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Prius owner in tropical climate

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Darko, Aug 14, 2023.

  1. Darko

    Darko New Member

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    Hi. I am from Singapore, a country in the tropics. I have a few questions not sure if you guys can help me with?

    1) my mileage is 111K. My mechanic ask me to use high mileage oil or 5w30 oils. I realize the fuel consumption went up by quite abit. I am wondering is it necessary? Or should I just stick to 0w20? I have went back to using 0w20 for the last 18,000 miles. Will it damage my engine?

    2) they also recommend an engine flush. Do you think it's necessary? My car is daily driven even on weekends and I do my servicing every 10K km religiously.

    Thank you.
     
    #1 Darko, Aug 14, 2023
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Recommended engine oil will differ by region so it’s best to consult your owner’s manual for the recommended oil for use in Singapore. Typically, yes a thinner oil will improve fuel economy. 110,000km isn’t that high of a mileage. We were never asked to switch oil on our Gen 3 at 160,000km. I can’t remember if we did on our Gen 2 which lasted 245,000km. The gen 3 used 0W-20 and Gen 2 was 5W-20 IIRC. Over in North America, the Gen 4 uses 0W-16 but that’s because of our winters.

    If the manual suggests 0W-20 and you haven’t noticed any oil leaking or burning, you should be fine.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Aug 14, 2023
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    No reason to stray from 0W-20. Enjoy the fuel savings.

    I don't think your mechanic gave you bad advice, but maybe stale advice, meant for older cars.

    I enjoyed my visit to Singapore last fall. From what I saw of people driving in the city, your car can last a very long time with the sort of service you describe.
     
    #3 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 14, 2023
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  4. Darko

    Darko New Member

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    Thank you Leadfoot and Tideland for your replies.

    Yeah Singapore is just city driving. We are that small. Max 90km/hr on highways.

    My Prius is a Japan Domestic Model. It's manual is all in Japanese. I Google translate parts of it and it say to use 0w16. No mention of any recommended use of high mileage oils. So far no problem with 0w20. No leak or burning of oil. Just needed some assurance on what I did is right.

    Btw I m running private hire like uber or lyft in Singapore so I have significantly higher mileage than other car owners. It's currently at 180k km. I thought you guys are more accustomed to miles. :)

    How about engine flush? Is it necessary?
     
    #4 Darko, Aug 14, 2023
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    engine flush = wallet flush
     
    #5 bisco, Aug 14, 2023
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  6. sylvaing

    sylvaing Senior Member

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    #6 sylvaing, Aug 14, 2023
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    No engine flush needed.
     
    #7 Tideland Prius, Aug 14, 2023
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  8. Darko

    Darko New Member

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    Thank you guys for the replies. I feel so much more assured that I m doing the right thing for my Prius. :)
     
    #8 Darko, Aug 17, 2023
  9. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Just noticed the thread today. As long as the color of you coolant is light pink, you should be good. specially at only 111km. I got a gallon of Toyota Super long life coolant to top off my engines slightly lowish level showing in the reserve tank. I used about a cup of the gallon so far at around 137 km.

    singapore link to toyota super long life coolant, if I can get it to show up here ....
    https:// http://www.lazada.sg/ tag/ toyota-long-life-coolant/ -- remove the spaces in the link

    Here is a video I found when seaching out info for another post here a priuschat that gives an overview of how to do the coolant flush. It also shows how to replace the water pump if that is of interest to anyone.
    I was able to put my 2017 Prius Prime in maintenance mode using the instructions from this video. Thanks to @Peter123
    Aisin Water Pump Video with Coolant Bleed Instructions | PriusChat
     
    #9 vvillovv, Aug 17, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2023
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