Question about synthetic oil and warranty

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by tredstone, Aug 26, 2009.

  1. tredstone

    tredstone New Member

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    If you put synthetic oil in your car, you should be able to go about 10,000 miles before your next oil change, right? I'm wondering if Toyota can void your warranty in cases of engine trouble if you change your oil every 10k instead of 5k miles? (e.g. do they insist you still make 5k oil changes whether or not you use synthetic)
     
    #1 tredstone, Aug 26, 2009
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  2. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    If there is no sludge buildup, they have no case. Just say you change it yourself every 5K and don't keep detailed records.
     
    #2 vertex, Aug 26, 2009
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    In the Owner's Manual and Warranty Booklet, they make no distinction between using dino or syn oil. They only provide the min spec and grade for use. Therefore, to comply with the warranty requirements you still should follow the 5000 mi / 6 mo (whichever occurs first) interval.

    If you really want to extend to 10k OCI (oil change interval), then you could also have UOA (used oil analysis) performed to verify that the oil is still working properly at 10k. This would give you independent proof that the oil is not the issue if you had a engine failure while in warranty.
     
    #3 dogfriend, Aug 27, 2009
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  4. lefat1

    lefat1 Fat Member

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    It would probably be a good idea to change every 5k miles anyway, or at least get a UOA as mentioned. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic, change every 5k miles since it's so easy and don't need any warranty hassles. However, I often wonder how the Toyota oil filter holds up after 5k miles, hence the UOA.
     
    #4 lefat1, Aug 27, 2009
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