Oil viscosity help

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jayman, Feb 2, 2007.

  1. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    641
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    A 5W-40 and 0W-40 are very common passenger car motor oils in the EU. The 0W-30 is usually the Castrol Long Life stuff for VW cars, that would work in the Prius but the oil is pricey.

    I'd worry a lot more about gasoline quality in Poland. I'm unsure about the quality or grades of fuels sold in Poland, but in Russia it's crap. When Ford exports full size vans and Crown Vic Police Interceptors to Russia, they remove the catalytic converters and O2 sensors, programming them to run speed density only.
     
  2. Mroziak

    Mroziak New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2006
    4
    0
    0
    Hello Everybody!
    I bought my Prius in the US (2006) but I'm actually using it in Poland.
    Hence my question regarding oil viscosity - I have already changed the oil and filter twice but it was done in the States (Mobil 1 5W-30). Since then I have been driving the car in a bit harshier weather conditions and I'm thinking of switching to 0W-40. I am not an expert on that and probably shouldn't be worrying that much but still some doubts cross my mind at times whether everything is going to be fine after the change. Can anyone dispel my doubts on that?
     
  3. dmckinstry

    dmckinstry New Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2006
    1,034
    4
    0
    Location:
    Cheney, WA (Near Spokane)
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mroziak @ Feb 2 2007, 10:08 AM) [snapback]384470[/snapback]</div>
    How much colder is Poland than the States is it this time of the year? If it were colder, it might be okay to go down to 0W, but why up to 40?

    I'm definitely no expert, but I still just use the 5W-30. It hasn't gotten that cold around here (not much below 0F or - 18C), but I've had no trouble with the 5W-30.

    Dave M.
     
  4. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2004
    1,843
    11
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    The second number is the thickness of the oil at normal operating temp, so what you really want is 0w30.

    Nate