Cold weather and long drain interval correlation?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Messages
739
Location
Australia
Ok it's a trick question really.
grin.gif


Anyway, there was (a correlation) for me this OCI because it's rained every weekend for the last month so I kept putting off my overdue oil change. I finally got it done today and it ended up being about 17500 km over a 7 month interval. It's 2005 Prius running Castrol Edge 5W30 btw.

So does anyone else use bad weather as an excuse for extending the drain interval?

BTW. The old oil didn't look too bad. Though I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. Mine's always black anyway, because I use MoS2, so color is no guide. I usually just check that it drains smooth and consistent, that the viscosity feels about right and that there's nothing chunky, sludgy or gritty looking in it.
 
Last edited:
A little under 11,000 miles, that seems appropriate for castrol edge with a lot of highway miles. You should be doing 15,000 km minimum with that kind of quality oil and heavy mileage. No worries as long as the rest of your vehicle is healthy.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
A little under 11,000 miles, that seems appropriate for castrol edge with a lot of highway miles.


Yep, I agree Memphis. The official Toyota schedule for the Gen2 Prius here is only 10,000 km (6000 miles) but it does seem to be pretty easy on oil. I've been doing 15000 km OCIs with A3/B4 rated oils for the last few years and have had no sign of ill effect. Mostly easy highway kms though.

Still I was starting to feel a bit edgy (no pun indented) after being more than a month and 2500 km over schedule.
 
Last edited:
quote "So does anyone else use bad weather as an excuse for extending the drain interval?"

We're just getting over with a week long of triple digit temps from 105 up. If I had an OC due, I'd put it off until a cool morning or something, but could wait too long with my 2+ hour highway work commute racking up miles.
Winter... if it's raining out, after a vehicle warmup drive, I pull into the garage for an OC.
I'd rather do an OC in the winter than the summer blistering heat. Then again, we don't have the cold winters (California) that many others have. And, I have heat in the garage for winter tinkering should I need to knock off a little chill.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top