Synthetic Oil Change Intervals.

The main rule thumb here is if you change your oil every 3000 miles/ 3 months then regular oil is just fine... There is no benefit to using synthetics on that schedule. Also older vehicles say about 1990 back unless rebuilt with newer gasket materials don't do well with synthetic oils, they tend to develop leaks...

Now having said that I would just like to clarify that I myself use synthetics in most everything except one vehicle (my daily driver a 1988 Toyota pickup, It gets Valvoline). My Synthetic of choice is Amsoil, the full synthetic stuff not their blends like Mobil 1 is... But there is nothing wrong with the blends or Mobil 1 for that matter. It's just that in my situation Amsoil works best for my applications.

I will in the future change my Tacoma over to Amsoil. In the meantime I like any new vehicle to go through two oil changes using regular oil before switching over. By then usually the engine has found it's break in sweet spot and polished it's self to the point where it is no longer grinding metals into the oil.

As I said a synthetic works best for me because some of my vehicles might go a year between oil changes. I even have to use Fuel conditioner as some might not see a new tank of gas in 6 months.

Filters depends upon the vehicle: Mostly I use K/N filters except for the 88 pickup and the Bike.

Special note: When it comes to differentials and automatic transmissions I will not use a synthetic in either. The reason being a Transmission and limited slip differentials have clutches and need the friction compounds.

 

I have bough some old vehicles over the years and just added oil and never changed a filter or the oil. I bought a beat up 1954 GMC pickup with a 235 c.i. just for the motor years ago for $100.00 and it was not in real great shape. (mid 70's) I had a line on a 1949 with a blown engine for $50.00 but when I went to get it the guy's son had decided he wanted it. So I just drove the '54 and let it run low on oil many times. Just dumped a quart in it every couple months and drove it for 6 yrs. No oil change, no filter change. Valvoline or Quaker State or cheep stuff in a 2 gallon can. 10/40 or 30 weight. I didn't care. I finally sold the truck and it was still running. I also abused the crap out of a '66 dodge slant six and a chevy 350 and they gave me excellent service. In those days if you got 100,000 miles out of an engine and it didn't appear to be on it's last legs, you were doing good. Sometimes you would hear of the occasional engine going almost 150,000 but it was rare. Now oils are better and bearing materials are better. Synthetic oils are engineered to be better than dino oils, and dino oils aren't that bad. If your changing any oil every 3000 I doubt you are getting half the life out of it. If you want an engine to last the longest it will last, I agree that the oil and filter needs to be changed often and it's just good practice to keep up on all maintenance on a good vehicle and take some pride in it. But every 3000 miles. Wow. That's overboard.

Support your local oil company. They need the money.

Just my opinion.

 

I currently use Amsoil 10W-30 Signature Series. So far so good. Engine runs smooth and strong with 153K on it. I plan to do an oil analasys in the not to distant future to gauge whether 10K OCIs are reasonable with the 2.7L 4 cyl.

I saw this very same quote on ClubLexus, which is why I have been a bit hesitant to use Amsoil's current EA Oil filter. I believe the Amsoil filter that he is referring to is an older design. I think 10K mile intervals is about as far as I am willing to go anyways.

 

castrol gtx high milage or mobile one every 3k sometime 4k if im broke

 

Used Motor Oil: The 3000 Mile Myth
What People Are Saying

“Although oil companies and quick-lube shops like to promote this idea [that engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles], it's usually not necessary. Go by the recommended oil-change schedule in your vehicle's owner's manual. Most vehicles driven under normal conditions can go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Some models now come with a monitoring system that alerts the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, these can extend change intervals to 10,000 or 15,000 miles.”
– Consumer Reports, December 2006
“…for the vast majority, 5,000-mile oil changes will help your engine last to a ripe, old age.”
–Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR’s Car Talk, on MSNBC, April 17, 2006
“Most manufacturers now recommend changing the oil every 7,500 miles. We recommend doing it every 5,000 miles, because we tend to be more cautious about protecting the engine. Very few people recommend changing the oil every 3,000 miles anymore. It's just not necessary, and the environmental cost is too high.”
–Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR’s Car Talk, in the Detroit News, April 6, 2005
“Conventional wisdom has held that the oil should be changed about every 3,000 miles. This notion has been ingrained into people's heads for decades, in part as a marketing ploy by oil companies. The 3,000-mile interval made sense when engines used single-grade nondetergent oils. But with the latest oils and car designs, it's no longer necessary to change oil that often under normal driving conditions.”

–Steve Ritter, in Chemical & Engineering News, March 13, 2006
“Synthetic oils, because of their better properties, need to be changed less often, at intervals up to 25,000 miles or more. In the end, the best advice on the type of oil to use and the frequency of oil changes is to follow the manufacturer's recommendation in your car owner's manual.”
–Steve Ritter, in Chemical & Engineering News, March 13, 2006
“Most major automakers agree: The adage that you should change your car’s oil every 3,000 miles is outdated, and even 5,000 miles may be too often.”
–Tom Krisher, Associated Press, in the Deseret News, March 26, 2007
“I remember getting my first car (a hand-me-down) and how my father kept telling me how important it was to change the oil every 3,000 miles. A lot has changed since then. Today’s oil is much better, and it can last a lot longer. Here’s what to do: Check your owner’s manual and follow the manufacturer’s recommendation.”
–Herb Weisbaum, MSNBC ConsumerMan, April 17, 2006
3000 Mile Myth Home

 

Unbelieveable that a true synthetic like Royal Purple would break down that fast. I have heard that both K&N and Mobil 1 filters are really good. Have you considered the Royal Purple oil filter? It is the only filter that I know of with a full 100% synthetic glass media that you can buy OTC (Pep Boys). They supposedly can last up to 12,000 miles.

I believe Royal Purple claims that these filters have 99.9% efficency at 25 microns and that oil flows through the element with less restriction than other cellulose or glass/cellulose elements. However many of these filters are smaller than their Toyota counterparts.

 

Along with changing the oil and the filter you really need to change/clean your air filter at a 10K or less interval. A dirty air filter will allow a higher level of silicone in the oil.

I have started to use the K&N 2009 filter on my 2.7L Tacoma due to the larger size of the filter.

 

I bought a 2013 2.7 DC and got it new; it runs on Mobil 1 synthetic. I'm just curious why Toyota only recommends the first oil change after 10K miles; then 5K thereafter. If it can safely go 10K miles on the first 10K miles, why not once it's broken in? I'm thinking 5k is overkill and that it's just a ploy to promote revenue. I drive 80-90% on the highway and am on pace to put 25K on my truck the first year. It'd be nice to cut down on trips to the dealership every 2 months.

 

I only have about 3500 miles but probably 8 months since last change with mobil synthetic. Only driving the truck maybe once a week right now here in California. How often would you guys be changing out oil on a truck not getting many miles ?

 

You can do it yearly if you want, or you can wait until you hit the mileage mark you normally aim for. Mobil 1, so 7500 miles OCI? Sounds about right to me

 

In our 2015 we run Mobil 1 15k for approximately 10k. It can go longer, it gets kinda dirty, never thick, but most of us are used to every 3-5k so we like to keep it on the safe side. We usually have a mod day every 10k or so miles anyways so it fits right into our schedule.
In my 03 Corolla, I was doing a cheaper synthetic blend every 3k, but I'm working on my first run of the Mobil 1 15k right now. I'm about 5k miles in right now and it's looking a little darker which was expected granted I've got 258k miles on it, so I'll most likely change it within the next 2-3k miles or so. If I'm playing around in the garage I'll check our tire pressures and fluids so nothing ever really goes unchecked; recommendations of max miles/months you go between changes I think is mostly for people who don't keep track of that kind of stuff super often to prevent people from blowing their engines.
Another important thing is the filter; since we're running oil for more miles than posted in our manuals, I strictly stick to either OEM or the 15k filters that are supposed to be used in conjunction with the oil. The OEM ones are of course the cheaper route; for the car, buying a box of 10 OEM filters was cheaper than buying 10 Fram filters so that's definitely more cost effective.
Either way, simply because of our pre-conceptions, I don't think we would ever really run our oil all the way to 15k. It's hard to get out of that old way of thinking. If we were running cheap oil with cheaper filters, we would definitely stick with what's in our manuals. There's no way a company would plaster a 15k mile guarantee on a bottle if it wasn't going to last, for the repercussions would be terrible, so I trust it pretty well.


Edit: wow, I just realized this thread is super old

 

I have a similar situation but I drive almost every day with low mileage trips. I change every 5K miles which comes out to every 6 months or there-a-bouts. If your trip is about 1/2 hour in length you should be ok with a 5K interval. Condensation, water, build up is the real culprit with infrequent use. It can be everywhere in the engine, gas tank, and even in the exhaust system. Running for at least 1/2 hour eliminates most of that. My biggest concern is my fuel system and ethanol in the gas. I usually only fuel up once or twice a month.

I have been running like this for two years now without any issues.

 

Ok yea i was doing every 5k as well which ended almost exactly every 5k until i got a dedicated work rig. Ill just doit the next free chance i get just to be on the safe side. Im usually pretty good about it just wasn’t sure if time was as much as a factor as mileage but seems equally as important thanks

 

When I was growing up it was either 3K or 3 months whichever came first. There was no syn oil at that time.

 

Every 7-8k for mine. Oil always looks similar to how it looked going in - liquid gold. Mobil1 oil and filter (synthetic).

 

I’m not exactly on the spot at 4-5k oil changes but I am pretty legalistic about my Amsoil. I’ve tried a few different types and for some reason or another my truck just ran smoother.

 

2003 TRD Limited Crew Cab 4x4. Manual says 7500 miles. I use what ever synthetic I can find on sale. Use Wal mart synthetic quite a bit. Using Puralotor 10k mile oil filters. I'm thinking about changing the filter every 5k miles, and going 10k on the oil. It never looks bad when I change it. Changing the oil every 3k miles is 1940's technology. Motor oil has change quite a bit since then, and there's no reason to throw your money away. Think about this, BMW has oil monitoring computers, and quite a few of their cars go 18k miles between oil changes. I think that's a bit extreme, but 10k miles on good synthetic oil is very reasonable.

 

This is correct.
I've tested and analyzed my own samples and many many other samples in a local lab here.
There is a bit of BS in this thread, not as bad as others but I got tired of being the oil nazi. Lmao any oil will do the job in these engines. Some better than others, but any oil will do the job. These engines(most Toyota engines) are VERY easy on their oil.

 

You must not be a BMW mechanic. They have notorious engine failure problems. The 'acceptable oil consumption level' between services is bordering on insanity. Have one of their turbo inline 6's? chuck turbos at it every 50,000 miles in some cases. If your *electrically heated PCV plumbing* freezes up (and it does) it'll suck oil into the cylinders untill the engine hydrolocks on it's own oil. Takes less than a minute.

 

8k on Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0W-30 and Fram filters, no problems! Although I am going to get an analysis done next change and see if I can go 10k to simply things a bit.