I dropped the oil on my new 2008 Touring Prius at 500 miles. WoW.. it was pretty/ugly dirty. I called the dealership and asked if it is a good Idea to do this and they said it was completely unnecessary and to wait until 5000 miles. Glad I did not listen to the dealer. The oil on the dipstick did not appear as dirty as the oil was when dropped into the pan. I know the car is now happier. I have always for many years changed my own oil in a number of different vehicles and the Prius is the absolute easiest oil change ever. No jacks no crawl under... just a reach under the front side and the drain plug and filter are within this easy reach. More reason to love your Prius.
Wow - I changed mine @ 1400 miles and it was perfectly clean, looked just like honey. Wonder why your oil was so dirty? -GT
The color of the oil doesn't tell you how dirty it actually is, that's a myth. For a true reading you'd need to run an oil analysis. I think you can get them for in the $20 neighborhood. Personally I think 500 miles is way too early and a waste of money. But it's your car Oil Myths and Facts
I too am going to drain the oil at 500 miles. I will get an oil analysis done and report back with the results.
You may be right, I don't really know. There are plenty of opinions and it didn't waste much money... not even 20$. I do know it didn't hurt much.
Price of a sump full of oil is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Don't throw your waste oil in the trash, it can be recycled if you take it to a place that accepts waste oil.
It was so easy to change.. I may do it again today. LOL Right on.. I have always recycle oil and other things also.
As mentioned earlier, for your peace of mind...it is ok to do it. I did my first oil change @ apx. 1100 miles. FYI, I use either Castrol, Quaker State, or Pennzoil with the FRAM oil filter.
Do most people change their oil at 3,000 or 5,000 miles? I always take the Prius in every 3,000 but it sounds like 5,000 might be ok?
I just bought an 04 today with 72k on it and the first thing I will do is change the oil. I only trust myself on these type of things.