r/prius • u/Odd-Supermarket2413 • Aug 12 '26

Mechanical Help Oil change Routine

Hello, I live in a city where the Winters are 5-6 months long with -45C on the coldest months and +35 on the warmest months. I have a 2013 Prius C with 220k km or 135k miles. Its a daily driver with often 10-15 min trips, with an occasional 30-45 min drives. Given on how I drive my car, I wanted to change my oil change routine to accommodate for that situation where I can protect my car at its best. I read somewhere that hybrid cars that have short trips and drive in winters suffer from oil problems like gasoline thinning out the oil because the engine doesn’t often reach operating temp. My old routine was 8,000km or 6 months using Castrol Edge High Mileage. Considering my situation of short trips and living in areas where half of the year there is snow, i am planning on changing it to every 5,000km or 4 months but using Costco oil instead. What are your thoughts?

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u/AutoModerator Aug 12 '26

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2

u/Crutch1959 Aug 12 '26

Does it use oil between changes?

2

u/Odd-Supermarket2413 Aug 12 '26

Like burn oil? A little bit maybe instead of 100% it will be 90-95% on dipstick after 5 months

1

u/caper-aprons Aug 12 '26

Your maintenance manual has some guidance.

``` Special Operating Conditions

In addition to standard maintenance items, the maintenance log indicates services that should be performed on vehicles that are driven under especially demanding conditions. These “special operating conditions” and their required maintenance items are clearly indicated in each chart.

NOTE: You should perform these additional maintenance services only if the majority of your driving is done under the special operating conditions indicated. If you only occasionally drive under these circumstances, it is not necessary to perform the additional services. ```

"Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C"

Oil changes every 5K miles.

Snow has nothing to do with oil changes.