Some 2010 Toyota Vehicle Oil Change Intervals Officially Revised To 10000 miles/1 year (verified!)

Yes it is definitely official. The OCI for the Gen3 Prius is 10K miles or 1 year, in fact Toyota even mailed out a change to the Warranty & Maintenance Guide booklet to reflect that. Some dealers want to make a few extra buck off of you so they try to get you back sooner. If they tell you should change it at 5K tell them you prefer to go by the manufacturer's recommendation rather than theirs.

HOWTO: Resetting the Oil Maintenance Required indicator | PriusChat

 

thanks, that is very helpful to know.

 

Same issue as gychang: I had oil/filter changed at the dealer, they used 0W-20 oil, but the window sticker plus numerous postcards and emails from the dealer tell me I'm due for another oil change at 6 months or 5000 miles. Annoying! Glad to find confirmation here that Toyota hasn't changed its mind.
2010 Prius
Portland, OR

 

Hi
my prius done 32000 miles today n i called dealer about its service n they estimate 299.99 dollars for it but i check what need to b done in it ,
i only change oil at walmart for $62.74 thats it
walmart guys says engine air filter is good to go till next oil change ,
tommorrow i rotate my tires from sams club
did i make a wise decision by not goin to dealer ?

 

WOW 62.74$ for just 1 oil change? I pay that amount for 3 oil change and I do it myself...

As for the 32k service, the only thing the dealers would do is change your oil, engine and cabin air filters with tire rotation. Nothing too important at that interval.

 

Yes, your chances of getting good service from Walmart and Sams Club are about the same as getting good service from a dealer, and as you pointed out it costs less. A better choice would be to locate an independent mechanic in your area that knows the Prius and has a good reputation. The best way, as Nutz pointed out, is DIY for those of us who can.

 

i questioned my dealer about his policy and he sais yes, the oil only needs changing at 10k miles however, they like to have the car back at 5k miles to rotate the tires and maybe find other stuff that needs attention to better get into your wallet. also, they program the oil maint warning light for 5k. anyone know how to reset it yourself?

 

To reset it turn the car on and select "trip A" turn the car off. Then hold the "K/mh-MPH" button in while restarting the car. You will see it resetting in the display, when it is complete, which only takes a few seconds, you are ready to go for another 5K miles.

Toyota has never offered to reprogram that feature to alert us only every 10K miles as they should.

 

So, Toyota has moved to SAE 0W-20 API oil in the Prius engines? Synthetic or blend?

My 2009 Pontiac 1.8L Vibe (nee' Matrix) calls for 5W-20.

 

Synthetic but so far all 0w=20 is synthetic

 

How about in stop and go city is it still 10,000 miles or is that more highway?

 

US specification is 0w-20 every 10,000 miles or one year, for Gen 3 Liftback, c, v, and PHV.

 

The Prius should have less engine wear in stop and go city, as the engine is off half the time (no idling at stops, while slowing down below 42 mph. Also a lot of the spikes in torque demand are mainly absorbed by the motor/generator which further takes strain/wear off the engine. I'd imagine a Prius engine at 100,000 miles in city driving is like a conventional car engine at 50,000 miles in city driving. Even at highway speeds the engine can be running at as low as 1200 to 1400 rpm at 60 mph on flat terrain, on a warm day with no wind. Again less engine wear, most 1.8 engines would be running at 2500+ rpm at 60 mph in the same circumstances.

 

So... for a brand new 2014 prius under regular drive, it's synthetic oil that is in it? Also, do you still change the filter at 5k? or wait till the 10k?

 

yes, change oil and filter every 10k. i did mine at 5k and every ten after that.

 

It's funny: I'm just up the road from you, but Honda Canada's saying to change the oil every 8000 km's, which is roughly 5000 miles. I guess they have to draw the line somewhere, and the border's not a bad point I suppose. Except most of us are clustered within 100 miles of the US border, lol. Doubly funny: while BC's lower mainland is about as temperate as it gets, in the north-central States, it's still 10000 miles.

Bottom line, it doesn't hurt to change at 5000 miles, and if you need a justification, either for yourself or the dealership, you could just call it "severe service".

 

It's 5 years since this thread was started.

How many engines have blown up since the 10k mile change was adopted? None I recon. (Have a look at the early posts in this thread)

Will the naysayers now accept that such intervals can be used in normal conditions without issue?

 

I'm sure there will still be those who change oil every 3k, even using full syn, and also pull out and check caliper slide pins every month, keep tires at 48/46, check the torque of every single bolt on the car, and make exaggerated mpg claims like the guy who says "I caught a fish this big". To quote a famous Shatner line, "Get a life people!".

 

Engines blowing up is a little dramatic. Maybe consuming oil at increasing rates? Or getting noisy. Or not.

Either way, I don't find changing the oil every six months (time invariably governs for me) onerous, gives me something to do.

 

Five years is not long enough. In another five years there should be enough data from cars that have gone long enough at the 10K interval to draw meaningful conclusions. In the meantime, everyone is a star in their own movie and everyone on the internet considers himself an expert on oil change intervals.