Oil looks good, why change it?

Status
Not open for further replies.
O

Oldwolf

Joined
Sep 22, 2005
Messages
1,135
Location
Durham, NC
Car: 2005 Prius
Mileage: 28k
Miles on oil: 5000
Engine: 1NZ-FXE
Oil: Mobil 1 0W30

The computer is telling me that it is time to change the oil in my Prius. Basically it is just a countdown, when you hit 5K, it tells you to change the oil. I know that color is not an indicator of oil condition but I am thinking it is too early to change based on the picture below.

My question, do the 1NZ-FXE engines need 5k oci’s for the variable valve timing mechanism to function reliably? Is there any other reason I should not start doing 10k OCI’s in this car? I am using M1 0W30 with either a PureOne filter or a Mobil 1 filter depending on what is on sale at the time.

I use this car to commute to work which is about 70 miles a day, 60% Interstate, 25% county roads, and 15% city. I'm averaging 53+ mpg.

05Prius_M10W30_5KMiles.jpg
 
A 2nd Gen Prius running M1 0W30, a high quality filter, and run mostly highway miles? I'd change it every 10k.

I have an '07 Prius, I use M1 5W30 EP with a Microgreen 301-1 filter, drive it for 66 mile (round trip) commutes and change every 10k. Works just fine. I've had the oil tested - Blackstone says it's fine too.
 
IMO....your Oil still looks very good.

IMO...If your not subject to warranty restrictions on the OCI, run it longer and get a UOA to see how it is holding up in your Prius.

IMO...Why waste money if the oil is still in very good condition.
 
Get a UOA to validate the appearance...but as others have said, given your usage, and the oil you're using, 10K is not unreasonable...and a UOA will confirm that for you...
 
I`d change it to keep it looking good :^) Definitely do as your manual/olm says. Don`t do extended oci`s. My manual says 3000,so I do 3000 (or 3 months).
 
Last edited:
But really, 5K in a hybrid actually gives how many miles on the oil? Not half that, but less than 5K anyways.
I would for sure go longer unless you're restricted by warranty etc.
 
As stated above, a UOA analysis is the only way to get a definitive answer.

How do you accumulate only 28000 miles on a 6+ year old vehicle with a 70 mile daily commute?
 
I can hit 5K in about 3 to 4 months. It only holds 3.8 quarts so I guess cost is not a huge factor.

I've read that on the Gen III Prius, Toyota has gone to 10k OCI's and a 0W20/5W20 recommendation.

I wonder why, with all the computers on the Prius, that Toyota didn't design some type of a smarter algorithm to tell me when to change the oil based on usage etc. That's really the reason I though there might be some critical reason Toyota thought that 5k was some upper limit for an OCI.
 
Originally Posted By: bigdreama
As stated above, a UOA analysis is the only way to get a definitive answer.

How do you accumulate only 28000 miles on a 6+ year old vehicle with a 70 mile daily commute?


Good question. My father in law had the car up to about 5 months ago. I got it with 16K on the odometer. He mostly drove it to Walmart and it just sat in his garage. It looks brand new.

I'm coming up on my second change of Mobil 1 using 5K OCI's.

IMG_1573.jpg


IMG_1574.jpg


IMG_1578.jpg


ScreenShot2.jpg
 
A UOA is the only way to get a 'definitive' answer if your oil has been in the sump for 100 miles... The calls for UOA's at 5K seem ridiculous to me.

I don't see a need for a UOA until you're going over 10K. While color may not be a great determinant if the oil looks dark, I don't recall ever seeing clear, clean oil that wasn't suitable for use? Add in that fact that they recommend 10K OCI's now on basically the same engine (and a lighter oil), and the dozens of UOA's on this engine with long OCI's, and I'd go to 10K and not think twice about it.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
A UOA is the only way to get a 'definitive' answer if your oil has been in the sump for 100 miles... The calls for UOA's at 5K seem ridiculous to me.

I don't see a need for a UOA until you're going over 10K. While color may not be a great determinant if the oil looks dark, I don't recall ever seeing clear, clean oil that wasn't suitable for use? Add in that fact that they recommend 10K OCI's now on basically the same engine (and a lighter oil), and the dozens of UOA's on this engine with long OCI's, and I'd go to 10K and not think twice about it.


I agree with everything you've said. And I stress that I definitely would not waste money on a UOA. This car is VERY easy on oil and 10k on M1 should be doable easily. Quite a few people go 15k on M1 EP.

I decided to google a 15k M1 EP UOA for you:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1999614
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
A UOA is the only way to get a 'definitive' answer if your oil has been in the sump for 100 miles... The calls for UOA's at 5K seem ridiculous to me.

I don't see a need for a UOA until you're going over 10K. While color may not be a great determinant if the oil looks dark, I don't recall ever seeing clear, clean oil that wasn't suitable for use? Add in that fact that they recommend 10K OCI's now on basically the same engine (and a lighter oil), and the dozens of UOA's on this engine with long OCI's, and I'd go to 10K and not think twice about it.


I highly doubt it's the exact same engine in the next gen Prius.

I'm sure Toyota was just taking it easy and suggesting a shorter interval for the car to get more "real world" data (on top of the R&D they have done on the engine) from the consumers before extending the OCIs.

OP, i'd also push it further based on your driving conditions, the low miles on the car, and the efficiency of the engine by design.

BTW, it's not good to overfill the oil
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Artem

BTW, it's not good to overfill the oil
thumbsup2.gif



Ha! I was hoping know one would comment on that!
 
The recommended oil for the 2nd Generation Prius is conventional ? Then with synthetic oil you should be able to do 10k OCI with your driving conditions.
 
Chances are, they put in the requirement for 5k mile changes in the car because they figured that the bulk of the people who are going to own and operate these cars are just going to change it at some quickie lube shop, and just have the cheapest conventional oil put in it.

Then, they are going to stop and go drive the next 5k miles in and around NYC, or Boston, during the winter, in short intervals, which won't allow the engine to fully warm up the oil, and fuel dilute it a bit.

So, for the sake of not wanting to pay out engine repair warranties on those type of drivers, they put in 5k mile oil change requirements.

If you're putting in top tier synthetic that the manufacturer of stands behind for higher change intervals, then feel free to use their oil for the intervals they recommend. If you ever have a problem, then you follow their instructions to get comped for the repairs.

BC.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I`d change it to keep it looking good :^) Definitely do as your manual/olm says. Don`t do extended oci`s. My manual says 3000,so I do 3000 (or 3 months).


Do you really have a manual that calls for 3k changes??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
Kirkland Oil & shorter oil change intervals
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
Patman
W
New Audi SQ8 - Break In Oil Change Or Let It Ride?
2 3
Replies
49
Views
1K
walterjay
D
Oil choice for 2023 Mazda CX-9
Replies
8
Views
623
Ddub
C
Pennzoil Platinum Looks Cleaner than M1 after use - explanations?
2
Replies
31
Views
2K
ProbeGT
W
Oil Filter Change Interval Clarification/Input
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Wat_MPG
Back
Top