Oil Change at 3K miles?

It is not necessary to change your oil that soon. If you trust your dealer and don't think he is just getting you in there for extra stuff then go for it (if you have the time). Otherwise stick to the q5 plan.

 

I think you are going to get a lot of divergent opinions on this. I think 5K is good enough, but I haven't done it that way. I changed at 3K and put in Mobile 1, changed again at 6K, and I'll change it at 10K then every 5K from then on. What kind of oil will the dealer use? If it's the one size fits all stuff out of the drum you might want to check some of jayman's posts, he had some analyzed and it wasn't very good. The Toyota oil in the bottles would be a much better choice or take in your own synthetic.

Tire rotation every 5K? I think it's excessive, I measured the tread deph at 5K and it looked fine. I figure the tires will last about 40K so I will rotate them at 10K and 30K and they will spend the same amount of time on the front and the back. However I keep them on the same side of the vehicle, some folks switch them from side to side. I really don't know which way is best.

 

I’m going to be honest; I know nothing about cars. If it is free why not? I think the dealer maybe trying to catch any little problems before they become big problems. You’ll have a record of maintenance and you’re protecting your warranty. (I bet he also cleans your car inside and outside.)
I consider myself fortunate yet I only received one free oil change for 3 months or 3,500 miles for my 06. If it takes an hour and it is nice I’ll walk to the nearby sewing center and see what’s new. If it is raining, they drive me to the mall and pick me in an hour and half.
Kathleen

 

I've been debating about this as well. My local mechanic has a "free lifetime oil change" program that I had on my old car and can transfer to my new car. It gives free oil changes every 3000 miles.

I have decided to wait 5000 miles with the prius. The ICE is not runnning all the time and is not under a lot of stress when it's runnning (most of the time) since it has helper boost from the battery.

I've decided on 5000 miles for the environment. If toyota says 5000 miles then I'm sure it's fine (it's not their money so I'm sure they would say 3000 if they had to). 5000 miles will reduce the amount of resources I use so it should be a good thing. I've also seen people do oil analysis here and it seems like the Prius runs very clean.

So I suggest you go for 5000 miles inbetween even if it's "free".

 

I'd take the oil changes at 3k if that is what they want, but as soon as they are no longer free, then move over to Toyota's standard schedule.

I'd be curious to see what their service department's service writers say when you thumb the maintenance schedule under their noses and it doesn't say to change at 3k intervals. My guess is they will make up some stupid excuse as to why their schedule is better than Toyota's. At that point a call into corporate is in order. Corporate needs to know of the junk that is going on at some of these dealerships and they need to ride them to get attitudes and knowledge to change.

Let's see if I can summarize what excuses I have heard here regarding early oil change cycles.

1. The oil from the factory is a special break in oil and needs to be changed out after only a couple thousand miles.
2. There is metal floating around in the sump and it can circulate around in the system, you want to get the oil changed soon to get that metal out of there.
3. Because the engine stops and starts so much it wears out the additives in the oil a whole lot sooner than a regular vehicle.
4. The cars come from Japan with a different grad of oil and as such we need to change it out pretty soon because it doesn't meet our driving standards. - This one is probably the most laughable.

When it is all said and done there are lots of dealer excuses for 3k oil changes, but the reality is that oil changes are low cost, high margin. Because of that they like to keep you coming in every 3k, not to do good stuff to your car, but to keep you paying them for services.

In general regular maintenance is higher profit than serious vehicle diagnosis and repair. If it weren't why would quick lube places even be in business? The same economies of operation specifically related to lube services apply to quick lubes as to dealerships, however dealerships want and need lube service revenues to balance out less profitable core obligations, such as diagnostic equipment, expensive and ongoing tech training, higher pay for experienced and trained techs and higher physical plant overhead.

It's a jungle out there and it is ultimately up to you to stay out of trouble.

 

I'd go no more than 3K at least for the very first oil change... maybe even sooner... the engine is in its virgin breakin stage.... metal particles etc are the most likely right at first..... oil is cheap... so don't be!

Yea. the filter is supposed to clean it but who knows how dirty that very first change may be.. I'm sure the viscosity will hold up, but who knows if the filter will get taxed?

 

No such thing as too many oil changes...

Edit: but it does sound like a way to get you back in the door...

 

I fond it interesting how obsessed people are with oil changes. Modern enginees are of such high quality (across the board) that they need very little oil and even when new contaminate the oil VERY little. I'm sure this is even more true for a smaller car. I would be willing to wager that your car will not last ANY longer because you make 3000 miles oil changes compared to toyota's recommended 5000 miles interval.

But if you like going to the dealer and spending time there then be my guest. Me? I have better things to do.

And as other have said.... there is a reason they want you to come in every 3000 miles... it's the fact that oil changes are a high magin service for them and on top of that it increases the odds that you will buy something else (be it aftermarket mud flaps or similar).

I think people are obsessed with oil changed because it's one of the few things we understand with modern cars. There are now real other ways we know how to maintain the car and we feel bad for that. It was also true that old cars needed more oil changes as well as extended break in periods and services... All of this had gone away as the quality of cars have gone up.

But as I said... if you like spending time at your dealer the do it. Me? I don't like the dealer experience at all and only go there when I have to (warranty work, or in the case of the Prius, any work on the HSD system).