5,000 Mile Oil Changes Really Necessary?

i just took my '15 for the 10,000 mile oil change via Toyota care package. i'm pretty sure the 5,000 mile one is just a tire rotation and inspection. that one took about 25 minutes if i recall correctly.

 

Uhh...the 2016's call for 0W20. That is synthetic.

 

I buy 5 qt. at jugs of Mobile 1 at Walmart along with a filter for under $30 and change my own at 10,000 mile intervals. I do spin on a clean filter at 5,000. I'm at 160,000 miles and going strong. I figure to double that easily with the same routine. A 10,000 mile oil change with synthetic is already being conservative. There is a guy here that recently posted that his 2006 had just rolled over on 400,000 miles and he changed oil every 8,000-12,000 miles.

 

Yep, already addressed that IF you actually read through. here ya go, post #16

There, I even put it in bold for you to see. I also stated 0w20 is also ONLY available in synthetic

 

There is some misinformation in this post. The 4 stroke modern day engines of today and yester-year are no different than the ones which were in usage 100 years ago. The technology minus emissions control add ons to them is no different or better. The only thing we have improved upon is machining and closing the gap on tolerances within the engine, valvetrain and etc. That is still nothing to yell home about due to the fact that the combustion engine is only 10-15% efficient. Oil technology has improved, but it's only as good as the engines ability to isolate and seal it from other fluids.

The reason why 3K interval changes are recommended but are now being dragged out to 5k (eh, that's not too too bad) 7.5k (pushing it) and 10k (downright stupid if you ask me) is because manufacturers:
A. Want that beautiful new engine to not last you as long, so you can replace either it or the car sooner
B. Make it look like they are improving on their engine tech (even though they really have not)
C. Maintenance wars with other manufacturers

In all truth, synthetic oil or not, there is something a lot of people don't and usually never will factor into their oil change intervals. Fuel dilution. That combustion chamber is not creating a perfect seal and after x amount of miles, the chances that some fuel is escaping past the combustion chamber and mixing into the oil pan with the rest of the oil is high. Fuel is an excellent oil cutter. Let it do that long enough and you lose all the protection necessary to keep that engine clean and healthy internally. That is why it is great preventative maintenance to flush out that oil sooner than later to keep that oil pan and ultimately all of those rotating internals clean and properly lubricated.

Take this post for what you will, but that is my reasoning behind 3-5k oil changes at max REGARDLESS of synthetic oil in use or not.

 

^But explain how an old 80's engine would need a rebuild around 100,000 miles(if lucky to get that) and many modern engines can go 150-200,000 with regular maintenance? regardless, 10,000 with even full synthetic is too much.
Now given these are way underpowered and you either drive like a granpa or run the piss out of them, I wouldn't go 5,000 with synthetic in my Toyota.

 

Simply put, sloppy machining and tolerances allowed for much faster wear of internals, lubricated properly or not.

 

Some misinformation, here as well.

I totally agree on the fuel dilution being an oil killer, and we'll need to see how this 3.5L V6 engine does over time. But the only way to gauge this is to GET THE OIL ANALYZED. UOAs on the 2nd gen. 4.0L V6 show no such issues, so the 3-5k oil change is absolutely unnecessary given "normal" driving habits when taking fuel dilution into consideration.

Warranty needs aside, people change oil WAY too often. It's not cheap insurance, and it's a waste of resources.

Now, people that own a GDI car/truck...fuel dilution is a problem.

 

Take a look at this UOA on a 2006 4.0L V6. 300,000+ miles on the truck, and 11,000+ miles on the M1 5w-30. Fuel less than 0.5% where the values should be less than 2.0%.

You can't just categorically say fuel dilution is a problem in increased OCIs.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2921817

I believe this looks like the '06 truck here that just turned 400k miles.

 

I've rebuilt several engines from the 60s. I'm not sure what to say if you think todays engines are the same.

As I said in my first post, old habits die hard. It's cheap and easy to have your oil assayed at 7500 to see how good it is. No speculation involved, but then what would we argue about, eh?

 

Stop wasting your money changing your oil at 5K miles. That's like drinking half a bottle of beer, throwing it away, and grabbing a new bottle to drink.

 

Give up dude. Seriously.

 

It has begun.

 

Remember that oil is only part of what you replace. The filter also has to be replaced, so even if your oil is good to go you may still have a filter that needs replacement.

Just trust the engineers who spent years designing this stuff.

 

I'm not proud of it but when I was younger I put over 300k on a 1984 Nissan 720 KC 2wd, gas and I think I changed the oil maybe 4x (and trust me, the oil looked it) I eventually just got tired of driving it over 10 years and was the only reason I got rid of it. I sold it to my Cousin for $75. He drove it 5 more years then gave it to a farmer who drove it another 5 years until the motor finally croaked. Now, I try my best to keep the engine clean by changing the oil when it smells of fuel or getting quite dirty. I do try to let it drain for 45 minutes or so. Don't know if any of it really matters. Do what you like, I guess.

 

I meant more so the theory of operation, and the way they work, not so much the way they are assembled. The way they are put together these days are much better than before as assembly plants have modernized and standards have as well.

 

Of course, you are correct. I work at a nursing home and do clean people as long as I get my hourly wage. Cleaning (or the smell) does not get better with age but my time is not too far away. BTW: I was talking about the Toyota 25K mile complimentary service.

 

When I got my 2014 Tacoma I planned on getting all of the oil changes done at my local Toyota dealership......until they left a empty 16 oz Mt Dew bottle in my engine that got lodged on the belt. F*ckers!! I'll never take my truck there again. Plus I I switched over to 0w 20 anyways. Even with 0w 20 I change my oil every 5k.

 

I'm torn. I want to take advantage of the "free" oil changes... But on the other hand I want to be sure they are done right (oil filter changed, proper oil used, etc).

Trust issues I guess.