I Now Own a 2012 Prius C. 0w20?

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Went to a local Acura / Mazda dealership today to check out some used cars. I've been seeing some decent looking deals on used cars they advertised on facebook marketplace. This Prius C has a fantastic CARFAX and was serviced by a Toyota dealer every 5k miles. Great tires, quite a clean car. 108k miles.

If I'm not wrong it needs 0w20 synthetic. If this is so, would Super tech FS be OK?
And feel free to recommend an oil filter too if you'd like.

The oil in it looks clean enough to run for 6 to 12 months. I only drive about 5k miles a year.

It's ugly but I love Toyotas. I drove a 2010 Corolla with 166k miles that ran great and I loved it but chose this instead.



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0W20 is fine. There is no rocket science when it comes to these vehicles.

I will tell you that keeping it garaged in a temperature controlled environment will help if you live in a temperate climate.

The most tired debate I get to see on the Internet is the one where non-engineers debate whether to use a different oil viscosity for these models.

The short answer is no. Follow the army of engineers who made the recommendations in your owners manual. Change it once a year and you will be fine.
 
I've seen genuine Toyota oil filters at Walmart. Supertech would work great for you, as would anything else meeting spec in the correct viscosity. Nice car!
 
Mobil-1 makes quality oil in 0W20, for a reasonable price. The EP boasts a boat-load of PAO.
How many miles are on that pictured ride? Wait - I see it now....108K.
 
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Originally Posted by macarose
0W20 is fine. There is no rocket science when it comes to these vehicles.

I will tell you that keeping it garaged in a temperature controlled environment will help if you live in a temperate climate.

The most tired debate I get to see on the Internet is the one where non-engineers debate whether to use a different oil viscosity for these models.

The short answer is no. Follow the army of engineers who made the recommendations in your owners manual. Change it once a year and you will be fine.


Sounds like a plan. I live in upper East TN and I keep it in the garage when I'm not using it. It helps prevent the cold and hot from dry rotting the tires. I don't have any heater or electricity in the garage but that's better than leaving it outdoors all the time.
Plus I got a kit from the dealer that includes car wash, car wax, and tire black.
 
Congrats!

Try to keep the battery as cool as practicable in the summer.

You can find a lot of advice, some of it good, on priuschat.com
 
Did you trade in your Ford Festiva?
Congratulations on your new car, how about posting some more pictures?
 
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Originally Posted by terry274
Did you trade in your Ford Festiva?
Congratulations on your new car, how about posting some more pictures?


Yes, I sure did. They gave me $200 less than I paid for it towards the Prius. The Prius is worth more.

Thanks for the congrats.
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These are nice with the 1.5 engine but newer design hybrid drive. Takes the common 4967 or 4386 fram number filters like XG4386. The 4386 gives extra capacity without changing the diameter. It may still have the 5k reminder light to change oil. The oil filler cap or manual specifies the grade. Looks like a winner, an overall frugal car, very reliable, and still carries a lot.
 
Toyota recommends ILSAC GF-5 0w20. If the oil meets that your good. Most 0w20 do, including the Supertech you asked about. Also I want you to be aware that just because the vehicle was serviced by a Toyota dealer every 5,000 miles doesn't mean the oil was always changed than. Basically, it just mean that the previous owner was faithful in getting his car serviced when the service light came on and loyal to the dealer. If they followed what the book said, they changed it every other time, 10,000 miles. If your oily going to put 5,000 miles on it in a year, than a yearly oil change may be in order.
 
Though I know the Cs are solid (considered a used one myself), you traded the Ford for a car with twice the miles?

Hope they gave you a good deal..... :)
 
With 0W-20, you get better fuel economy because the viscosity index (VI) is higher, which means you have a lower HTHS100 viscosity at the typical oil temperature of 100 °C for a given HTHS150 viscosity @ 150 °C. Get it? In other words if you have two oils that are equally thick (or thin) at 150 °C, the one with the higher VI will be thinner at normal oil temperatures around 100 °C, improving the fuel economy.

Conversely, since 5W-20 is thicker at 100 °C, you potentially get more protection against wear.

So, it's your choice between definite fuel-economy gain with 0W-20 and potential wear-protection benefits with 5W-20.
 
Originally Posted by daves87rs
Though I know the Cs are solid (considered a used one myself), you traded the Ford for a car with twice the miles?

Hope they gave you a good deal..... :)


Yes, I paid about $1369 plus my car. They gave me actually $100 less than I paid for it.
It's mine now and I'm not going to try to renege on the swap. Plus I spend hundreds getting everything perfect on the Ford : 4 wheel alignment, AT trans fluid change, new brake pads in front, new tires, oil and filter changes, new air filter, nicks touch up, etc. Every time I trade cars (bought or swapped 4 cars in the last 3.5 years which is the most ever for me), I miss the car I traded within hours of singing the papers. That's life.
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I wanted a different car and got one. Now the people here who seem to hate Fords will probably tell me I was nuts to part with my Fiesta.

It's got more miles and is 4 years older but it's a well maintained Toyota. I should do well with it with 1 OCI a year.
 
If I want more wear protection than 0W20, I would skip his potentially subpar cousin 5W20 and move up to xW30
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Originally Posted by Mr_Luke
Every time I trade cars (bought or swapped 4 cars in the last 3.5 years which is the most ever for me), I miss the car I traded within hours of singing the papers. I should do well with it with 1 OCI a year.


If the oil in it will go a year you won't have to do an OC before the next car!
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Nice looking car and it looks good in red. Congrats. I always kind of liked the Prius for the gas savings and buying used is the way to go on those.
 
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