Stopped by my Toyota Dealer and out of curiosity asked how much an oil change would be for our 2010 Prius. I was quoted $32.95, wow,not bad because it cost me nearly that much just for the oil and filter for my do it myself venture. I than asked will they be using 0 X 20 oil. I received a questionable look and one of the mechanics stated, yeah, I remember reading that you have to use 0 X 20 oil in the 2010 Prius. He than went to parts dept. and told me the price of an oil change is somewhere north of $60.00 That sure is not too economical every 5,000 miles. I would change every 10,000 miles using Mobil 1 but I have to go every 5,000 miles to satisfy warranty requirements. alfon
The oil companies are not very smart when it comes to marketing premium oil. If they were really smart, an expensive oil like Mobil 1 would be packaged in a nice wine bottle with a real cork and hand-crafted label. For a gas engine like that in a Prius, a 5000 mile oil change for synthetic oil seems like kind of a waste, as the oil probably will not break down and lose it's lubricating properties at only 5000 miles. Many other cars that use synthetic oil (Porsche for example), have a much longer oil change duration. Keith P.S. This topic of oil change duration has been discussed in detail many times here on PriusChat.
The premium for synthetic seems kind of high. 4 quarts of Mobil 1 is only about $10-12 higher than 4 quarts of name brand conventional oil. Will the dealer let you bring in your own oil? If they do can do a regular change for $33, it seems like just the labor shouldn't be more than $25.
You should also shop around. The Toyota dealer 2 blocks from my house wants $80 for a synthetic oil change. The dealer that I actually purchased the car from only charges $48 for the same oil change, and few bucks less when I use their promotional coupons.
