I am a bit torn now as to what to do. I am not a big M1 fan. All analysis show a lot of iron wear. I might try Pennzoil Platinum. Another issue is the fuel dilution problem. Some say that the various metals in my sample highlight the fuel dilution problem which could be causing sludge and varnish build up that does not show up in the UOA. There is an oil that is known to work very well to prevent issues from fuel dilution. "Renewable Lubes Inc" Biosyn oil. It is kind of expensive, but the Prius only uses 3.5 quarts so it is not that big of an issue. I don't want to use Castrol 0W30, too thick.
Pennzoil Platinum 0W20 is now in my 2001 Prius, with another driver in New Mexico. I hope to convince him to do the oil/filter/UOA somewhere in the 8 to 10k range. Will post here if it happens.
I recommend the Pennzoil Platinum 0W 20 synthetic oil. I think that Toyota is recommending a 0W 20 oil for all its new vehicles. It means less wear on start up, and I believe the Prius engines are so tightly engineered that the lighter weight oils are the way to go. I have used it for a long time, and highly recommend it on the Prius.
I thought I'd contribute my UOA. I have had 2 performed so far, the first was on Mobil-1 at ~6100 miles on the oil. The next (current) UOA was for Amsoil with 10,545 on the oil, TBN 5.4...I'll have the latest UOA for that oil fill in a week or so, I changed it out at ~14k miles. WIX air and oil filters, air filter went longer than it should have. I changed the oil to have it coincide with the holiday season, as we are likely going to go with a 15k or 1-year oil change cycle...with it being around January 1, easy to keep track of. Never attached a file, we'll see if I did it right.
I could not open the file above, but I am not at my home computer so maybe it will work for others. Anyway, thanks for posting these and I think the Prius UOA file has not been recompiled for a while. Or has it?
I have Adobe Acrobat Professional 9, and the file opened fine. I did receive a warning about "Insufficient data for an image" but the file did open The metadata states the file was created with PDFpen, and that there is no security associated with the document. What version of Acrobat Reader are you using? Whenever I post pdf's on this forum, I have to remind folks to make sure they are using Reader 9, or it will not open. Probably because I apply basic write protection to the file
My latest. As Blackstone noted, I went past the first recommendation of 8,000 miles. The numbers on my 7,400 test compared well to others posted here who had gone on to 10K so I figured I was fine to go to 10K as well. I changed it at 10,000 but never got around to mailing the sample in. I HAD planned to change it at another 10,000 but as I drive 2000+ miles per month, it got away from me in just a couple of weeks time. Glad to see everything was still OK at 11,600. They recommend going to 13,000 on this fill. That will almost take me to the 100,000 mile mark! And the gas in the oil; yeah if it is related to idling in cold weather, I certainly have that. Idling, I HATE idling!!! And yes, I do shut off the heat at red lights (once the cabin has warmed up enough I won't fog the windows) so the ICE will shut down. Did I mention I HATE idling?
Bruce Those are very good numbers. I think a lot of folks fail to realize in temps of -20 C and colder, certainly -40 C, it's rare for the Prius motor to automatically shut down at red lights. Even with a winter front jay jay
Just received my first oil analysis after 17800 miles. This was the first oil in the car after factory oil. Stop and go delivery usage @ 40% . Will change at @15K next time and retest. Let me know what you think.
Hmmm TAN: Total Acid Number TBN: Total Base Number You can think of the relationship of TAN:TBN as reciprocal. As TBN decreases, TAN increases I'm a bit puzzled by that aspect of the oil sample report. If they really meant TAN, the oil is in good shape. Mostly, TBN is reported now
Here is my latest UOA from Blackstone. I did not do a UOA on the last couple changes. The car has 52,000 miles on it now. This oil was in the car about 6 months. I thought the TBN of 3.6 was pretty good until I saw that analysis on this thread with the 4.2 TBN at 11,600 miles. Anyway I am trying Castrol Edge in the car now. Probably run it to 12,000 to 13,000 miles. As far as those TAN comments above, some people think the TAN is more important than the TBN, cause acid is really that bad thing, and you dont know for sure how bad it is with just a TBN.
Here is my latest for my Prius with 15k and almost full year on the oil and filter!!! Check it out. I thought they were going to tell me it was a big no no.. but to my suprise, they said to go to 17k!!!! Got to love Mobile 1 and factory oil filter. I'm also including my moms Camry oil change at 10k! That is pretty good for an engine that doesn't get a break like the Prius
Hey Paparyno, brave of you to go so long on your second OCI. TBN would have been more useful, I think! IMHO, the numbers look good, though the 100-degree viscosity is high if this is Mobil 1 0W-20. Was it 0W-30?
I had very good results with Mobil 1 0W-20 in my Prius. When I tried Mobil 1 0W-20 in my FJ, nitration really spiked and the oil actually thickened to a 30 range
