Oil change intervals, and gelling, is not a problem except on certain 1999 to 2003 models. Us synthetic oil in the effected engines and you should not have a problem in any event.
mike hunt
Richard wrote:
I wonder why for some strange reason in 1999, all the soccer moms that drive V6 Toyotas, stopped changing their oil as required, do you? Seems even stranger why in late 2003 did they start changing their oil as required once again? Must have been something the learned on Oprah ;)
mike hunt
Jim Sim>
Did Toyota start specifying synthetic oil - just like the BMW with can go 15K between oil changes? Everyone loves to quote BMW when they say you can go 15K between oil changes, but they always forget to say BMW specifies synthetic oil. It may also be that soccer moms stopped buying Siennas and bought big SUVs :-) The last soccer season I saw more SUVs at the games and practices than minivans. We will see this year how many Suburbans show up, especially with 12K to 14K off the price. Ford was offering up to 10K off a F150, which could bring it down to $14K - not bad. Why would Ford and Chevy have to steeply discount their vehicles while Toyota doesn't . . .
Mike Hunt - when was the last time you went to a soccer practice or game? In the US, the SUV replaced the minivan. I know a few couples who are going out of their way to avoid buying a minivan. One person bought a Suburban because he "needed" the room for his two kids . . .
The customer relations department is staffed by a mix of people who are knowledgeable about how cars work and people who are recent college graduates with little automotive experience. This was one of my earlier jobs with Toyota. The Customer Relations Analysts have a book of responses for frequently asked questions, and to me, the response sounds a lot like a canned one to use when the answer is not readily available.
It sounds like a canned answer. Probably no one at Toyota has researched what happens if you switch to synthetic and then switch back to conventional, and therefore to be safe, they say don't do it. I believe that current synthetic oils and current conventional oils are compatible and that you can switch back and forth at will. I did this with two different Fords when I was trying to determine if there was a fuel economy advantage associated with synthetic oil (there wasn't). I never had a problem with my Expedition that could be associated with changing back and forth between conventional and synthetic oil (approximately 90,000 miles on conventional oil and another 60,000 on Mobil 1 in the following pattern - 40k on conventional, 30k on Mobil 1,
30k on conventional, 30k on Mobil 1, balance on conventional, traded truck at 150k, no problems). I believe, if you are going to change your oil every 3k to 5k miles, there is little advantage to using synthetic oil. So if you are worried, I'd say don't switch to synthetic.Ed
now that's funny. I believe you missed the point. Those in this NG that continue to believe Toyotas gelling problem was cause by not changing oil properly must therefore believe those that drive Toyotas purchased before 1999 and those that drive one made after
2003 DID changed their oil properly. Conversely they must then believe those bought between 1999 and 2003 did NOT change their oil properly. That my friend makes for a rather curious phenomenon that defies logic.mike hunt
ma_twa>
Sure. However - this really begs the question as to what is "synthetic motor oil" these days. The fact is that most of what is marketed as "synthetic motor oil" these days is mostly hydrocracked (Type-III very highly refined) petroleum oil with some ester base. Most of what is marketed as "conventional motor oil" is also hydrocracked (Type-II highly refined) petroleum oil. This is really blurring the line between what is and isn't a synthetic, as far as "compatibility" goes.
The only major marketer that still only sells Type-IV (PAO) motor oil as its "synthetic" is Mobil. Castrol NA no longer does. Others like Valvoline seem to use a mix in their "synthetic" offerings.
I think the biggest worry has always been seal compatibility and the effect that PAO had on hardening seals. I wouldn't worry about it now, but some early formulations were allegedly not properly tested or produced for good seal compatibility.
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