honest dealer would have advised me of alternatives.

I was trying a case in the Van Nuys courthouse in November. As I drove south to the 101 on the way home (five exits west of the 405), a white Prius was dropped off the car carrier at Keyes. The salesmen would not let me look at it (it was driven into the service department as we were talking) unless I indicated an interest in negotiating to buy that very car right then and there. He would not even tell me what package it was. He claimed that it was loaded, but it definitely was not a 9 as it did not have HID headlights. All the equipment he mentioned in his "loaded" description was standard on the base packages. I was not impressed.

I am glad that their Toyota service department is better that what I experienced in the past at one of their other brands.

I had a very bad experience with the Northridge Toyota sales department . I will never set foot at that dealership again.

If I ever get the car, I'll probably get it serviced at Hamer Toyota.

 

From the German workshop manual

Service data
Oil quality API SJ, SL, EC
Oil change every 15,000km or 12 months
Oil capacity (without filter) 3.4l
Oil capacity (without filter) 3.7l


So your dealer is taking you for a ride.

 

It seems to me that the question being "begged' in this thread is the need for the 5000 mile service suggested by Toyota.

I change the oil and file every 3500 miles - Totota filter and Mobil 1 oil. I've looked at the suggested service procedures and, they seem to me (opinion here) to be nothing more than an annuity for the dealer - the stuff they do (aside from the oil change) is worthless

 

I wouldn't be worried about it. If they didn't put in 5W-30, it was probably 10W-30 or 10W-40. The lower number is the cold viscosity, and the difference between 5W and 10W is negligible until the temperature gets well below freezing. The upper number is the hot viscosity and if they put in 40 instead of 30 it just means that the viscosity will be stable even if the engine experiences higher than normal temperatures.

 

Well... I guess I now fall into the "they overfilled my oil" group. On BOTH of our 2004s... We checked my husband's first (bad gas mileage was the clue) then as a precaution we checked mine. Both the same... :x After calling the dealership (Thousand Oaks Toyota) and getting quite a bit of major static from the manager we drained our cars down to 'safe' ourselves.

Now, I am thinking that driving out to Longo Toyota is not too far a drive. According to my coworkers (who are also pruis owners) they take pride in their work.