My first Prius oil change - Trop Artic sound good?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 15, 2004
Messages
22
Location
akron, oh
I have a 2007 Prius which is just about to hit 1,000 miles. Before we make the trans-Ohio Father's day trek I was thinking of changing out the factory fill oil with 5w30 Trop Artic and probably a Mobil 1 or a Toyota OEM filter.

Part of me just *wants" to change my oil.
smile.gif


The other part of me buys into the "change the oil early to get out any nasty stuff from the break-in" argument.

Any comments, opinions or suggestions are welcomed.
 
No...

The Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle. Toyota specs 0w20 and 5w20 oil because it is common place for the engine oil to never reach normal operating temps. The engine cycles on and off. Using a 30 weight would actually be a poor idea.

Also, while it may not be much, the thinner oil is going to give you a little more jump in your step at freeway speeds. That tiny little motor doesn't do much in the way of torque or horsepower. The electric motors DO hide a bit of it. But every little bit helps.
 
spOILEDrotten,
be a little careful in what you condemn.

Toyota recommend up to 20W-50 in Australia, not a mention of 0W-20.

The Priuses at work are all fed 20W-50
 
look up mobil.com.au and use their lubricant recommendation tool. Lowest viscosity is 10W-30, highest 5W-50.
 
What I meant to say is I wonder if the Australian Prius with 20w-50 consumes the same amount of fuel as an American 5w-20 car...

Makes on wonder about the thick and thin of things naah mean?
 
I've been driving the thing and averaging 4.3l/100km (55MPG US).

If I had one of my own, I'd post what the difference between a 10W-30 and 5W-50 actually is.
 
Although I would stay with the manufacturers recommendation, 5w-30 would work. Why not try MC 5w-20? It's very similar to TA.
 
Quote:


No...

The Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle. Toyota specs 0w20 and 5w20 oil because it is common place for the engine oil to never reach normal operating temps. The engine cycles on and off. Using a 30 weight would actually be a poor idea.





Could you point me to your source that Toyota specs 0w-20 and 5w-20 oil? My owner's manual and filler cap say 5w-30. Also, TSB EG050-04, revised for 2007, states that the Prius should take 5w-30. Here's the TSB I found and downloaded on that subject: http://www.jimarnold.org/downloads/Prius/EG050-04.pdf

There seems to be a lot of confusion out there about what weight of oil to put in a Prius as stated by Toyota. If someone has a more authoritative source please let us Prius owners know.

Quote:


Although I would stay with the manufacturers recommendation, 5w-30 would work. Why not try MC 5w-20? It's very similar to TA.




I've read that Lonnie on this board is running MC 5w-20 in the Prius in their fleet with great results.
 
If all you have on hand is 5w-30 Trop Artic, I wouldn't hesitate at all to use it. It's got a huge viscosity index, meaning it doesn't thicken too much at cold/cool temps. It's not gonna be like a 5w-20, but it will be lower in viscosity than your average 5w-30 conventional oil at anything under operating temps of 212 degrees F.
 
Quote:


No...

The Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle. Toyota specs 0w20 and 5w20 oil because it is common place for the engine oil to never reach normal operating temps.




Not in my '07 owners manual it doesn't.
 
When I get my Prius some day I will use synthetic oil exclusively. After spending $25k on the thing, what's the point of not using the best oil you can for it?
 
The techs at the Toyota dealer down the street put 5w20 Penz in just about everything. I had a lengthy conversation while I was waiting. I was under the assumption that he knew what he was talking about. I guess he was full of it. He did have a point though. No matter what the grade, if the engine isn't on for a majority of the trip, the oil is going to be fairly thick.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top