BG MOA Oil Supplement and BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner?

I wouldn't necessarly be concerned so much about the additive, but I would check the oil level on the dipstick to make sure they didn't overfill it (very common mistake). I agree with you that you don't need the oil additive, and with 10k miles you don't need the fuel system cleaner either.

You may want to consider a different dealer (or possibly do it yourself) if they cannot follow simple instructions.

 

:welcome: Welcome to PriusChat, Bull Winkus!
Just have the dealer do what's in the maintenance "passport" and you'll save money. At 10K, no need for any intake/injector cleaning, as DF says. MANY dealers try to rip you off on service, suggesting things they always do. They always do it to make some more money, not for the car's or your benefit. Try to find an honest one.

 

Actually guys the dealer likely does these things because the service adviser actually believes it does some good. I used engine flush and oil additives when I believed it did some good, I wouldn't use them on newish cars though but when an engine had 100,000+km on it I liked to flush the lube system and add a stabilising additive to the oil because I believed it was good for the longevity of the engine. I found flushing reduced hydrocarbon emissions when tested on a 4 gas analyser. I believe it improved the compression by improving the ring seal against the bore.

My Prius has just past 100,000km, so guess what I'll be doing at the next oil change?

 

However, the service adviser could be wrong.

The recommendation from Mobil (and other oil manufacturers) is not to use additives because the oil already has an additive package and the "supplement" is not needed.

If I told the service adviser that I wanted them to use a specific oil, I provided the oil, and I told them not to add any additive and they went ahead and added it anyway, I would be pissed (not drunk, angry).

 

BG products work very well but they're not needed with only 10K on your car. Here is the BG site for anyone interested.

Welcome to BG Products, Inc.

 

I agree, if you say no thanks it means you don't want the additives and even if they put them in you shouldn't have to pay for them and may be well within your rights to ask the oil be changed at their expense because they contaminated it with an additive you didn't want and is not recommended by the manufacturer of the oil.

That isn't to say I don't think the additives work. I now believe Toyota engineers its cars to last long enough without additives in the oil however extending the life of the engine can't hurt.

 

I'm not entirely convinced that magic additives will make up for lack of maintenance, or poor quality lubes. Consider the work truck at my hobby farm, a 1984 Ford pickup. It has run its entire life on either Esso XD-3 15W-40 or Esso XD-3 0W-30, depending on season, and currently has around 528,000 km on it

The motor has an Edelbrock intake I put on back in 1985. Several years ago, I noticed coolant seepage from one of the intake bolts. Well, easy enough to fix: drain the coolant, pull the intake, put new gaskets on, reassemble

Oops, the bolt broke off when I tried to remove it. So I had to also remove the head as well. I was pretty surprised at how clean it was underneath the intake manifold, usually sludge will build up underneath. The valley was spotless, valve springs spotless, you had to use a white cloth to pick up any residue

The use of a heavy duty motor oil, with very high detergent levels, probably goes a long way to explaining why the motor was so clean. I suppose the ring land and crown land of the pistons are also just as clean, I can infer that from how clean the top end was.

That motor never saw oil changes more than every 6 months, sometimes putting 20,000 km on the oil and filter With a high quality oil, you can do that and get away with it

Armed with new intake manifold bolts and head bolts, everything reassembled and - so far - leak free. As a hint, if you have to work on a Ford pushrod motor of that vintage or older, remember that Ford used different length pushrods to get the valve sets correct

It's really important to build a little sorting tray so the pushrods and valve lifters are returned exactly where they belong. It's not like a Chevy where you throw the pushrods into a tray and then put them in whereever you want afterwards

 

However the use of gas additives might be a good idea, depending on the quality of the gasoline you use. There is a Toyota Tacoma owner in the NJ area who recently had his 4.0 V6 rebuilt, it has around 158,000 miles on it and he wanted more performance, but not a supercharger

I'm going to try to find those photos, the valves had pretty heavy deposits. He claimed he always ran whatever cheap oil was on sale, and whatever cheap no-name gas he could find. After seeing his motor torn down, he changed his tune on that

 

Ok found the photos. This is of the crown land and ring land of the piston

 

Intake and exhaust valve

 

Cylinder head, note deposits in combustion chambers. Perhaps not bad for almost 160,000 miles

 

Varnish and sludge on the buckets

 

"Done with them" I think that is a good choice on your part Routine service is really pretty easy for the Prius. Once you get used to where the oil filter is, you don't need ramps at all. Just loosen the filter with the tool, use a 2 litre pop bottle with the top cut off to catch the oil, and put the new filter on. I can usually do a Prius oil change in 15 mins if I'm bored - perhaps 10 mins or less if I'm in a rush

 

Oil changes are quick and simple, you should try to do it yourself.

 

Is that like asking the Pope about his religion?
Of course they will say great things about themselves.

But, are there long term studies by independent researchers to conclude that this particular product will do what it claims to do and perhaps better than any other such products?
CU many years ago tested different oils in NYC cabs for 75k miles, I think. Engines torn down before and after, measuring all meaningful parts. Found no meaningful differences in wear. This kind of testing what would be convincing, not claims by the makers.

 

Doesn't it take less than 4 quarts with a filter change included? Why would they need more than 4 qt? Or, is this another car, not your Prius?

 

Well, there's another problem. Three quarts is actually plenty for a Gen II Prius oil and filter change. Four is too much, and five would probably result in a Check Engine Light on the drive out.

Always, always, always, no matter who does an oil change: let the car sit OFF for ten minutes and then check the level yourself before driving away. This can find many gruesome errors before they become expensive.

[Note to self: Always, always, always, let the keyboard cool for ten seconds and re-read my own posts before hitting the return key. This can prevent many grievous errors before they become embarassing.]

 

I just did a google search and found THIS POST.
I did the google search because the local BENTLEY mechanic recommends this additive.

If it's good enough for Bentleys (and this guy is a car nut), it's good enough for Priuses/Prii.