Wondering If I Can Do 12 Months OCI

[Mr_Luke]

I'll be coming up on my 6 month OCI time in 2 or 3 weeks. I run Castrol Edge 0w20 FS.
I've never done this before. I only drive up to 5k miles a year.

I'm hoping to ignore the urge to OCI at 6 months and keep running this oil until late March 2021.
I love my Prius c.

 

[hemitom]

Don't really see a problem extending to a yearly oci.
does the car see repeated short trips ? if so take it out on good run every week or two.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Don't really see a problem extending to a yearly oci.
does the car see repeated short trips ? if so take it out on good run every week or two.

Mostly all around town trips of 5 to 10 miles.

 

[BHopkins]

If you can get a 25 or 30 minute drive in a couple times a month, then I would not hesitate to recommend a 1 year oil change interval. You need to get the oil warm enough for long enough to get rid of any condensation that can get in the motor oil. And living in Tennessee, you are absolutely getting condensation in the oil when the engine cools down.

If all your driving is 20 minutes or less, with longer drives far and few between, then I'd stay with the 6 month oci.

 

[hemitom]

I think with a hour run in your beautiful countryside and or mountains a couple times a month to get the engine oil good and hot should get you through to yearly changes.

I would imagine running around town your mostly on battery power ?

 

[skyactiv]

5K miles or 12 months, whatever comes first is what I would do.

 

[Mr_Luke]

I would imagine running around town your mostly on battery power ?

It goes into Ev mode often around town. I don't watch it real close.

 

[Mr_Luke]

If you can get a 25 or 30 minute drive in a couple times a month, then I would not hesitate to recommend a 1 year oil change interval. You need to get the oil warm enough for long enough to get rid of any condensation that can get in the motor oil. And living in Tennessee, you are absolutely getting condensation in the oil when the engine cools down.

If all your driving is 20 minutes or less, with longer drives far and few between, then I'd stay with the 6 month oci.

I'll take her out for more short 30 minutes trips and stick with the 12 month OCI, and get a UOA in March and see how it looks.

 

[Malo83]

If you love your Prius change it.

 

[Mr_Luke]

If you love your Prius change it.

I drove it for an hour today and wondered if I burned off the condensation, then realized, burning off condensation __ times a month is not my bag. I was planning on moving to a 12 month OCI for the first time in my life with this oil but I don't often do trips and I don't want to get in the habit of making monthly or bi monthly trips so maybe I'll just stay at 6 month OCIs and drive my car the way I've been driving it. I'm not going to bother with a UOA either, I'll just change my oil and filter. I'm going to wait until late Oct, early Nov and then go back to May & Nov OCIs like I used to do before I got this car, which BTW calls for 0w20 FS oil. And besides, it's fun to do an OCI and get that slippery brand new oil feeling more than just once a year.

 

[hemitom]

Then i would go with the cheapest synthetic oil supertech, kirkland , or what ever rebate oil out there.

 

[Kuato]

5000 miles is usually nothing for a solid synthetic. A single UOA will tell you the oil's condition and remove any doubt about going further. IMO well worth the $30 investment to save 1/2 on oil for the remaining life of the car.

 

[kschachn]

Then i would go with the cheapest synthetic oil supertech, kirkland , or what ever rebate oil out there.

This is a good recommendation.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Then i would go with the cheapest synthetic oil supertech, kirkland , or what ever rebate oil out there.

I bought one of those 12 quart bag in a box of Super Tech 0w20 FS today for $30.
At $2.50 a quart the price is hard to beat, plus they say ST FS oil is just about as good an oil as you're going to find in a non brand name oil.
3 DIY OCIs for $30 + tax and the price of oil filters.

 

[hemitom]

can't go wrong !
good oil good price.

 

[simple_gifts]

Curious this car calls for 0w-20 as the Gen 2 Prius which uses the same engine is 5W-30, even in the later years.

I guess this answers the question as whether 0w-20 is a problem for my Gen 2

Hoping the OP has chosen yearly OC. It really isn't a big deal for this car.