Oil change after break-in to improve engine longevity?

I think they say this is no longer necessary

 

I've never thought to do it. OTOH: it can't hurt, and likely there is some benefit: a new engine will have more wear particles. How about at the least a (US) second gen interval for the first change: 6 months or 5000 miles?

 

Necessary, no. A good idea, maybe.
I think that doing the first change early is more than sufficient.

Now for the rest of this thread we can argue about how "early" is early !!

With your brand new Prius you should receive at least 2 free oil changes.
Even though it might give the order writer some pause if you do the first one at 3000 miles, just for instance, you can do them any time you wish.

 

Or just pay for the early one, or DIY.

Necessary is the operative word. If it makes you feel you've done something good, maybe improved the longevity, maybe it's "necessary". Your call.

Up here, Toyota Canada tells me the regular 3rd gen interval is 6 months or 8000 kms, and who am I to argue.

 

i did mine at 5k, then every 10k or yearly afterward. they didn't want to do it at 5k under the free toyotacare, so i said i would take it elsewhere, so they did it.

 

I thought about asking my dealer to do oil change at my free scheduled 5K maintenance. But I forgot to ask when I was there. Knowing I have about 60% EV, that was only 2K on ICE, so I did feel OK to wait till next 10K maintenance.

 

agreed. at 18,000 hv miles (of which only a percent are with the engine running) and 55,000 total miles, i have changed the oil 5 times at a hundred bucks a whack. it's a head scratcher.

 

I'm not going to disclose how many times I've changed ours, in 72K km's...

 

Motorcycle engines request earlier oil change then fall to the service interval.

My opinion...new engine, biggest "chunks" of metal break/ wear off right away, then finer and finer until engine is broken it.

Some say initial factory fill contains break in extra lubricants. Urban myth?

A heat cycling procedure on a Toyota I also think is irrelevant these days yet might even be more important to break in than an oil change.

Manufacturers know this, yet still offer warranties so those initial chucks and cycling are irrelevant to long term...then define long term 100K miles?

Based on your post, I would change at 500 or 1000 miles (piece of mind, hobby, causes no harm - except to your cash) then revert to the standard intervals. Only issue I might see is a warranty fight issue if a dealer does not do the service.

I did not change my oil ahead of time with my new Prius, without looking and Toyota Care time limits, my car had 3K or 5K when oil and filter were done.

Enjoy your new car.​

 

I use a predecessor of one of these:

Heavy gauge stamped steel, purchased for Honda filters, but Toyota is the same. The Toyota filter socket has those extra notches for the ribs, but I'm nut sure how effective or necessary it is, that the socket extend down onto the ribs.

 

no need to do that anymore. keep the oil in teh engine for 10k miles then change it.
the best way to find out for sure without any speculation and guesses is to send your used oil toblackstone-labs or other oil testing companies. They will test the oil and let you know wear/ or detergent content etc... of your oil and make a suggestion on how long you should keep your oil in the engine before replacing it.
So until you do that you will not know anything at all no matter what other people say.

in 2005 I bought my toyota matrix xrs brand new. there was a big discussion on the matrix forum on exactly what you were asking breake in change etc..
I didnt' listen and changed it at 5K miles and then there after I send samples to blackstone labs. turns out with the oil I was using I didnt' need to change it that often, my intervals were at around 8k miles before I changed oil.
as of today I have 298K miles on my matrix and it still runs without issues. I do my own oil changes /maintenance....

 

I had an excellent mechanic for a couple of decades when I lived elsewhere, he suggested doing an extra oil change on a new car early on, but said not to bother with the filter as it would be still working fine.

I didn't bother with Samantha - I don't plan on keeping her long term, just the logbook services (which here in Australia are every 6 month$, 10,000 km for $ome rea$on).

I reckon, planning on keeping a 2017 car for 20 years just won't happen (maybe not even 10), the way technology is advancing. We'll be in driverless, fully EVs before we know it.

I was listening to a Podcast this week where the futurist was suggesting that many people won't even own cars, that we'll almost certainly not have 2 cars in a household. He felt that some people will own driverless cars, and, in a similar but different way to UBER, those cars will "go to work" when the owner has nothing in his diary. An example would be that I own a car, but neither of my immediate neighbours do. So today, my diary says I'm heading out at 1:30 - I glance out now (8:32 am) and my car isn't in the carport, it's off dropping someone at work, picking up a Grandma to drop her shopping, call past the car-wash for it's weekly clean and will be back on the charging pad for my 1:30 appointment. It could even take my dog to the vet without me having to go - just kidding!!!

 

Almost just kidding.

 

Theoretically, she (the car) could go pick up the grandchildren after school while Grandad has an afternoon nap. But - they really like to tell Grandad about their day.

What I don't think is in the "just kidding" category is that driverless cars will give the elderly (and not so elderly) mobility. Doctors are very quick to threaten patients to suspend driver's licences if they have some issues - like a black-out from being too dehydrated after a heavy day in the garden on a hot day - causing low BP. This sort of thing is devastating to people who are dependent on their car for socialisation, shopping etc - can make them involuntary hermits.

But, driverless cars will take away the anxiety many elderly have when they need to front up to the doctor every year to have their licences renewed. Bring it on before I need it!!!

 

And for hospitals with pay parking, visitor's autonomous cars can just be sent circling the block, maybe pick up and deliver a fare or two.

 

You buy a driverless car and it goes to work when you're not using it, who cleans and valets it after all these other passengers have been abusing it ?

 

I guess eventually nobody owns cars? By necessity the interiors would need to be much more utilitarian and durable. I'm talking near-future science fiction now.

Man did we segue off-topic this time, lol.

 

I thought it was logical:

• why change oil unless you're going to keep car long time;
• maybe don't expect your car to be relevant in 7 yrs;
• autonomous cars;
• other red herrings ...

You should see me when I'm "reading" a story to the Grandchildren. The end of the story is a mystery till we get there - even to me, and particularly to the original author.