I will be taking an 1800 RT mile road trip in October. By the time I leave, I will have around 3000 miles on my IV. The question is, should I go ahead and have the oil changed prior to the trip or wait until I get back--------and closer to the 5,000 / 10,000 (which ever) recommended service? I will be going from Maryland to South Florida and will be driving probably 10 to 12 hours the first day.
Personally, would wait till you get back from your road trip. BTW, the new oil change schedule for 2010 Prius is 10,000 miles, I am told. Stop and go driving and short trips take a heavy toll on your engine oil as the engine is not operating long enough to vapourize the water moisture in the crankcase. You should be alright with your motor oil till after your trip. Good luck and stay safe.
Did you hear this from the thread on here or independently? If the thread on here, then please note, it is one person who has heard it from their dealer service department and we haven't gotten any other confirmation. Hopefully that will be coming. But please note that the first oil change should still be at 5k miles according to what that person was told by the dealer. If you heard this from your dealer/service dept. independently, we'd love to have more confirmation of this. Let us know.
Please keep on track guys, we have enough threads on the 10K service. My concern is, will I be ok with the oil the car came with or get it out of there, as it will already have some break in / break down? Need I be concerned with the heat and stress of 10 to 12 hours of continued operation? I read somewhere that some recommend getting the original oil out between 1,000 and 3,000 miles.
You cannot change the oil too often, but you can change it to infrequently. It's a brand new car change the oil
It seems like you will still be within the 5000 mile interval, I see no reason to change it early. The Prius is a little different since the engine starts and stops often, but on a long road trip I doubt that you will see that a lot. In cars with computers that tell you when to change the oil, length of trip is one item that lengthens the interval. A lot of starts and stops is more harmful than long distance trips. I would think you have less reason to change early than the rest of us.
I'd change it when you get back. Then you get the good oil to toodle around. (Yes I know a trip can be stressful on the engine but so can toodling around town). I drove my smart across the country on the delivery oil but its maintenance is every 15,000km.
I would only change the oil on your car if you think there would be a good chance you will go over 5,000 miles before you will get back.
Damn, just missed it! Thanks guys, I will wait until I get back. Maybe by then my dealer will have direction from Toyota re type of oil and service interval.:rockon:
Hi GoSkins, Now that it looks as you have decided to not change your oil before you leave, I'll add the opposing view. I too am planning a October road trip and will have less than 5,000 miles. My philosophy is that oil, even synthetic oil, is cheap. I plan to change my oil before the trip because, if I don't, than I will have 8,000 plus miles on the factory oil. I would rather not drive the original factory oil that far. --TK
Thanks TK, in your case I think I would agree. As of right now I only have 1200 miles on the car. I probably will only be close to the 2000 mile mark when I leave. So now I'm thinking I won't even be at 5000 when I get back. If I had more miles on it or thought I would go over the 5000, I would change it prior to the trip.
Just curious, but does the car alert you when maintenance is due? I am currently sitting at about 2k miles on my 2010. Also, by reading the posts within this thread, am I seeing that Toyota is "up in the air" on the oil change intervals, as well as what type of oil should be used in the car? Confused....
For US models, yes.... and you just reminded me lol. That light will be set for the 5,000 mile interval, not the new 10,000 mile interval. How will TMS fix that??
Take the trip and then change the oil ... assuming your figures are right. With 3760 miles on our 2010 V, we left Ft. Worth, TX and drove to Salt Lake City ... via Truth or Consequences, NM. This included several hundred miles of 80+ driving. At 4913 miles, we got our 5000 mile service at a dealer in Orem, UT. The oil was only very slightly discolored and the car appeared to have not used any oil at all. We came home across I80 through Wyoming to eastern Nebraska, logging 3374.5 miles trip total. We covered perhaps 1000 miles at 80+ MPH and another 1000 at 70+ MPH. The farther we went, the better the car ran. Total trip mileage was 47.9 MPG. The car pulled the almost 9000 ft high hill east of Laramie, Wyoming ... on cruise control ... as if we were on flat ground. Give Toyota credit for knowing what they are doing with the oil change interval and take your trip.
