I bought a used 2008 prius and it's time for me to get my first oil change. This is my first time getting an oil change for a car and have a few questions. 1: I've heard that this model requires synthetic oil.. Is that true? 2: If not do you recommend getting synthetic? 3: I've heard that it's not necessary to replace the filter until it's black. Is that true? Is it mandatory to replace the filter with the oil? 4: Where do you recommend i go to get my oil changed? 5: Do you have any general pices of advice? Thank you guys! :3
If you live in the USA, I highly suggest you bring this car to the dealer. While you're there, they'll inspect your car and see if you need anything else for it. Like getting a free inspection..... They "most likely" will try and upsell you on services you may not need, you can kindly decline everything they suggest and come back and post their suggestions on here. Then we'll let you know if you should do them or not and probably give you suggestions on doing it yourself.
1. Gen2 called for 5W-30 regular oil every 5k miles. 2. I personally do 0W-20 Mobil-1 synthetic in mine. I also stretch the change interval to 7-10k miles (aka: when I get around to it). 3. I would replace the filter every time. Its like $5, why not? If it ends up getting fully clogged 1k miles into your oil, then you'll be driving the next 4k miles with the oil not being filtered. 4. I personally DIY. $5 for filter, $25-30 for 5 quarts of Mobil-1 at Walmart (only need 3.5-4 quarts). 5. Like JC91006 said, they'll probably try to sell you services you don't need. The engine and cabin air filters are super easy to change on a Prius, no reason to pay someone to do it.
3. How would you know if the filter element is "black"? Are you going to remove the filter and look inside, then reinstall it? A bad idea, just buy a new filter and install it at the time of the oil change.
For any car, read and follow the owner's manual and maintenance schedule, not just for oil change information but for other maintenance tasks. If the car did not come with a manual, get one or download one somewhere. There is nothing special about changing the oil in the Prius and anyone can do it. It is good to check with forums and find out what people are saying, like I learned to make sure the oil doesn't get over-filled. You also find out things that aren't on the maintenance schedule.
I usually stick with 5W-30 and I go with Mobil-1 from Walmart usually change oil and filter every 6000 miles give or take 1000 miles and this last time was 25F in my garage so I skipped the filter change out of utter laziness but I usually do both.
The 2nd gen has a regular, spin-on disposable filter, if I'm not mistaken. There's no way to see from the outside if the filter's black. Anyway, yeah: just follow the schedule.
