Hi all, I'm a first-time Prius Owner and have only had my used 2007 Prius for a little over a month. The car has about 31,800 miles on it and the MAINT REQUIR light has been flashing at me the past two days that I have gone to turn the car on. I'm not equipped to do the oil change myself so I'm looking to take it in. Jiffy Lube quoted me at a starting rate of $79.99 plus tax. Good Year quoted me at $59.99 plus tax. From what I understand, my best bet is to go with an OEM Toyota Filter and anywhere from 3.5-3.7 liters of 5W30 Castrol GTX. Am I headed in the right direction with this information or should I go a different route? I'm located in Culver City but will happily take the car anywhere on the Westside to have it serviced. Does anyone have recommendations on where to take it? Who will offer the best rates? What should I look out for? All the info I can get will be much appreciated! Thanks so much!
quarts, not liters. is there a local mechanic you can go to? chains are pretty poor. i would stay away from jiffy, not sure about goodyear. don't freak out about getting it done right away, you have plenty of time. did you get maintenance records with car? any idea how many miles ago the oil was changed and what they used?
Yes, quartz...I'll make that correction. As for a local mechanic, I don't know of any. I've asked around but most people have gone to a dealer. My car isn't under warranty so I feel that it might cost me an arm and a leg to have the oil changed at a local Toyota dealer. I did my due-diligence and found that Pep Boys quoted me the best rate at about $30 when tax is included. I've heard not so great things about Jiffy Lube so I'm staying away. I can call the previous owner to find out when the car was last serviced with an oil change and find out what was used. Thanks so much for your input!
pleasure. $30. seems very good. no harm in calling the dealer for a price. biggest problems with any place is overfilling, overtightening filter and cross threading drain plug. not to scare you, the last two are rare. on the first one, you can ask them to show you the level on a flat surface before you pay.
Go to the dealer, get to know them, ask how to check the oil, etc. Sooner or later your going to need the dealer and as it's new they'll do a quick check over and advise you what bulbs are out, etc. Better safe then sorry.
I would not chase $'s too much: if there's a Toyota dealership nearby go with them. Much easier than having to deal with 3rd party mechanics using generic filters, wrong drain plug washer (probably not an issue, they'll just re-use the current, lol), possible wrong oil weight, probable hard sell on services you don't need, and on and on... Not to say the dealership service departments are all angels either, but the odds are better your experience will run smooth. Main thing would be to caution them to not overfill when replacing the oil.
Those prices are absolute highway robbery!!!! It only takes a few tools, some reliable ramps and tire chocks to DIY and save major money. Katie - my sister, who is 5'2" and 100lbs soaking wet, works arranging flowers for a living, does her oil herself on her Yukon XL SUV. I just bought my 2007 Prius 9-14-12 and changed my oil myself already. It was one of the easiest and cheapest Ive done AND I used synthetic oil (It only takes 3.5 quarts) with a Toyota oil filter.
The Prius oil changes are very simple. If you have a friend that knows wrenches you might get that person to assist. There are some tutorials on this site that go into great detail on how to do one and what tools are needed. If your car has the owner's manual with it there is a place where it tells you how to shut off the maintenance reminder. If it's like our 2009 it will come on at 5k mile intervals. The only items required on 5k mile maintenance are oil/filter changes and tire rotations. Rotations can be scheduled for 10k mile intervals without any great drama. They are easy, too, with the correct tools. I do all my own work so don't know what would be a good price for rotations. I do know that the local chain where I get my tires has that in the new tire deals. Since you have some time, you can look around for a good place to get your work done. Simple things like oil/filter and tires would be the perfect candidate to have done at a local shop or chain shop. Ask around to friends and maybe coworkers to see where they go and what places make them happy. For a reference, an oil filter should be (at WalMart) about $4 and oil about $3-4 per quart. $20 in parts, the rest is labor. Maybe 1/2 hour at $80 per. Labor is where you get hosed. The way I look at things, I do as much work as I can and spend my money that would have been given to somebody else on tools. I then have those tools to do any other work that they are good for and never have to buy them again...unless I bugger them up or get a better one. You don't need synthetic oil. GTX is a good oil, as is Pennzoil, Quaker State, Mobil, Valvoline, and Castrol. 5w-30 should be what the owner's manual requests. For volume, 3.7 qts is the standard but you should verify in the owner's manual. There are downloads from the Toyota site to get one if yours is missing. There are also other places where they are posted. You can work with the shop to ensure they understand you don't want the full 4 quarts put in. Tell them 3.5 qts, and give you back the bottle for top offs. However, if they DO put in all four quarts it won't be the end of the world. Just give them heck about it and if you go back give them a hard Parent Stare and tell them you are watching this time. Some people will insist the .3 qts be removed, but I wouldn't. It makes the oil level show about 1/8 or 1/16th inch above full on the dip stick. Oil filters? Wix, Toyota, Purolator, Mobil (a synthetic media, more costly), or Bosch (also more costly.) They are quality filters with a silicon anti-drainback valve and steel endcaps to the filter pleats. Stay away from the OCOD (orange can of death) Fram. Though countless millions of car-miles have been accumulated on OCOD's, they use paper end caps in the media (!) and cost the same as the better filters. A no-go in my shopping bag. I do the maintenance on our six vehicles, whatever Daughter #1 is driving, Daughter #2 and her baby daddy cars, and anyone they drag in to get help. I've taught them all how to do their oil changes and each time the student comes away saying, "Wow, that was EASY." The mystery is dissolved, they have money saved the rest of their lives, and they only had to pay by listening to the Dad-wisdom and old war stories that come to mind while I have them trapped.
