Oil Change Interval

Judging by past threads -- most agree 5,000 miles is fine and anything less is just contributing to the oil companies profit margins.

I usually do 3,000 because it's what the dealer says to do. I know, I know... I wouldn't do EVERYTHING the dealer said or I would be broke but changing your oil often can't really be a bad thing and honestly, I would rather be safer than sorry so I say 3,000.

5,000 is probably just as safe though.

Your call, really.

I change oil in my two Toyotas approximately every 5-6 K miles. I use no oil in either car, and it seems to stay clean on the dipstick, so when it takes on a brownish tinge indicating that it's getting dirty, it gets changed. But I'm certainly not religious about changing it exactly at 5000 or 6000. It's when I have some free time. I think, what with efficient oil filters and air filters it's not necessary to change at 3000 or so. (and with better oils than in the old days, too.)

I change at 5k miles when my MAINT REQD lights up. This is on a 5-7 month interval depending on my trips. I have never gone more than 8-9 months with the same oil.

Apparently, you know often it is done.

However, it should be done every 5000 mi. As others have said, the oils today are good for at least 5000 mi. Any more frequent than this, and you're wasting natural resources.

Jeff

Use a full synthetic and change it at 5000 miles. You will be far better off than using conventional oil and changing at 3000 miles.

You're right. Toyota lowered the 7500 mile interval down to 5000 miles in 2004 because of engine sludge concerns.

For me, 3000 miles with 69 cent/qt dino oil on sale. Premium grade Purolator PureOne or Bosch Filtech filters only.

Don't play the extended interval game while under warranty. Even with synthetics if you're past 5000 technically the warranty voids. Besides, the small crankcase and filter in Toyotas mean that they are NOT designed for extended drain like many European cars, where 15,000 mile intervals are typical.

Toyota reduced it in 2004 from 7500 miles down to 5000 miles because of engine sludge concerns.

European cars typically go 15,000 miles between oil changes. New GMs and Hondas up to 12,000 miles with oil sensor.

My SO has a 2007 RAV4. It has an oil change reminder (a nice feature), so the oil is getting changed at or shortly after the 5000 mile mark. After about 9 months and around 20K total miles on the car (5K on that oil), I took a sample and sent it off for analysis. The report said the oil was in good condition and was probably good for at least another 3K miles.

Unless you are doing something unusual (taxi service, package delivery, extensive idling), there is no reason to go to an oil change interval less than the recommended 5k miles.

Ed

Except in Europe Toyotas have 10,000 mile oil change intervals with the same small crankcase and filter. Supposedly the European Oil spec require a superior grade oil, but there is nothing else that greatly differentiates some European Toyota engines from the equivalent American engines (see

for an example - the 10,000 mile intermediate service includes an oil change) Ed

May I be nosy and ask how much this analysis of five bucks' worth of motor oil cost? To me, it seems as futile as testing the tensile strength of toilet paper.

Spare us the LIEbrawl lectures. It won't be society that pays for a new engine if I delay my oil changes for too long. I use synthetic oil and have it changed every 6000 KILOMETRES or so (about 3600 miles). I don't NEED a newsgroup to agree with me before I change my oil.

15 years ago when I last had oil tested, it cost about $50 Canadian. Back then, I had gotten into the habit of having both oil and tranny fluid tested every 3 years--worrying about major repairs sneaking up.

The test cost $22.50. I was curious. I have sent off a sample for many vehicles over the years to try and get an idea if there were possible engine problems brewing. In the case of the RAV4, given all the stories about sludge, I wanted to make sure that if the engine developed sludge, it wasn't my fault. It was nice to see that the oil was still in good condition after 5,000 miles, even though I was changing it. I'll probably send off another sample when the vehicle has been driven around 60,000 miles.

If you are only paying $5 for 5 quarts of oil, you must be getting the minimal quality stuff. The cheapest 5W20 oil I can find is nearly $2 a quart. Castrol GTX is $3 a quart and Mobil 1 is $5 a quart.

Ed

Hmmm. Both my 2000 RAV4 and 2000 Echo have 5K/4 month oil change interval, so it didn't start in 2004.

I was positive that in 2000 Toyota was still recommending oil changes at 7500 miles for "normal service" and 5000 miles for "special conditions." I went to the Toyota owners web site

to see what they said about oil change intervals for the 2000 RAV4 and Echo and it is a mess. If you page through the various service intervals for a 2000 Echo (or RAV4), you will see that oil changes are called for at:

5000 miles / 4 months 7500 miles / 6 months

ED:

have to echo your bit about .69-cent oil.....haven't seen that price for at least 7-8 years, and probably much longer.....Nowadays, here in the Pacific Northwest, $2.40- $2.89 a quart for all the major dinos....You can catch the CarQuest or NAPA house brands for something like $1.39 on sale,,,more like a $1.90 normally.

But, as I wrote in a thread on the camry group today, I bought high- mile dino for $1.89 a quart last September. All of the major brand dinos were cheaper than the standard dinos.....

I stick to 3-month change intervals because I am in an extremely damp climate and most of the rigs never go more than 7 miles per day -- about half of that on dirt backroads.....also Toyota has me paranoid about the gel issue.

If you are only doing 7 miles a day, then in 3 months you are only driving around 700 miles in 3 months. Have you ever had an oil analysis done on the three month old oil? I'll bet it would come back as being in good condition. I've never really understood the need for such short "time" intervals. Modern engines are far better sealed than engines from even 30 years ago. I suppose, because you are not getting the engine "hot" you might have an undesirable amount of water in the oil, but I'll bet if you had an analysis done it would not show a great deal of water in the oil. If I was in your situation, I would drive the car on a 25 or 30 mile highway trip drive once a month (to get the engine hot and evaporate any water in the oil) and change the oil semi-yearly (or possibly yearly). But that is just me. I have an old Dodge D600 Truck that is driven about 50 miles a year. I change the oil at least twice a decade :)

Ed

Good points, btw, I misspoke -- 7 miles each way or so -- so a WHOLE

14 miles per day, more or less.

I always worried about acid and water with the few miles, but maybe sending in some for a test would be a good idea. All my rigs have Fumoto oil drain valves

so not abig deal to siphon off a few ounces with little trouble at all.