Just did my first oil/filter change after 5,050 miles.

thanks sort of the way i've always looked at it

 

maintenence light

How did you turn off the light again? I tried doing what dealer service dept told me, but it didn't make sense.

Just changed my oil last night (with help from a friend), it was very easy!


Les

 

I just had my oil changed at 10K miles. I used 5w20 Pennzoil instead of 5w30 (my mistake). I had the better grade Fram Tough Guard filter installed and used a new gasket on the oil drain plug.

The weather is cool in SoCal now so I would hope the engine would be in the lower temp range where the 20 weight oil won't thin out too much. I didn't save much by not going to the dealer but they would be impossibly busy - last time I had to wait three hours.

 

Just changed my oil too! At 1000 miles on car. Fumoto valve and all as above.

Just found my old ramps are useless! Will have to get some lower more gradual ones! So used my jack and jack stand to raise one side.

Only reason to jack up really is to inspect things, so may try to get ramps that work!

As to oil change interval: I believe in going a long time. I plan to do so in the Prius too, but only after the warranty is up!

My last car was a Mercedes diesel. Engine is still like new though the car is not at 17 years old and 260,000 miles on the engine. Engine burns about the same amount of oil as when I got it, about a quart in 5000 miles when I change the filter. I went 10,000 on the Mobil 1 for each oil change, double what Mercedes said to do with no bad effects.

I did get my oil analyzed to arrive at my oil change interval. Will likely do the same for the Prius. Driving conditions have an effect and the car companies have to set the interval for the worst case driver on dirt roads or doing city driving all the time. People driving 3 miles for a trip will need more changes too just because the engine never warms up.

 

Re: maintenence light

The procedure is in the owner's manual (I'm too lazy to get it and look up the page). It's easy to follow. I got it right on only the second try :_>

 

My local dealer told me to wait at least 5,000km for the initial oil change, for breakin, and to not use synthetics until 10,000km. I just had my Prius in last week for its first oil change, as it was complimentary, and the certified Toyota tech was very careful to not overfill the sump.

That same nice tech also warned me if I change my own oil, to only put in three litres at first. Start it up, check for leaks, then let it sit for 10 minutes. Then check the oil and carefully add another half litre, checking the dipstick again. Apparently, overfill can be sucked into the emission system and be ingested by the motor.

I have the car ramp I made out of old rail ties at my hobby farm, and my Prius can easily be driven up on them, so no issue with clearance there. I happened to look around for shallow oil drain pans, since the Prius has low ground clearance.

There's a farm supply place in Winnipeg that has very shallow metal drain pans. They look like they'd only hold 4 quarts, but given the small sump of the Prius, that should be enough.

I'm sure if you look around, you can find a very shallow drain pan and keep all four wheels on the ground. The filter appears to be very easy to get to. My collection of strap wrenches will fit in there.

I plan on using Mobil 1 0W-30 year round. I picked up 3 cases last time I drove down to the Twin Cities. With Mobil 1, there is no need to change the oil sooner than what is recommended by the manufacturer. Here in Canada, every 8,000km.

 

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Thanks for the ramp info. My old ones were too steep. Just got a pair for my next oil change.

 

I was a bad boy...I just got my first oil change at 5070. Toyota of Wilbraham (bought mine at Toyota of Watertown, MA)...They quoted me double the normal rate if I wanted synthetic...so I took mine to Walmart...because I'm cheap.

I was surprised that they didn't rotate the tires, so now I have to go back to Toyota to have them do it for $20...

My question is this: "How do I turn off the Maint Reqd light"?
I thought it would have gone off at the oil change.

Lesson learned: Go to Toyota

 

Go to Ig-On mode while holding down the ODO button and continue to hold OD for 5 secconds (when 00000 goes away).

Page 123 of owner's manual.

 

You didn't ask them to! You asked for an oil change, not a 2004 Toyota Prius 5K service (which they probably wouldn't know offhand anyway).

I don't think your tires will suffer a bunch if you don't rotate them this time. If you don't mind getting a little dirty, you can do it yourself for free. Borrow another jack., I don't know how many different kinds there are but every Japanese car I have owned has a similar scissor jack. As long as you loosen all the lug nuts before you jack, no problem.

I think I'd pass on Toyota of Wilbraham if they want to charge you double for a synth oil change unless they are REALLY CHEAP to start with. They probably don't do much synth and would have to go buy it instead of pumping from their barrel. See what they charge if you bring your own (purchased cheaply elsewhere).