I have put about 4000 miles on my 04 #9 so far and am planning to take a trip to Arizona and Utah in 2 weeks. I will certainly go over the 5000 mark while I am traveling. Should I get the car serviced early before I leave, take a little time off during the trip to have it done at a Toyota dealer en route or wait until I get back to San Diego to have it done and be late getting the service done? How long does it usually take to get the first service done? Also is there something I should watch out for while driving in the heat? The only thing I wish I had was a way to expand the sun visor. When I put it over to the driver's side window it does not bock the sun from my eyes. Maybe if I were a little taller it would but for my height it does not. Any suggestions? Thanks, Tara
has most of your driving been freeway miles? if so i might stretch it a bit, but you are within 1000 miles and im guessing (i dont know where you are located) that the trip will be over 1000 miles and probably doing some mountain driving. but another thing to consider. my dealer set my oil change at 3000 miles. he even put a tiny sticker in the upper left hand corner of the windshield as a reminder. so you might be further ahead to change it early. after all, it really isnt that early and when going on a long trip, i always have fresh fluids put in just as a safety feature. lets face it, most likely nothing will go wrong. realistically speaking, the oil is replaced way before it becomes dirty enough to do any real damage to your engine. (keeping in mind of course that oil becomes somewhat dirty almost immediately, but filters and practicality say its insignificant) PS... im at 3300+ miles and i still havent made any plans to go down there yet. probably will do it sometime next week since im getting paint sealer and fabric protection done on my day off this week. (its being done at the Ford dealership where my sister works and not the Toyota dealership... dont tell em... i dont want to hurt their feelings)
I think you're safe either way Tara. I chose to do my first oil change and switched to Mobile 1 synthetic at 3000 miles. Probably was overkill, but that first oil change is probably the most important as that's when the majority of wear and particulates will show up. As mentioned, it's also an opportunity for someone to look under the hood, check your fluids and tires and brakes before embarking on a long trip. That said, if time is an issue and the trip is not much more than 1000 miles then waiting a little longer probably is no big deal.
Try this out. I've had one of these in both my Prius and it's predecessor. http://www.wdrake.com/(vdiwsdykigcozdrg24x...ord=visor&sort=
I really don't understand the whole idea of changing oil so frequently. With synthetic oil, I go 9,000-10,000 miles without changing and everything's quite fine. I haven't done this in my Prius, though, and I don't think I will, since my dealer gave me free oil changes.
In talking to an aquiantence that works at the Toyata dealership, he had particular recommendations about synthetic oils. He specifically recommended against "parafin based" oils (eg Penzoil); preferring "asphalt based" oils (eg valvoline, castrol, mobil1).
