first oil change for my new Tundra at 3000 miles!?

Keep an eye on the oil level during the first 1000 miles as this is the time when the engine is supposed to consume a bit of oil. I would change it by

Oil change at 3000 okay but from new dont drive over 60MPH and drive it normally. IE no stomping the throttle or laboring the motor.

I wouldnt drive it hard till the 3000 service has been done. Well, unless you dont wish to keep the vehicle for more than a few years.

Rubbish.

A quick, brisk break-in won't hurt the engine ANYWHERE near as much as running around on oil that is past due for changing.

An older ex-Toyota mechanic advised me to: Keep the first 100 miles under 55, never starying at the same speed (rpm)_ for more than 5 miles. From 100-500 - don;t exceed 70, same 'holding pattern' advoidance. Change oil at 1000. It has some 'breakin additives you -want- to work. after 1000, get it up to speed - a few bursts to 990 will help seat the remaining parts - AFTER it's fully warmed up - 20 miles of running.

So far, it's seemed to be right. 4 years old, and getting above 22 mpg on interstate or open road above 70. It's an auto full 6, DC with power toys.

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:40:08 -0500, "Grip" found these unused words floating about:

I'm not sure that I buy into the "drive the hell out of it" story, but I see no reason to change the oil.

There you have it, stomp the pedal and forget about the oil.

My advice stands, drive like you have 72 more payments left, and change the oil when the schedule calls for it.

Huh? How did you infer "stomp the pedal, forget about the oil" from my previous post?

Good grief.

The guy at the dealership, service writer or salesman, is trained in sales, not mechanical things.

I favor one or two short-mileage oil changes, then change every 5000 miles. There might be some break in particles or manufacturing debris in the engine that you want to remove. As far as I know, only Honda has a special break in oil in their new engines.

All parts of the truck need to break in. Brakes, transmission, differential, as well as the engine. I like light driving and varies speeds and loads for the first 500 miles...no towing or heavy loads in the bed, no street racing. An easy drive on a mountain road is perfect.

Ken

Agreed, Ken. One or two short mileage oil / filter changes (1000 and 3000 miles) and then every 5k after. The easy drive on a mountain road IS the perfect break-in drive.

I think waiting until the first 3000 miles for the first change is too much. The initial oil change will contain lots of metal. I plan on changing mine at 800-1000 miles, then every 3000 after that (the maintenance guide recommends every 5000 miles). A new engine consumes more oil, since its pistons, rings, and cylinder walls have not been conditioned. My dealer recommended to "go easy" the initial 500 miles.

I'm not sure I agree with that position. The factory has to support a warranty for upwards of 100,000 miles, do you really think they will leave stuff inside the motor that can do harm and increase the warranty claim exposure they are facing? I think they would easily spend a few bucks -- and pass the cost on to the consumer -- to be sure the motor is cleaned out.

Back when this concern came about, they did much of the machine work pretty much by hand, and the steps needed to clean the metal flakes out were labor intensive. But, today most of this work is done by robots, and spinning the motor over to squirt solvent through it doesn't take much effort at all.

I see no problem with changing the oil early, but if there was any real benefit, the factory would have the dealers call the vehicles in and do it to avoid the warranty issues that can result if it isn't done.

I have to question any instruction of "drive the hell out of it." That sounds of pure folly to me, but observing the normal oil change interval seems reasonable to me.

I plan on