Can I go for 6000 miles before an oil change?

Sure. I used to change my oil every 8,000 miles on my Civic (Mobil1 Synthethic + Bosch Filter).

What type of oil and filter are you using?

If you are using conventional oil, I'd recommend a change at 5000 miles.

If you are using synthethic, you can safely go 5,000 - 7,500 or MORE if you are using an excellent filter (Mobil1, K&N, Amsoil).

Motor Oil Bible
http://www.trustmymechanic.com

 

Oil change miles are just a suggestion. Most good quality oil can easily go 10,000 miles. Long haul truck drivers almost never change their oil. When it is low they just add. The maintenance shops pull samples and run oil analysis, and only when that analysis shows a problem do they actually drain and refill. I would not give it a second thought going 6,000 rather than 5,000 miles -- especially if most of those miles will be highway miles.

 

Yes, oil lasts longer if you are doing mostly highway.

 

One other thing to be aware of - if you have been driving mostly local it is a good idea to check your oil level after you have been at highway speeds for an hour or so. Local driving tends to build up moisture condensation in the oil that flashes off when the engine gets good and hot at highway speeds - thus the level may drop and you may actually be low on oil even though it measured ok when cold.

 

Why would you want to wait? An oil change is the cheapest form of maintenance. I read some people on this site recommending an oil change after the first 1000 miles on the vehicle. If it were my car, I would spend the $25.

I have 850 miles on mine and I plan to do a change at the first 1000 miles and every 3000 there after.

 

Why will you change it every 3,000? Why not every 2,000, or every 1,000? The point is that 50 years ago 3,000 was a suggested change interval as oils were not as good as they are today. Further, in those old days they suggested changing the oil at 3,000 miles and the filter every other oil change. So, back then you were getting 6,000 miles use out of the filter and were leaving one quart of old oil in the car for 6,000 miles and only truly replacing the portion you drained.

Most of todays oil will easily go 10,000 to 20,000 miles without breakdown. When was the last time you can document that someone lost an engine due to oil failure???

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(silentak1\";p=\"109765)</div>

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/motor-oil-bible.pdf

Above is the direct link for the e-book on oil - the first 20 or so pages are ads, but the e-book is about 177 pages. It talks about the myth of the 3,000 mile oil change.

 

Good point, you make sense, maybe I need to rethink. Are you running synthetic or regular oil?

Also good suggestion on checking the oil when the engine is hot.

 

Even regular or conventional oil will easily go 5,000 miles with a regular filter. What about with a "good" filter? Perhaps 6,000 miles but I don't recommend 6,000 miles change for REGULAR oil if you are doing mostly local.

Synthetic is the way to go. Sure it costs more money but it prolongs the life of the engine more so than conventional oil.

I'm going 5w30 Amsoil Synthetic XL + K&N HP-1003 oil filter @ 3,000 (Maybe 5,000).

Others synthetic oils that I'd recommend: Redline & Mobil 1

Accept nothing else!

 

you can, under normal circumstances, drive a good 10,000 miles with minimal risk to the engine without changing the oil.

however, if you encounter abnormal circumstances and with the Prius' track record for reliability, that would include all engine malfunctions, you might have a problem with the warrantee.

keep in mind that continous driving without shutdown provides the same amount of stress to the engine as a short trip if not less. so in realistic stress terms, what is the interval? 5000 miles at trips averaging 25 miles each making 200 cycles? or one trip of 3000 miles and 199 cycle at 25 miles each or 7975 miles? to your engine both will be the same... now realize that you will have to stop for gas but you get the point.

several other factors to consider. at this time of year, the weather is nicer so mileage can be extended in that respect, but all there is a higher level of dust to deal with. if you are in an area where that is a concern, you might want to shorten your intervals as it recommended for special high stress areas.

also, changing your oil a 1000 miles short doesnt allow for "rollover" miles on the next change interval.

 

I wanted that plate for my car "DUALPWR" but it's taken in CA.

Anyway, DaveinOlyWA provides very useful feedback also. To briefly add-on to the list of "oil lifespan shorteners": stop & go, heat, and excessive high revving

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dwils4\";p=\"109775)</div>

I use MobilOne 5W-30 - 3.9 quarts

 

I would think that the Prius should be able to go many more miles before an oil change than a standard car for several reasons:

1.) For many of the miles the engine is not physically on nor even turning.

2.) The no starter operations mean you eliminate a lot of wear that is caused when the engine is trying to fire at very low speed. I believe the Prius does not introduce spark and gas until the motor has the engine rotating at 600 rpm - this should greatly reduce wear.

3.) 3.9 quarts is a fairly large volume of oil for such a small engine - remember most cars with much larger engines only use 4 quarts. (not all - my BMW uses 8 quarts) The point is the ratio of oil volume to engine size is very good for this car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigheadr\";p=\"109763)</div>

I'm confident you could go 6,000 miles+, but remember the warranty calls for 5,000 mile intervals. There's Toyota dealers all over the place, most offering 30 minute oil changes. Better safe than sorry.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"109777)</div>

Dust removal is a function of the air filter. It takes less than a thimblefull of dust to wipe out an engine. IMHO, if you are concerned about dust, look to the air filter rather than the oil. If dust has gotten by the filter, the damage is already happening.

 

Don't know exactly how they work, but BMW has had them for years. When you get the oil changed you get 5 green bars. The dealer will not even think about changing the oil till it gets down to two bars or changes to yellow. The change interval is entirely based on this system.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"109799)</div>

in WA State, its against the law to toss used oil. here it is cleaned up, refined, repakaged and reused