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Car Forum / Toyota / Prius / May 2006Service After Purchase 2004 Prius? Two Questions
Hello, I just purchased a used 2004 Prius with 14,850 miles on it from a Toyota dealership. It had been "certified" by the dealership prior to sale, and it runs well. The oil and filter had just been replaced, as well as the tires rotated. It was also inspected, and perhaps had other things done. It is still under the original factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. The maintenance guide mentions that all that they are going to do is what was just done 150 miles previously. I haven't asked the dealership these questions yet. 1.) As 15,000 miles is almost upon it, do you think I need to have a 15,000 mile service performed? 2.) Would it be prudent to have it serviced at 15,000 miles or wait until 20,000 miles (warranty issues)? Thank you. Robert ---------- "Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas." Virgil > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Robert Robert, apparently the dealership performed the 15,000 mile service at 14,850 miles. Your next service will be at 20,000 miles. >> Hello, >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Robert, apparently the dealership performed the 15,000 mile service at > 14,850 miles. Your next service will be at 20,000 miles. Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of 5000? >>> Hello, >>> [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of > 5000? I do the 7500 mile intervals on our 2002. Mike >>> Hello, >>> [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of > 5000? I doubt it, but the U.S. warranty uses 5000 mile intervals (which I use) and Robert's question involved meeting the warranty requirements. FWIW, people aren't likely to hit the 5000 mile increments precisely. Certainly 14,850 is close enough to 15,000 to qualify as the 15,000 service. > Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of 5000? Doubtful; but, why do you do that? >> Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of >> 5000? > > Doubtful; but, why do you do that? Well, here's why. I grew up with the notion of getting oil changed every 3000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first. I don't use synthetic oil and I doubt if the quality of oil has gotten better over the years. I doubt if the metals in the internal parts of the engine which need an oil film to prevent metal on metal contact has gotten any better either. So I'm sticking with what I grew up with. Is it overkill? Maybe. But I'd rather err on the side of caution. Aslo, when it comes time to sell, putting myself in the shoes of whoever may buy the car from me, I'd rather see that service was done more frequently than every 5000 miles. Now I'm sure 5000 miles is a reasonable interval or Toyota would not be recommending it. I guess I just think that 3500 can't hurt. > I doubt if the quality of oil has gotten better over the years. I'm not an expert, but I recall API SC oil was top dog when I was young. Now it isn't available for any service AFAIK, and the standard is API SM. The oil we had in the "change oil every 3000 miles" days isn't fit to keep our tools from rusting anymore (hyperbole). As one of the regulars in the alt.autos.honda forum notes, sludge used to be expected http://tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/pistonring1965.jpg - today if your engine has any trace of sludge it is a big deal. I use the schedule in the owner's manual for each car. For my daughter's Honda that is 6000 miles, for our Classic Prius it is 7500 miles the way we use it. But to each their own. Mike >>> Am I the only person here who gets service every 3500 miles instead of >>> 5000? [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > sure 5000 miles is a reasonable interval or Toyota would not be > recommending it. I guess I just think that 3500 can't hurt. As an aside: Several years ago Consumer Report decided to look at this and used a number of NYC cabs for the test. Half had their oil changed at 3000 mile interval and half at 6000 miles. Major brand API oil was used and at the end of the test series they could find no discernable difference between 3000 and 6000 mile intervals. I went to 6000 miles between changes after reading that. |
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