I came across this Car Talk page:
http://cars.cartalk.com/content/advice/oilchanges.html
I was flabbergasted. I drive a 2007 Prius. I have never checked the oil, never even thought about it. Of course, I get oil changes regularly.
Every few hundred miles? That would mean checking the oil about once a week for me.
I can see this for a car that you know is burning or leaking oil, but is this necessary at all for a newer car?
Thanks for your wisdom.
I check mine every time I fuel up. I check the windshield washer fluid too. (My husband makes me)
A couple of times now, I’ve found the oil to be slightly low (we do get regular changes too), so we topped it up. It happens.
It’s more of a preventative thing, I’d guess. You probably don’t really need to do it if you get regular changes, but it can’t hurt.
The trouble is that most cars won’t give you any indication there’s an oil-related problem until the oil level is so low the oil pressure light comes on. By that point it’s really too late and some damage has already been done. Burning a certain amount of oil is normal for many cars, especially as they age. Most car makers claim that the threshold for “normal” oil consumption is a quart every thousand miles, but even cars that aren’t that bad will need to be topped off between fill-ups. Plus an increase in oil consumption can indicate a problem even if the level never gets so low that it’s a problem.
Besides, “checking the oil” isn’t just about checking the oil. It’s an extremely good idea to do a visual inspection of the underhood area at regular intervals to check for obvious problems like leaky hoses, frayed belts or pack rat nests (seriously). You can pop open the hood, eyeball everything and quickly check the oil in less than a minute-- did you have something more important to do while you’re gassing up?
A newer car, under warranty… probably not necessary, but prudent.
Its quick and easy, and it might save a big headache later.
While you’ve got the hood up, check the other caps, belts, and hoses.
My nephew killed two different cars by never checking the oil.
I would actually disagree with this (that it’s less necessary on a newer car). Most actual engine defects manifest themselves while the car is still relatively new. This is why car makers are able to offer these absurdly long drivetrain warranties (such as Chrysler’s lifetime one)-- after the first few 10s of thousands of miles the number of properly-maintained engines that actually fail or wear out drops to close to zero.
But if you run an engine out of oil because you haven’t been checking it, it’s going to become extremely difficult to make a warranty claim, even if there was some defect that caused the oil consumption in the first place.
In Russian roulette, there’s only a ~15% chance you’ll get the chamber with the bullet. However, if you’re in that unlucky 15%, you’ll be 100% dead.
The odds are better with your engine’s oil level – maybe <1% chance it’s gotten dangerously low. But if it does get too low for too long, you’re looking at a several thousand dollar repair. It’s a matter of balancing the difficulty of checking it (mild) with the possible consequences of not checking it (severe).
I can’t argue against checking it every few hundred miles. If asked for advice, I’d strongly encourage checking it at least every thousand miles.
Of course, the real risk is that the car is leaking oil, but you don’t know it.
Rather, though, than saying check every “few hundred” miles for a car with which you’ve never had any problems, I’d go with what you say that translates to for you: check at least once a week. You shouldn’t really notice any change in oil level, if everything’s OK.
I also always check the day after an oil change, assuming the car has been driven appreciably (a commute or whatever). That’s because I once popped the hood soon after an oil change because I smelled smoke, and found that the oil cap was missing and oil was being splattered up through it. I’ve also heard of cases where the drain cap wasn’t properly replaced, and oil was leaking through it out of the pan. Don’t trust that these guys are really being careful.
As my father used to say, “A car will go a lot further without gas than it will without oil.”
You really should do it, because if the oil is low your engine can experience unlubricated metal-on-metal action. That’s bad.
But I think really one a month or so is ok. If you find yourself having to add any, then I’d check more often.
Now if they could just make the dipsticks easier to read. I like the ones with holes at the high and the low marks, if the hole is filled then you can easily see the level.
OK, I’m convinced. I will check the oil!
Another of many blind spots removed. 
It is really easy to do and you will start to know your car as well. I still change my own oil as it is cheaper but it makes me get under the car and check that everything is in good shape (tires, brakes, all fluids, nothing loose in the undercarriage). I also changed the oil that I used as I didn’t like the condition of the oil coming out (the oil looked burnt). Sure enough with a new brand of oil, the next oil change almost didn’t need to happen as the oil was almost as clean coming out as the new stuff going in.
Everything that uses oil needs it checked reguarly. Lawn mowers? Everytime you use them, snow blowers? Same, the smaller the engine the better it is to check than to be sorry.
I blame self service gas stations. OK, not really now but I used to, when I would pull in for a fill-up an oil check, tire check, and washer check was a must. Yep a really long time ago.
I’ve had idiot oil changers who’ve neglected to properly tighten the oil filter or drain plug. If you don’t see the oil slick under the car, your last chance to save the engine is to check the dipstick.
Doesn’t the Prius have an oil level sensor? I thought pretty much all newish cars had them. I haven’t checked my oil in years and years.
Holding onto the handle to get the gas into the car? The auto-fill nozzle thingies have all been disabled here and all pumps require someone to actually squeeze the handle themselves.
Which doesn’t change the point you’re making
I have something more important to do - standing there holding the nozzle because the damn gas stations all removed the little latch that used to let you walk away while it filled.
/end of hijack
That really sounds about right to me. I used to check mine every Saturday morning, along with certain other basic maintenance chores. It only takes a couple minutes, and as my significant other recently learned, it can save *thousands *of dollars . . . but I don’t have time to tell that full story this evening. Once a week to check oil? Sure.
My car has an “oil life” gauge (from 100 to 0%). If the oil was leaking out or something, wouldn’t the gauge indicate that by going down too quickly?
When I was little I remember my dad would go out and “check the car over” every weekend, including checking the oil. I used to help out, so I got in the habit of it. I only do it maybe once a month though, except when I had a Mazda RX-8 which needed regular oil top-ups (a “feature” of the rotary engine, along with burning insane amounts of fuel).