Wrong Oil

[Pam S]

Our Gen 3 has just had its first service (Arnold Clark at Linwood, near Glasgow). Having read all the stuff about making sure that they used the recommended oil I forgot to remind my husband about it when he took the car in. I remembered when he got back and so he phoned to find out what oil they had used. I would have put money on these guys getting it right - we've used them with our other Toyotas for several years, have built up a good relationship and generally found them reliable and trustworthy. The service manager told us "10-40 - all Toyotas are 10-40." Not the Prius Gen 3, we said, and quoted the owners' guide. We took out the service plan which covers servicing for 3 years (I think) and one assumes that servicing would be according to manufacturers' recommendation. Anyway, clearly we have released a cat from the bag and put it amongst some pigeons. At the moment it has been agreed that the car will go back next week and the oil replaced with 5-? (can't remember, but it was the second choice I think) with the comment that we won't be charged 'this time'. Sorry - why should we be charged at all?

Slightly hopping mad about this. What have others done to ensure the right oil is used? (Since we've paid up front I'm not inclined to buy my own oil and take it along.) Is there any point in trying to get Toyota to do a bit of leaning on service centres?

Pam S

[RNS]

this sort of thing is worrying to me my dealer is rubbish so they will get it wrong i am sure.

[Jan&tone]

The oil is 0w-20.

While we were negotiating for ours I deliberately asked what oil was used in the servicing having read of the problems that some seem to have on here.

The salesman of course didn't know and picked the phone up and asked the service dept.

The correct answer came back without hesitation so hopefully in a years time when mine needs it's nose wiped and it's bum changed it will be done correctly especially as the dealers have all apparently been told about this (Kingo will no doubt confirm that this is the case?)

We too had a service plan, so I'm assuming that as the dealer knows about the correct oil it has been taken into account....

They also gave us a can of the correct oil....

[AP01]

The correct oil for Gen 3 Prius should only be 0W20 and nothing else. The 5W30 is only for Gen 2 and NOT Gen 3. If put into a Gen 3 will cause a massive decrease in performance (feeling sluggish) and increase in fuel consumption!

I couldn't possibly imagine how the car would feel when 5W30 was put in, let alone 10W40! You should ask the dealer for compensation for the time and expense for having to bring the car back.

[johalareewi]

At the moment it has been agreed that the car will go back next week and the oil replaced with 5-? (can't remember, but it was the second choice I think)

Pam S

Nooooooooooo.

Prius gen3 needs 0-? (0w20).

[DrCez]

Slightly hopping mad about this. What have others done to ensure the right oil is used? (Since we've paid up front I'm not inclined to buy my own oil and take it along.) Is there any point in trying to get Toyota to do a bit of leaning on service centres?

Pam S

My Gen 3 also just had its service last week (also Arnold Clark but in Aberdeen). Having read about oil problems I remembered to phone ahead to ask about the oil: the service manager said they would be using 5W-30, so I had to specify the recommended 0W-20 was used. They were fine about ordering it in for me (I phoned late on a Friday and they pulled out some stops to get the oil in in time for the service which was on the next working day) but did warn me it was relatively expensive. I forgot to mention I was on a service plan at the time but I wasn't charged anything for the service.

Since the service the car seems to be behaving as before so I assume the correct oil was used although I have had no direct confirmation - I've got a note here to call them to see if they can reassure me. It doesn't help that their checklist returned with the car is for a Gen 2 Prius (has anyone seen a service sheet for a Gen 3 yet?). My car was collected and delivered to my workplace so there wasn't an opportunity for a face-to-face discussion.

So on balance Arnold Clark get thumbs up for no-hassle (and free) collection and delivery for the service, and for getting me the correct oil (I assume they did use it) but thumbs down for needing to be told to use the correct oil and also poor communication (I also asked for the centre console rattle to be looked at when I booked the car in through their call centre but they didn't mention it/didn't look at it on the day in the service dept). I was hoping they might clean the car as well but that's not top of my priorities.

A word of thanks is due to this forum and particularly the posts by Grumpy Cabbie that made me aware of this issue. As Jan&tone says I had though that Toyota centres should be aware of the Gen 3 oil requirement so was disappointed to find it wasn't the case in Aberdeen (and apparently Glasgow as well).

Thanks Pam for your post. Have you noticed a change in the performance of your car or increase in fuel consumption? Going forward, I hope your oil change is sorted with minimum hassle. You've prompted me to give my Arnold Clark a call now to follow up on my own service.

[Pam S]

Thanks all. Husband is now looking up phone numbers and working out best way of tackling this. We've done one trip of about 130 miles since the service and I felt our manhattans weren't as good as they usually are on that run (Edinburgh and back - we do it fairly regularly).

Really rather hacked off about this. We shouldn't have to chase approved service centres to use the right oil! At least we can tell our Arnold Clark that Aberdeen Arnold Clark have done the right thing! Thanks for that!

Pam S

[DrCez]

You've prompted me to give my Arnold Clark a call now to follow up on my own service.

Update:

1. Apparently they did look at my "rattle" - they found that the centre console lid was ajar so they shut it! (the reason it was ajar was because that stops the rattle. Grrr.)

2. The initial response to the oil was "10W 40 - that's what we use for all cars". I explained that I'd specifically requested 0W 20, the invoice was re-checked, and there was a note ("SYN") against the oil suggesting the synthetic 0W 20 had in fact been used.

At least we can tell our Arnold Clark that Aberdeen Arnold Clark have done the right thing! Thanks for that!

Bear in mind I had to tell them what oil to use! That said, feel free to embarrass your branch with tales of better service from a sister branch ;) All the above doesn't instil a great deal of confidence but it's good enough/doesn't warrant a special trip to the other side of town for me given the car seems okay. Maybe the "how to service a Prius" teacher has only made it half-way up the country to date? :(

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I am very disappointed to hear about the wrong oil STILL being used. To cut a long story very short - please write to Toyota to complain as this way they'll be able to log it and sort it.

Also, when you get your survey form asking how your service went put down how unhappy you are about this unacceptable error. Apparantly it was happening because Toyota had not made it entirely clear to the dealers. Since my complaints about the problem back in Feb and June Toyota have advised that they have informed ALL dealers and service departments, so there is no acceptable reason why your dealers got it wrong.

The wrong oil causes BIG problems in the gen3 Prius. Do NOT accept it.

[fatboy_daveb]

Hi Pam

All I can say is 'flippin' heck'....as I took the same service plan out at Arnold Clark Toyota in Linwood. And I'm now worried what'll happen when I take in my Auris HSD when it's first service is due in a few months. I suppose I will have to, like others, pre-arrange the correct oil. I suppose I can go in with print-outs of this forum....and I may even get a letter from Toyota UK clearly stating what oil should go in. Maybe I should I wear a secret video camera and then be prepared to contact a consumer program like Watchdog...

Overkill? Some might say yes, but I'm with Grumpy Cabbie on this one. What's the point of buying an expensive car, and a service plan...if they are going to poo on you from a great height for the sake a few quid. I'm quite annoyed now....and I have yet to fill in my Toyota Customer satisfaction survey.

The reason I bring that up is.....my car was not prepared properly. The rubber circles for the boot stoppers had to be fitted by me...as did the rubber plugs that go into the floor extensions on the underside of the car (just in front of the rear wheels). How did I know to do this? They were left in my glove compartment in little plastic bags that were clearly marked for the Toyota technician to do. Although the fitting was trivial....I wouldn't fancy sliding underneath my new car if I was bit older.

Cheers

Dave

[Pam S]

All I can say is 'flippin' heck'....as I took the same service plan out at Arnold Clark Toyota in Linwood. And I'm now worried what'll happen when I take in my Auris HSD when it's first service is due in a few months. I suppose I will have to, like others, pre-arrange the correct oil.

We were shocked - we bought our Yaris Verso from them some years ago (not new) and they have always treated us (and it) very well indeed. Now we buy one of the more expensive cars in the showroom (T-spirit with leather) and they don't know how to look after it properly. And yes, the checklist was for a Prius Gen 2. But if I understand what others have said correctly, the Prius Gen 2 shouldn't have 10-? in it either and AC at Linwood must have been putting the stuff in for years!

My husband spoke to Toyota Customer Support yesterday and was told that UNDER NORMAL UK WEATHER CONDITIONS Toyotal Technical Department are 'reasonably happy' with the 5-? oil being used although the recommended oil is as stated in the user guide, 0-? (sorry - lots of things on mind at the mo and numbers are slipping away). Under no circumestances should the 10-? have been used and they were going to phone Linwood and ask why they were using it in the Prius. The point for us, though, is that we live in Scotland - we often have rather colder winters than 'normal UK weather conditions'. The other point we need to make is that if the 5-? is used it should be changed for the preferred oil at the next oil change.

I'm taking the Prius on a longer trip this w/e - again one I do fairly regularly so I know what my manhattans should look like at different places along the route. Will report back.

Thanks everyone

Pam S

[AP01]

I do think that we need to compile a list of dealerships here which automatically put in the 0W20 oil in the Gen 3 Prius and use the correct Gen 3 checklist without being asked or prompted to so, so that people can have confidence in taking their Gen 3 Prius to them for servicing without the unnecessary worries and hassles.

AFAIK, from the various posts on this site so far, they are:

Kings - Hedge End

Ron Brookes - Mansfield

Bentley's - Warrington

Marsh - Plymouth

Lookers - Rayleigh

Charles Clark - Wolverhampton

Pentagon - Sheffield (Hillsborough)

Fish Brothers - Swindon

Gordon Lamb - Sheffield (Bramall Lane)

Arnold Clark - Linwood, Scotland

Toyota World - Bristol North, Patchway

Marsh - Exeter

Octagon - Bracknell

Please let me know so that I can add them to this list.

Edited October 5, 2011 by AP01

[Jan&tone]

I do think that we need to compile a list of dealerships here which automatically put in the 0W20 oil in the Gen 3 Prius and use the correct Gen 3 checklist without being asked or prompted to so, so that people can have confidence in taking their Gen 3 Prius to them for servicing without the unnecessary worries and hassles.

AFAIK, from the various posts on this site so far, they are:

Kings - Hedge End

Ron Brookes - Mansfield

Please add to this list when you can.

Lookers Rayleigh answered correctly immediately when I asked about the oil before I bought my gen3 but it's service won't be due for 11 months yet so I've no evidence.... Yet!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

All I can say is 'flippin' heck'....as I took the same service plan out at Arnold Clark Toyota in Linwood. And I'm now worried what'll happen when I take in my Auris HSD when it's first service is due in a few months. I suppose I will have to, like others, pre-arrange the correct oil.

We were shocked - we bought our Yaris Verso from them some years ago (not new) and they have always treated us (and it) very well indeed. Now we buy one of the more expensive cars in the showroom (T-spirit with leather) and they don't know how to look after it properly. And yes, the checklist was for a Prius Gen 2. But if I understand what others have said correctly, the Prius Gen 2 shouldn't have 10-? in it either and AC at Linwood must have been putting the stuff in for years!

My husband spoke to Toyota Customer Support yesterday and was told that UNDER NORMAL UK WEATHER CONDITIONS Toyotal Technical Department are 'reasonably happy' with the 5-? oil being used although the recommended oil is as stated in the user guide, 0-? (sorry - lots of things on mind at the mo and numbers are slipping away). Under no circumestances should the 10-? have been used and they were going to phone Linwood and ask why they were using it in the Prius. The point for us, though, is that we live in Scotland - we often have rather colder winters than 'normal UK weather conditions'. The other point we need to make is that if the 5-? is used it should be changed for the preferred oil at the next oil change.

I'm taking the Prius on a longer trip this w/e - again one I do fairly regularly so I know what my manhattans should look like at different places along the route. Will report back.

Thanks everyone

Pam S

Good luck using anything other than 0w20!!!

The car will become hesitant and your economy will be killed. I remember trying to convince my garage they'd put the wrong oil in as my economy had reduced to 'only' 50 mpg, the car was hesitant and had lost any performance in power mode all immediately after the service. They obviously though what was wrong with 50mpg, but I couldn't get over that amount, when as we all know the Prius will get 65-70 mpg on a flat road with relative ease.

Once the 0w20 was correctly put in the car ran as normal and the economy returned.

We're not alone with this issue as our American friends on the Priuschat forum have also had similar experiences with wrong oil. Toyota advise that the gen 3 Prius must use 0w20 as the specifications of the engine dictate it. 0w20 is as rare as hens teeth to find and I wonder if some dealers can't be bothered ordering it in just for use in one car - I mean who's gonna know right?

Trouble is you can tell. My dealers used the correct oil at the last 30k mile service.

Oh, another thing to kill your mpg's are the wrong tyres, but that's another story.

[Dave R.]

It doesn't help that their checklist returned with the car is for a Gen 2 Prius (has anyone seen a service sheet for a Gen 3 yet?). My car was collected and delivered to my workplace so there wasn't an opportunity for a face-to-face discussion.

The last time I had my GenIII serviced (20.000 miles at William Lewis in Telford) it came back with a Gen 2 service sheet. Comparing the Gen2 tick list with the Gen3 manual, the only thing they didn't do was change the pollen filter - it's due for its 30,000 mile service on Monday, so I'll be reminding them which oil to use, and asking for a pollen filter! The problem I have is that it's a company lease car, so any arguments about what should or shouldn't be done (and the associated cost) are handled by the lease company. I'm also anticipating some fun in a few 1000 miles' time when I need new tyres - we have a corporate policy against using certain brands of tyre (perceived to be expensive!) so I don't know if I'll be getting the low-energy Michelins!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The last time I had my GenIII serviced (20.000 miles at William Lewis in Telford) it came back with a Gen 2 service sheet. Comparing the Gen2 tick list with the Gen3 manual, the only thing they didn't do was change the pollen filter - it's due for its 30,000 mile service on Monday, so I'll be reminding them which oil to use, and asking for a pollen filter! The problem I have is that it's a company lease car, so any arguments about what should or shouldn't be done (and the associated cost) are handled by the lease company. I'm also anticipating some fun in a few 1000 miles' time when I need new tyres - we have a corporate policy against using certain brands of tyre (perceived to be expensive!) so I don't know if I'll be getting the low-energy Michelins!

Maybe you should get your fleet department involved? as I'm sure they'll have something to say when they notice your fuel economy go down by 10% or so. I don't know which gen3 you have but mine's the basic one which is the non low profile tyres and the Bridgestone ER300 Ecopia's are only about £68 each fitted (try www.nete.co.uk). You can get cheaper non eco tyres but hey, £68 isn't gonna break the bank!

[wooski]

Toyota GB have written to all dealers reminding them that the G3 Prius uses 0W-20 engine oil. If your dealer is not using this then you should complain to Toyota GB.

[Dave R.]

Toyota GB have written to all dealers reminding them that the G3 Prius uses 0W-20 engine oil. If your dealer is not using this then you should complain to Toyota GB.

Well, had the car serviced today.... where to start?...

Pointed out that the Pollen Filter probably needed changing as they'd used the Gen2 checklist on my Gen 3 last service, and reminded them that it should have 0W-20 oil.

Came to pick up the car.... nothing to report... but....

Yes they changed the pollen filter, but no, the lease company would not pay for the expensive 0W-20 oil . Allegedly there's 0W20 (very expensive), then there's 5W20, then 5W30 (which apparently they put in my car) and 5W40. :censor: (NB I've been around this forum long enough to know ALL the issues about Prius oil - hence me checking with them when I put the car in for it's service) As you can imagine, I was not a happy bunny. :ffs: Just to add insult to injury, my front tyres needed replacing too, but the fleet company needed me to go to Kwik Fit for them (where they fitted Bridgestones). Now, I know my company are fussy about tyres (go for the cheapest) so I didn't expect to get any joy complaining about not having low-energy Michelins, but I was not happy about the oil, so phoned the fleet desk....

After some checking, they came back to say that they'd not specified anything about the oil to use - but they did query the basic cost of the service with the garage. I'm not happy that the "wrong" oil had been used... fleet company help desk advice was to phone the fleet maintenance people next time I get the car serviced to get oil etc. confirmed BEFORE going to the garage.

Driving home (50 miles) struggled to get much over 50 mpg (ok, it's getting colder now, but normally I manage mid-50's). I think I'll be back onto the lease company maintenance people tomorrow... You may wish to think this, but I couldn't possibly comment.... I wonder if the garage failed to mention to the lease company that they got their price down to the required level by putting cheap oil in the car??

I just hope I'm not still working in Telford the next time the car needs to be serviced.

[Dave R.]

Maybe you should get your fleet department involved? as I'm sure they'll have something to say when they notice your fuel economy go down by 10% or so. I don't know which gen3 you have but mine's the basic one which is the non low profile tyres and the Bridgestone ER300 Ecopia's are only about £68 each fitted (try www.nete.co.uk). You can get cheaper non eco tyres but hey, £68 isn't gonna break the bank!

Looks like I now have 2 Bridgestone Potenza Rio50's No idea what they are supposed to be like for economy.

My Gen III is a T-Spirit.

[fatboy_daveb]

Maybe you should get your fleet department involved? as I'm sure they'll have something to say when they notice your fuel economy go down by 10% or so. I don't know which gen3 you have but mine's the basic one which is the non low profile tyres and the Bridgestone ER300 Ecopia's are only about £68 each fitted (try www.nete.co.uk). You can get cheaper non eco tyres but hey, £68 isn't gonna break the bank!

Looks like I now have 2 Bridgestone Potenza Rio50's No idea what they are supposed to be like for economy.

My Gen III is a T-Spirit.

Bridgestone REO50's are a great all round tyre for grip and handling, in both wet and dry. I've used them on all the performance cars that I've had. I would, however, think them to be completely the wrong choice for a hybrid. Their rolling resistance I found was terrible and the mpg suffers for it All the reviews I've read also say so (look up tyre reviews on AutoExpress). They are also quite noisy.

Cheers

Dave

[Fluffmeister]

I Am going to be booking mine in with Bentley's Toyota in Warrington for it's 10K Service today, I am going to pose the question about oil and make sure they get it right. I got the 3 years service plan with mine when I bought it in April so I will report back on what happens.

Hopefully they can do something with the rattles as well as the love affair with my Prius is almost over, the dashboard sounds like it's falling apart now after 6 months use and 10k miles, it really is pretty shoddy for a £20k + car. My 11year old MX-5 NB is screwed together better, and my wifes 7 year old Polo GTi is squeak and rattle free.

Let's hope they use the correct oil and sort out the dashboard

[johalareewi]

If fitting Bridgestones to a Prius, you need the Ecopia brand which is the low rolling resistance marque.

This means you will probably need to fit Turanza ER300 Ecopia.

Michelin low rolling resistance marque is Energy (or GRNX) and Pirelli is Powergy.

Interestingly, Michelin seem to have launched some low rolling resistance winter tyres (ALPIN A4). Could be usefull later in the year.

http://www.tyrepress.com/News/1/127/20027.html

[Seamaster73]

This is concerning. If fleet departments insist on servicing and tyres done to a price rather than to best spec (as we all know they do), this obliterates a hefty proportion of the car's fuel saving potential. That does rather dent the appeal of the Prius to company car drivers, who have little say in such matters.

[Jan&tone]

This is concerning. If fleet departments insist on servicing and tyres done to a price rather than to best spec (as we all know they do), this obliterates a hefty proportion of the car's fuel saving potential. That does rather dent the appeal of the Prius to company car drivers, who have little say in such matters.

something for 2nd hand buyers to beware of then, if fleet vehicles are not serviced 'properly and according to the schedule' and if they are fitted with incorrect tyres when replacements are due.......

If the vehicles are leased though, shouldnt the leasing company stick to the proper bits for their own benefit?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

This is concerning. If fleet departments insist on servicing and tyres done to a price rather than to best spec (as we all know they do), this obliterates a hefty proportion of the car's fuel saving potential. That does rather dent the appeal of the Prius to company car drivers, who have little say in such matters.

Talk to your fleet department about it. I'm sure they'll notice something wrong when your fuel card stats show a 15% drop in fuel economy. The correct oil makes a difference and IS a requirement. The low rolling resistance tyres do make a difference and are only about £15 - £20 each extra, which will be more than saved over a 30,000 mile lifespan.

Get your fleet department to call the lease company and insist on the correct tyres and oil. And then email or write to Toyota complaining about how you've been treated. Since all the trouble back in Jan/Feb time with all the recall bad press they're now super hot on making sure their customers are happy.