Thanks Mel you are right I should change to the longer period.

 

I don't know if I am right or if I save or lose anything Ken. I used to change every 2500-3000 miles and then synthetics came out and I moved it out to 5000. Then I bought my chevy back in 01 and it had a change at the light recommendation. I questioned the mechanic and he basically said to follow the warning lamp and told me how it adjusted for conditions, so I have done that on that truck since then. The Prius goes by mileage and it is 5000. All of my hondas, and VW's were mileage as well. You should do it the way you want to, I don't think you can hurt a thing by changing early.

 

Toyotas are reported to have huge problems with sludge, so I would go with 3k miles at the most, if you are stuck with a Toyota. For GM vehicles, you can go by the light, I've had many GM vehicles with the oil change light (going back to our '99 STS) and never an oil-related issue.

 

I run mobil 1 in the prius (and the silverado hybrid) and have almost 100K on it ('07). It has been changed every 5K without fail and the oil is always fairly clear and not full of carbon the way an engine is just a little bit after an oil change. I am a believer in synthetic oils. I am not running synthetic in the MR-1 engines in the Yamaha Jetboat and changing twice as often than the recommended every 100 hours or annually. I do that because they are 17000rpm motorcycle engines derated to 10200rpm in the boats but that is a bunch of rpm and I am not taking chances. But I don't run synthetic because boats are not run like cars or airplanes. They are a more WOT operation and they sit for very long periods of time without running. Studies show that in engines that set, corrosion can occur from use of synthetic oils vs petroleum as the oil drains from the surfaces and is not as good at protecting the engine in prolonged periods of inactivity...but what do "they" know anyway?

 

I think that the synthetic oil has just as good corrosion protection as the petrolumn based oils. Most automobiles do not sit that long. I know this is an issue with the aviation enthuiest that has a 172 and flies only 25 hrs a year. Oils the life blood of the engine and I have always tried to keep it in good condition.

 

synthetic oils are much better overall, the fear is that with long periods of inactivity and being a boat in the water, the humidity inside the engine is much worse than a car or airplane...and while the oil is much slicker, it doesn't cling long term. The protective properties are more for protection from wear and not coatings that will protect from long term storage. They are all just theories and even petroleum oils lose their ability to hang on and protect long term like that...but the manufacturer, I think, would recommend a synthetic if it were a desireable product.

 

I agree Mel good comments.

 

My question concerns the Time Factor and how it might affect the oil change equation. I recently purchased as "new" - a 2009 Escalade Hybrid (built Jul '09), and as far as I know and as far as the service advisor at the selling dealership could tell me.... The oil has never been changed since this vehicle's manufacture (14 months). The Oil Life Indicator in the DIC shows 97%, and its current odometer reading is 311 miles. Am getting ready to take it on a 3-4000 mile trip across the Rockies and around the Grand Canyon, through Las Vegas and then back to the trip's Wisconsin starting point. My concern and question is should this possibly original oil be changed before this trip, if for no other reason than to remove initial metal shavings and such?

 

Yes, change it right now. The problem becomes moisture buildup in the oil pan from the long-term sitting. Modern engines are pretty well sealed, but still not worth the risk. Also, good time to get rid of any residue from the initial engine build. Change it and then I would change it again after your trip. Then switch to following the oil change indicator after that.

 

Thank you fjungman,
my thoughts were running along those lines also -- better safe than sorry when "unknowns" are involved - Rich.