I have always changed my own oil and lubed the chasis etc. I received a letter from Toyota that my warranty could be in jeopardy as I don't have the dealership do my regular service. If I do most of my own maintance what do I need to do about not voiding my warranty?

Also I have noticed that on the Prius, there aren't any lube fittings underneath. Do I need to worry about lubing the chasis?

I bought mine used, 49,300 miles, so it wasn't really an issue. Sounds like they are trying to get more business. My recommendation is to keep good records of each oil change and have a happy.

I've got an 03 Prius and remember one of the fleet reports mentioned steering replacements in the NHW11 models. However, I don't have any information about the NHW20, your model.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

StevenG, I would like to see a copy of that letter. As you describe it, would seem to run afoul of the Magnuson-Moss law.

I DIY also, except for the ocassional items I'm not confident to do. If you keep records of the maintenance you perform, there should be no problem with warranty work if/when needed.

You are correct that there are no chassis lubrication points on Prius. Wheel bearings are sealed, and the CV joints are fine as long ats the boots remain intact. If you know how to inspect brakes and suspension on typical front-wheel drive cars, Prius is really quite the same. DIY on.

DAS

Toyota told me it was because you needed 0W20 oil and it is not available anywhere yet. So they would know you are not using it.

Hmm sounds odd here are links to Mobil 1 0W-20 and Pennzoil 0W-20

Sounds odd to me, too, esp. since the Owner's Manual (both you & I have an 06 Prius) specifies, I believe, 5W30...

Change what & how I drive, not who I am. Rack 'em up.

tdub, you got a live one there! 0W20 will not harm your Prius; indeed it might give you a couple of more mpg. Several people have used it from time to time including me. However, Toyota (as already mentioned) specifies 5W30 for Prius.

If I may, a bit more about warranty. Using Crisco (TM), as such, will not void your warranty. First, there has to be a component failure, and then Toyota must demonstrate that your maintenance of your vehicle directly caused that failure. Only then may they void your warranty. This is how the Magnuson-Moss law works.

We read the words "will void your warranty" too much around here, and I fear that most of it relates solely to revenue enhancement for Toyota shops.

Change 5W30 oil on 5k mile intervals, document the work, and there will be no problem regardless of who does the work. Use synthetic oil, or a different viscosity, or longer oil change intervals, *and document the work*, and you will only confront warranty issues if your engine goes boom. If your changes to the specific Toyota procedures are not too extreme, it will not go boom. Really.

I hope that no one concludes that I am promoting Crisco! In fact I believe that the best way to handle Prius engine lube is with synthetic oil changed about every 10k miles, supplemented by chemical analysis of the used oil. This will cost you about 0.5 cents per mile, and provide you with a lovely time series of oil chemistry. IMHO it would be an uphill battle for Toyota to argue that you had mistreated the engine, should a problem ever arise.

Or you could use 'dino oil' on 5k mile intervals, do no oil analyses, and spend 0.3 cents per mile. This is the conventional approach, but will deny you info from those analyses. And yet I do not argue strongly against it. It is your car; your choice.

My obvious goal is to get a lot more Prius engine oil anayses posted. So far there have only been about 13, and so we cannot learn much from them. Only these 3 things:

The Prius gasoline engine releases extremely little wear metals to the oil. Analysis labs (who know a lot about the subject) have commented on this.

The only times we have seen wear metals in the oil is in that first oil change. And even then it ain't much.

Sometimes, Toyota shops put crappy oil bulk into these fine cars, and the analyses come back looking odd. Inexcusable, but it has happened.

I would say more, but this too long already.

DAS

Hi Doug,

Are these engine oil analysis found together in one place? Can you send or post URLs to them?

I've only been doing Prius NHW11 transaxle oil testing. But this month, I am planning to start a simular oil change regimen for my ICE.

I plan to drop the ICE pan and wipe down all surfaces and baseline test my virgin oil, Amsoil 5W-30. My current oil is Mobil 1 and I'll get a sample tested but I won't be sending a virgin Mobil 1 to my testing service (I prefer my baseline sample come from the same lab doing my oil analysis.) But I would be interested in the ICE oil analysis of others.

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

You are incorrect. It is the Honda Insight that uses 0W-20 oil and this oil has been readily been available since 2001.

I have a biology background, so your talk on sending oil to a lab is interesting. How much oil would be needed? All or a dip stick's worth? And what lab would that be?

I've noticed when I check the oil (at every fill-up) the oil looks fresh.

centrider