Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic for Hybrids (0w-20)

Snake oil.

The motor oil either meets the manufacturer's specs, or it doesn't.

"Special oil for hybrids" is like "HDTV antenna". No such thing.

But then, marketers will use any tactic they can to try to sell snake oil to suckers.

 

Hi smokey1, welcome to PriusChat. If you do a Search for synthetic oil and oil change, you will have a lot of reading. I don't know about the Penzoil, but it does sound like a marketing gimmick. The Prius ICE has a much easier life than a standard car engine. It get's spun up to speed before getting gas and spark, and it doesn't run much of the time. So a synthetic oil for non-hybrids woould seem to be a sturdier oil. Also, since the ICE shuts off all the time, the Toyota recommended 5000 mile interval is probably equivalent to 3000 miles on a Corolla.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(smokey1 @ Apr 3 2007, 11:05 PM) [snapback]417412[/snapback]</div>

I used Castrol GTX 5w30 for the first two oil changes at 2000 and 5000 mi., then at 10,000 I switched to Mobil 1 5w30.