What is the current thought on oil changes every 3K miles (2006 Prius with 54+K miles)? I have oil changed whenever the oil change reminder lamp begins to blink. But does the Prius really need it every 3K? I am not being cheap, as that is not the point, but seems many non-Prius vehicles are going 7-8K or more between changes. Is the Prius engine under such stress that the oil "wears out" after 3K miles, or just a way to keep Toyota and Jiffy Lubes in business? Thanks
you should change after 5000 miles with mineral based oil or 7500 or more miles with full synthetic oil.
At 105,000 miles, I have always done the 10,000 mile interval synthetic using Toyota's 05-20. Does not burn a drop at this point. I hope this helps.
Your reminder light comes on every 3k miles??? For everyone else in North America it's 5k miles. I second jadziasman's suggestion, 5000 miles with any name brand conventional oil, or 7500 to 10000 with a good quality synthetic oil.
The Toyota recomendation for the gen2 Prius in the UK with synthetic oil is 10,000 miles. John (Britprius)
3K is a dealer/Kwiky Loob recommendation, not Toyota's recommendation. If you're out of warranty 7500 miles should be fine. Just remember to check the level monthly or so.
I did my first 10 changes every 5,000 miles when the light came on, but after I passed the warranty I switched to 15,000 mile intervals with Mobil 1 EP or Castrol Edge Titanium (I buy whichever brand is on special and both brands specify that they are acceptable for 15,000 mile intervals). If you do a long oil change interval make sure you buy a quality filter and not one of those cheapo orange Fram filters. I'm at 145,000 miles now. I will add that we put a lot of miles on our Prius and it gets changed about every 6 months. On my wife's car we only put about 5 - 10,000 miles a year on it I buy the standard Mobil 1 or castrol edge (just a few bucks cheaper) and I just change it once a year regardless. Depending on your situation it could differ. If you are under warranty its still best to stick to the maintenance schedule. If you go to extended intervals the most important thing to do is to be in the habit of checking your oil levels.
