first oil change

Way overkill. Follow the book. On the first oil change the attendant will comment that your drained oil hardly looks like it needs changing. "Normal" cars do well every 3K; but think about it - your Prius' ICE is resting half the time you're out there on the road. Change it every 5K and your baby'll do just fine

 

Cars used to have break in oil... modern cars do not. Older cars also had more initial wear due to not being able to control tolerances as well, new cars are much better. This is why cars used to require dino oil until they broke in. With that being said, I still change my oil around 1,000 miles on a new engine... just because it's not going to hurt anything... so might as well spend the $20 for a bit of piece of mind... even though it's likely placebo affect.

 

P.S. I don't have an opinion about synthetic oil - I've never used it. Have fun

 

I missed the question he asked about synthetic until you replied to it. I'm a fan of synthetic for the same reasons why I change oil out before recommended on a new engine. I figure, what the heck? It's just a bit more expensive. I did increase fuel economy slightly...but then again I adjust my tire pressure around the same time... so who knows. The Prius uses just over 3 qts during a change and I buy it by the case and it makes me feel good (placebo affect again).

Personally, I stick with the recommended all around use. However, I live in AZ so my climate is polar opposite from yours. I'd imagine in the middle of winter a thinner oil would help with fuel economy.

Mike

 

A search through the oil analysis threads will show some benefit from a 1000 mile change. By the book the oil change interval is 5000 miles. Many believe that is too short. I change ~7500 miles with dino 5W30 from the bottle. It has been reported that bulk oil can be as contaminated as used oil.

Increase your tp and block your grill for better economy.

 

Im at around 4,600 miles, Im going to wait till a little before 5,000 miles and then get it changed.

 

Is your first 1,000 mile change "free?" If it is then go ahead and do it. If there is any junk/gasketing/residue/particles floating around in the original oil, there is a good chance that they will be filtered out or dumped during the change. It's a freshly built engine so it probably doesn't hurt to use this free oil change as a "flush."

On my other vehicles I've run synthetic for the past 10+ years and extended the oil change to about 7500 (especially after they are out of warranty and it cannot be used by the dealer to give me grief if something goes wrong.) I'm not rabidly fanatic about synthetic. I'll probably stick to 5,000 miles per change for awhile with the Prius, but am running Mobil1 5W-30.

You might want to check your oil before going in. It is probably about 1/4" overfull (factory fill.) The dealer will probably overfill it too, as the Toyota stated "capacity" is about a 1/4th quart too much. Some of us now specify "fill with 3.5 quarts" and tell them we will check the oil before leaving. This should result in a fill that is about 1/4" below the full/overfull mark...versus 1/4" over for the 3.9 quart "capacity" fill.

 

My thinking-I did just that schedule with regular oil and would again. I am extending to 5K now with Mobil 1 but no further as it is under warranty. Modern cars are no different in machining than earlier cars even from the 50's IMO. The cylinder cross hatch pattern must be honed to a certain roughness. I don't believe this has changed much in decades. Machines fifty years ago were perfectly able to produce "modern" accuracy. The honing ridges wear in to have peaks and valleys in the metal that hold oil on the wall. These ridges wear down fast initially and are a major source of the fine particles found in a new engine. Relying on the original oil filter to remove the particles means whatever the filtering micron size is, the smaller stuff still is running around the engine, wearing the parts. The cylinder material is usually cast iron so the particles from that are quite hard and abrasive. By draining soon like at 1000 mi. most of the particles of all sizes are removed. So for me it is a good idea.

I think the main reason manufacturers say to leave oil in until the first scheduled maintainance is due to better oils that lessen the particle damage. It also makes the new owner feel like they don't have to spend more money for awhile.

 

I know it's difficult for some of the more passionate in the group to refrain from sprinkling in snide political jabs (left and right), but can we try to keep that stuff to the Fred's House of Pancakes forum?

I lurk here for Prius information, not political commentary. IMHO, it just distracts from the great value of the list as a Prius information source. We have people of all political bents here - no need to gratuitously offend anyone.

Thanks.

 

Yes. a thinner oil will improve fuel economy & provide better cold start performance.

Your Toyota dealership should have 0W-20 in quart bottles.
If you are looking for a full synthetic, consider ENEOS 0W-20 manufactured by Nippon Oil.

Nippon Oil is the largest oil company in Japan and they supply the 0W-20 factory fill to Toyota.

 

This is not rocket surgery. Use whatever the owner's manual says should be used.

Mine says that 5W-30 is the recommended viscosity at all temperatures, and that 10W-30 may used *temporarily* if 5W-30 is not available. That implies that 0W-20 would be way too thin, especially in a hot climate. There's no sense in burning up the engine in exchange for maybe getting slightly better fuel economy.

 

Season and location are important to oil selection:
When I lived in southern climates where temps would be in the 100-115 range through Summer, I ran 10W-30 most of the time in other vehicles. However, I would put in 5W-30 at changes in early Fall to carry through Winter.

The Prius calls for 5W-30 and that is what I'm running now in the Midwest and intend to use year round, but if I were farther north, then I would probably run lighter oil in Winter.

(Synthetic should be a bit easier on the car in start up conditions during cold weather all else being equal.)

 

Toyota recently announced that they are moving to 0W-20 across the board.
In the July 1, 2008 Edition of Flashpoint, ILMA has announced that Toyota has officially decided to switch the recommendation on engine oil for certain vehicles from SAE 5W20 and SAE 5W30 to SAE 0W20.

ILMA reports that these changes will affect all Toyota brands, including Toyota, Scion and Lexus. The change will also appear in owner's manuals.

Please read more about this announcement here:
http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/...8-07-01/1.html

Here is a link to download the TSB:
http://www.chrysanindustries.com/pdf..._tsb071002.pdf

 

Hi skoh,

Sorry, I am not able to open either link that you provided. Would you mind attaching the TSB as a .pdf file to your message?
Thanks!

 

skoh, please edit or re-post. Simply cut-and-paste the urls from the address line of your browser. No url editing is needed.

 

I concur that the 1st oil change at 1000 mi. might be helpful to engine longevity, since it makes sense that any metal "goodies" left over from manufacturing would be flushed out.

I'm also a believer in synthetic oils, but be aware that if you're in a cold climate, it will take longer for the heater to warm your tootsies. I used to live in the mountains at 7000' where the temps would easily drop to the sub-zero levels. I noticed that whenever I changed oil from dino to synthetic, it would take much longer for the engine to warm up - indicating less engine friction. Also, I would advocate that you don't switch to synthetic until you hit >10,000 mi. or so to allow the engine to "break in". I've done hours and hours of reading on this subject and most of my opinions are based on "seat-of-the-pants" logic and experiences over the years with 50+ vehicles of differing natures.

 

Let go of the 1000 mile first oil change and 3000 mile change thereafter theory. That type of thinking was from the 60's. We are now in the 21st century where oil and engine technology is much better. Just follow the owners the manual. Changing the oil sooner is not cheap insurance nor does it make your engine last longer. If you must change something sooner, then change out the oil filter, it is inexpensive and easy to do.