Non-Toyoyta oil changes

I have the same question. I'm coming up on my second oil change and I am looking for some place besides the dealer. My dealer is terrible. When I asked the service guy if they use the recommended oil, he said what do you think, we are the dealer. That's not acceptable to me and they don't let you watch the service being performed on your car. I will go to a couple of places and ask if they have the correct oil and filter or if they will do it if I bring my own oil and filter.

 

It takes much longer to have the oil changed at the dealer, so I have it changed at a nearby tire/oil place. I can see up close what they are doing, including tightening the drain plug, tightening the oil filter, and adding the correct amount of oil.

At this place they had the original Toyota filter or a replacement Fram, which I chose. Thay also had several brands of 5-30W oil and I chose Quaker State. Total cost was $19.95.

 

Rick,

I want to try changing my own oil on the 04 Prius. The car seems kinda low. Did you have to jack up the car to get to drain the old oil? Any tips? Thanks.

Brian

 

Crush washer?

I just bought oil and a Fram filter to make the first oil change on my 2004 myself. How does one get the correct washer for the oil plug? For some reason this seems too complicated for the guys at the parts store and I haven't taken off the old one to wave in front of people for a match.

 

I'd suggest the dealer for the washer for your drain plug. Around here, Norwalk Toyota charges $1.14 for a washer...not bad.

I've been thinking of installing a Fram Quick Change plug. Anyone tried one?

 

Yup, a buck-ten. And other than the Fram filter wanting to be turned a FULL turn, my first oil change went smoothly. The existing oil plug wasn't on all that tight, I put it back on a little tighter and that 5w30 does drain quick, even from a cold engine. The low filter mount is VERY convenient. My previous car I had to crawl all the way under and reach all the way up the back of the engine, and I had to blindly clean the gasket seat. With the prius, you don't have to bodily get under it at all, just an arm.

And yes, it has to be jacked. A cheap hydraulic jack and two jack stands makes for quick, safe work.

This guy has more instructions:
http://john1701a.com/prius/documents/Prius...hanging-Oil.pdf which he posted on another thread.

There has been some discussion about overfill that mystifies me. The shop manual says 3.9 quarts, so I left a swallow sloshing in the bottom of the 1 gal container and after running the engine it was dead on the full mark. I'm sure had I put that little extra in for a round 4, it would have been just fine.

 

Do Not assume this. If you overfill it becomes possible for oil to get slurped into the air intake, which will make the engine run crappy and increase emissions. Instead, put in three quarts. This fills the system including filter to almost exactly halfway between the "ADD" and "FULL" marks, which is ideal (and ideally convenient, 'because there's no fiddling with partial quarts). Maybe Toyota should just state flatly in their manuals "put in three quarts".

 

I installed the Fram Quick Change plug at 5K and used it at 10K. Other than draining slow, it seems to work fine. No washer to replace each time.

I had to pull my Prius up on ramps to fit a gallon jug underneath and collect the oil.

I changed oil at 3K on all my previous cars. Now I use Mobil 1 and the Fram X2 filter for the 5K interval.

 

Do not assume that the $120 shop manual I ordered directly from toyota is correct? Really? I think if it became a warranty issue, I'd rather have followed their instructions.

Page 17-21 of 2004 Repair Manual, Volume 2 Oil Filter Sub-Assy
Step 4. Add Engine Oil
Capacity:
with oil filter replacement 3.7 liters (3.9 US qts, 3.3 Imp. qts)
without oil filter replacement 3.4 liters (3.6 US qts, 3.0 Imp. qts)
dry fill 4.1 liters (4.3 US qts, 3.6 Imp. qts)

And there isn't an air intake inside the engine, beyond the intake valves at the top of the cylinders. The issue is when it is REALLY overfull the oil will get churned up by the moving parts at the top, froth (i.e., become full of air) which is no longer pumped efficiently or at all by the oil pump and the engine won't get lubed properly.

Oil is involved in cooling the engine, so underfilling would make the engine run hotter, which does increase your mileage, at the expense of engine wear. Also since each molecule of oil is doing ~30% more work, I'd replace it in 2/3 the time than using the full amount, on the assumption that it will break down faster.