2007 ES350 - Oil Change Interval

Yes, more money in the dealer's pocket.

No, there is no advantage to changing it at 3,000 miles. There are others who may tell you otherwise, but the folks who built your car are pretty knowledgeable about it so it is usually safe to follow factory recommendations.

The one big exception is changing brake fluid every other brake pad change. There is no factory recommendation for replacing brake fluid, but in my experience, you will not experience internal caliper problems if you change the fluid every so often.

Who in the hell goes to a Lexus dealer for an oil change?

It's just a car, for God's sake. The $30 oil change at your local trusty neighborhood service station is just as good for your car as is the $140 oil change at the Lexus dealer.

The ES350 gets the same oil and filter as the Toyota 3.5L V6. That's why Toyota strictly prohibits their Toyota service manager from taking in Lexus. $$$$ Cha-Cha-Cha-Ching $$$$$

That said, oil degrades according to your driving pattern. If you frequently drive local/short trips in cold weather, 3000 miles should help the engine live a longer life; longer distances, at least in GM cars, oils can last up to 12,000 miles.

However, Toyota lowered the 7500 mile interval to 5000 miles in 2004 because of sludge concerns. So maybe 5000 is a good number or every 6 monhts.

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"Toyota Motor Corp. reduced its change interval from 7,500 miles to

5,000 in 2004 in part because it found that more drivers ran their vehicles under severe stop-and-start and short trip conditions that cause oil to deteriorate more quickly, said company spokesman Bill Kwong."

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• How many miles can I expect to go between oil changes when using this system? The beauty of the GMOLS is that it will automatically adjust the oil change interval based engine characteristics, driving habits and the climate in which the vehicle is operated. For instance, mild highway driving in a warm climate will maximize the interval between oil changes. Depending on the vehicle, this could be in excess of 7000 miles and as high as 12,000 miles. On the other hand, short trip driving in cold a climate may limit the oil change to 3000 miles or less. In general, most people that drive a combination of city and highway find that the GMOLS will indicate an oil change every 5000 to

6000 miles. Additionally, most people maintain consistent driving habits. Therefore, their mileage between oil changes will be consistent. Changes in climate will affect this somewhat.

Got a ES350? That car is being investigated by the Feds on sudden acceleration:

"Federal regulators have stepped up an investigation into 98,454 Lexus ES 350 sedans after amassing 40 reports of unintended acceleration, including eight crashes and 12 injuries, along with cases in which drivers said their cars stopped only after an accident."

Full article:

Toyota does not prohibit Toyota service managers from taking in Lexus.

".... One driver told the agency the vehicle had hit speeds of 100 m.p.h. over a 6-mile stretch of freeway ..."

Switch it off !!!! These cars do come with an On/Off switch, don't they?

".... NHTSA found an all-season floor mat that Lexus sold as an option in a majority of the cases it reviewed. The rubber mat was sold as a replacement for the standard mats and should be secured by clips to the car's carpet. If left unclipped and installed over the regular mats, it can slide under the accelerator pedal...."

So now it's floor mats. Used to be this happened in a parking lot when the car was started. The crash always had three conditions in common.... the car was "new" to the driver, it was a woman driver, and she was wearing high-healed shoes. They always insisted they were pushing the brake even though the car kept going forward. The harder they pushed on the "brake", the faster the car went. This all went away when the car makers put a switch on the brake.... you can't shift out of park unless you mash the brake pedal. Suddenly all of those parking lot crashes disappeared.

I guess now they will outlaw after-market floor mats.

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

So let me get this straight - the ES350 won't go anywhere when you step on the gas, at least not in a hurry, and the big cement truck rushing down the hill at you will crush the ES because it can't get started. But once it gets started, you can't stop it. Or perhaps it will start itself. And this all seems to be caused by dripping oil on the second hand or after market floor mats that have been installed under your brake pedal and accelerator. But not to worry unless you are a woman, or a man in drag with high heels. Ohhh Kay! Got it! And I have to change the oil every 5000 miles because otherwise the engine gets all gunked up, but some British Motor Works (or some such brand) cars have all their maintance costs paid for the first 50,000 miles and they don't even have to worry about gunky motors, delayed take offs, or slippery floor mats! Darn - and I thought those old Cherman Kars vas veird !

mcbrue down by the river in the trailer under the bridge klipping kar kudzu

Or at least you can't use coupons then with Lexus? Now there is a less expensive way to get oil changes. But then you hear all the horror stories about Toyota techs, not that there aren't good ones you know ;)

But the problem with the On/Off switch is that it takes 3 seconds to turn off! But as you said women drivers don't read manuals ;-) Actually push-button switch has been around for a long time, but who else has the sudden acceleration problem with those?

So there is no problem with Camry V6 XLE? The poor must be smarter ;) These two cars share the same engineering and engine. Now wouldn't floor mats sometimes jam the pedal so you can't accelerate? Anyone reported that?

Guess we'll just wait and see. Feds upgraded this to an engineering analysis.

Now that you mentioned it, Bayerische Motoren Werke drivers seem to like to speed on the highways and stop on a dime. I personally don't know anyone who complained at one of those doesn't go fast enough or can't stop quickly enough. Yeah, really veird!!

Then again, if I can afford a Bayerische Motoren Werke product I wouldn't be driving a Toy.

I have taken my LS 400 to the local Toyota dealer for oil changes when I don't feel like changing it myself without any problems and paid the same price $24.95 as they charge for an oil change for our Sequoia.

Most of the time, I change the oil in our vehicles myself.

Ok, at least some dealer flyers would print "Toyota Vehicles Only." So at least scheduled maintenance and other coupon discounts don't apply to Lexus then.

Oil changes are pretty easy and I would bet that the dealer would change the oil on a Lexus. Some other operations are more involved on a Lexus because the engine covers require more labor to get at some of the components.

So why would Lexus charge people like Elmo here $140 when their Toyota brothers can do the same oil change for $24.95? Would you get paid 5-6 times more working at a Lexus dealer?

I know Lexus needs to make some obscene profits, but this is a bit much isn't it?

The extra money goes to pay for the fancy settings, bagels, and fancy gourmet coffee. I have no particular desire to pay for that stuff myself, so I learned how to take car of my own car. Someone who does not wish to pay a Lexus dealer's prices to take care of their car can take car of it himself or herself, take it to a Toyota dealer, take it to an independent shop, or buy something other than a Lexus.

That's my point. The extra money doesn't go into the technical stuff, and 99% of the owners don't know they are getting a $24.95 oil change for $140.

It's just a marketing move to give the appearance that Lexus is somehow comparable to European nameplates.

It sounds like you should stick to European nameplates - perhaps the oil changes on Mercedes are worth the $140 that their dealers charge, their dealers freely make copies of very TSB that applies to your vehicle, and their TSB's include information about warranty coverage for every operation described in the TSB? ;-)

You are all missing the point. To keep the warranty in effect, you have to change the oil every 5000 miles and do all those other things that are done. If you loose the warranty, sell the car at once. So it is worth the $140 oil change and the 700 and 1400 inspections at other than the 5,000 mile change intervals. Of course, compared to Mercedes, the Lexus costs a LOT more to oil, grease, and get inspected. The repair costs seem to be higher also. But there are not as many repair costs on a Lexus. I think overall the costs will total out to a higher percent of the car's cost, however.