Prius Prime oil change frequency?

no one knows. we pippers had this same problem. the manual still says every 10k or one year, so i change it every spring, since i only drive 6-8,000 miles per year, and only 35% of that has been gas.

 

I would just follow the book, on oil changes, 10K miles or yearly.

 

it changed in gen 3, with synthetic oil.
there may be other concerns in cars that hardly ever use the engine, but we don't have any data that i know of.

 

In Canada it changed (similarly) with Gen 4.

 

i did not know that, very interesting. makes me somewhat suspicious though...

 

I would agree that it would need changed less frequently than a normal gen4. Someone may hardly ever use the gas engine and thus the oil would be just as good as new 6 months later as it was the day it was installed. One thought, Does the prime engine start when a full power load is applied to the gas pedal?

 

not in ev mode.

 

For two years the dealer will change your oil, don't worry, every 10,000 miles, at your 5000 mile checks they rotate wheels and top off fluids and enhance your experience

 

as far as i know, all toyota's all across the country. i got it way back in 2012, and still hear the ads.
only caveat might be southeast toyota, they don't have to play by the rules. idk if they offer or not.

 

I'm trying to wrap my head around this question. I just bought a Prime a couple weeks ago but intend to drive about 95% in EV mode (so far, after 200+ miles, I have used zero gas), so similar to a Tesla or Leaf. Neither of those cars ever requires an oil change.

So, unless the maintenance system actually tracks gas engine mileage separately from EV mileage, and schedules oil changes accordingly (as opposed to every 6 months or 1 year), I expect I'd essentially be replacing new oil with new oil. That's fine for the first 2 years when Toyota's paying for it, but after that, the only reason to do this would be to comply with the letter of maintenance guidelines/requirements. Seems like a potentially needless waste of money, effort, and time.

For what it's worth, based on the last 15+ years I expect to average less than 4k miles per year in this car, so very light use.

 

Honda uses a Maintenance Minder, that monitors the odometer, and I suspect other conditions, maybe mean coolant temp, number of startups, and does a percent countdown to the next oil change. But there's a proviso at bottom of page, saying regardless of what the MM's displaying, change the oil at least once a year.

I'd consider doing a yearly change, it's not that difficult or expensive. I'd also make a point of using the engine a bit more than necessary: semi-regular use will keep it in better condition.

 

Thanks, I'd actually wondered if I should run the engine occasionally whether I need to or not. I'm sure I'll have enough 25+ mile trips that it kicks on from time to time.

I'd read on another thread that just getting the car up on a ramp to do the oil change can be difficult because of the low clearance (on my last Prius I always changed the oil myself, and would probably do that with the Prime too unless it's just too much of a hassle). So I suppose I'm fishing for an excuse not to do it if it truly is unnecessary based on my driving habits.

 

You should also consider using the gas in your tank before it sits for too long.

 

A short piece of 2x10 (or whatever) just ahead of the ramp lip should solve that, if needed. Also, for oil pan access: fourth gen has a little panel attached by screws. No funky hinge and plastic fasteners per third gen, it's a walk in the park.

My preference is always floor jack and safety stands. Maybe funny, but ramps make me nervous. A typical 3 ton floor jack is capable of raising the front (or rear) by 15". Due to excess travel to get started, and safety stand notches, you can in actuality count on maybe 12" lift. Much roomier than ramps but meh, what you're used to. OTOH, maybe ramps are maybe less nerve wracking when you're lying under there.

What I do with floor jack method, is put a tree trunk section (maybe 12" diameter by 12" long) under a main beam, so if anything does fail the car will land on something very solid before it encounters me. Also, I don't put my safety stands on the scissor jack locations; they're very flimsy, not really suited for that. Instead I used underbody strong points, a little further in, that are heavy gauge, rounded, fit the safety stand cradles pretty good.

 

Even on a PRIUS - TOYOTA in Australia insists on 6 month/10,000km (6214 miles) service which is a real pain (my last 25 yrs have been with cars having annual services).

But the craziness with PRIUS is that the ICE only runs maybe 70-80% of the time - meaning that in 10,000km, the engine has only been running 7000km (4300 miles) when they throw away what is probably perfectly good oil. Really great for the environment - NOT.

Unfortunately when I bought my PRIUS I wasn't aware of the 6 monthly waste of time involved.

 

Wheather you think it’s right or not, you’ll want to keep your warranty in effect for the full period. Then never change it again. I think you have the wrong car if you folks never want to run your engine. I am very pleased with my Prime Ev and Hybrid. I also have a Leaf