In 2004, Toyota (Lexus) reduced the oil change interval from 7500 miles down to 5000 because of engine sludge concerns. Toyota first blamed the owners forgetting to change oil (don't Lexus have reminder lights?) and then it's more people driving under severe conditions. And then the oil change interval got cut by Toyota while others increased it. What gives?
(I believe Audi, BMW and Mercedes use high specification synthetic oils (no Group III hydrocracked oils), and they go 10,000-20,000 miles with no problems.)
I have my oil changed every 5000 miles. The service man always reminds me that the oil looks so good he would wait to 7500 miles. (I have 45,000 miles on my car)
Allmost all other cars have change intervals of 7500 or 10,000 miles. Why not Lexus? Why can't Lexus go to 10,000 and specify the good synthetic oils? Gee ... which Asian nation is it that thinks "Business Is War"?
5000 miles between oil changes is too short, specially on synthetic oil. I change mine every 9.500 miles, 15.000 kilometers, and the oil comes out clean. As I see it, Lexus are long lasting engines, probably in the neighbourhood of half a million kilometers or more, around 350.000 miles, and the benefits of short frequency oil changes, if any, would be longer engine life, which you would reap , at normal yearly mileages, twenty years down the line . It is simply not worth it, unless one intends to pass the car on to your son or daughter. A friend of mine owned a Toyota Avensis, a model just below the Camry, a mid sized sedan. He never changed the oil in his car, he just topped it up during 50.000 miles of hard driving in Germany. The engine , eventually, blew itself to pieces. Between my misguided friend and a 5.000 mile interval there must be a happy medium. Anyone can give me a piece of advice on a good set of 235 -45-16 W tires for my GS 430? Thanks
Your car warranty or guarantee is voided if you do not change the oil every 5000 miles! And that can be reallllllly serious if you have the electronic stuff on your car like the radar packages. You really can not afford to loose the guarantee and you must have an extended warranty on the car to drive it over the 50,000 mile (83,333 Km) guaranty period. It is all too easy to run up repair bills of 10% of the car purchase price on these little goodies.
No, ACAR, no Toyota (or Lexus) can go above 5000 miles without an oil change. Even if you use synthetic oil. The warranty is technically void if you don't follow the recommended service schedule.
Mercedes has 20,000 mile intervals. BMW *only* up to 15,000 miles. Where have you been hiding all these years?
Toyota lowered the oil change interval down to 5000 miles from 7500 miles for a reason. Their engineers aren't as confident of their sludging designs as you are. Of course your warranty is void going over 5000 miles.
We have a 1999 Lexus LS400 which we rarely drive; it only has about
28.800 miles (driven mostly about 1 - 2 times per week to nearby grocery stores). If we change the oil every 3000 miles, it's only about once a year for us. Is this OK? Does just sitting in a (un-airconditioned) garage put wear and tear on a car's engine? (It doesn't seem to me like it would.)
The service rep at the local Lexus dealer suggested a 10W-30 synthetic motor oil. According to recent comments that I've seen in this group, synthetic oil seems to be the way to go. How much better than regular oil is synthetic oil? Also, I thought you were supposed to use different weights of oil in different seasons, but the rep said that where we are (Houston, Texas), the temperature differences between the seasons is not that great, so a 10W-30 Kendall bulk oil is OK. The difference between January and July average temperatures in Houston is about 32 - 33 degrees Fahrenheit; is this true?
Also, there's one tire with low tread. He said we might need to buy two tires, depending on the condition of the spare. He said that you should at least have two tires of the same brand on the same axle of the car. (We would, of course, be rotating the tires when we replaced the worn tire.) What difference does this make, as long as they're all the same size of tire? He also said that if the spare tire is the original one that came with the car, we should throw it away, because it's worn out. How can this be true if it's never used? (I do now remember going to a Discount Tire in 2001; the spare may have been replaced then.)
We generally get a different service rep every time we go to the Lexus dealership. I guess one reason is that we don't want to wait around. This is the first time we've spoken to this rep. I get the feeling that, with the bad economy (even here in Houston), even the Lexus dealer is starting to try to oversell). Just wanted the group's input on this. Any advice would be appreciated.
Sitting in a garage does not put wear and tear on a car's engine, but driving it only short trips can. Multiple short trips means that the engine and emissions components do not get completely warmed up and so condensation collects in the engine oil and exhaust system. The condensate sitting in the oil does not lubricate like the oil does, and the condensate sitting in the exhaust will corrode the exhaust. You should take the car for a long enough ride for the engine to get fully warmed up every month or two.
As far as changing the oil once a year every 3,000 miles, that is OK.
The oil viscosity recommended by the automaker is listed on the top of the oil filler cap and in your owner's manual, and that is the weight you should use. A temperature difference of 30 or 40 degrees Fahrenheit is little enough that you don't have to worry about different oil viscosity for summer and winter. Synthetic oil is probably the way to go for your car because of the infrequent short trips and becasuse the engine doen't have a chance to warm up each time.
The rubber in tires degrades over time, even if it is not used.
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has an article about tire aging. While there is no standard for when to take tires out of service in the U.S., the consensus in Europe and Asia is that unused tires should not be put into service 6 years after they are made, and tires should be taken out of service after 10 years. By the way, a lot of people speak highly of tirerack as a place to purchase tires and get information regarding tires
Tires on the same axle, that is, the front or rear, should be matched in brand, model, and general condition beause variances from left to right can make the car handle poorly so you generally have to purchase tires at least in pairs. If the spare is original, replace it with one of the tires you are replacing.
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