Oil sludge 7K after the last oil change

Why would I run my oil for 10k ? There's an army of Toyota engineers saying go for it . I personally not going to but just to answer your question .

 

I'm only at 3,000 miles on my 2.7 Oil is light amber still. I'm still debating whether to change the oil at 5,000, or let it go for 10,000 just to see how black it will turn.

 

That level gauge does not look all that bad. Oil sludges based on low circulation and temp. As the oil ages that sludge formation happens at lower temps. The heavy stuff falls to low points and does not move and if it's small enough to get sucked up in the pick up tube and past the pre screen it will get locked into the filter (even smaller? Makes oil look black). Cut open filter and see whats going on. And maybe do your own oil change starting with a clean drain pan and see how much crap comes out. It could be that the level gauge was not seated or is not sealed and is contaminating that local area

 

This right here is spot on info.

That is actually great info which he does not give, but chooses to because he cares about the long haul of his customers engines.

Excellent stuff. People don't care about what they can't see. A lot of these 10K oil change people are in for a disgusting awakening if they keep doing their oil changes at those intervals for a while.

Tons of people here are quick to give bad advice. That's because on this forum there are a lot of armchair mechanics (also known as keyboard warriors) who have maybe turned a wrench a few times in their life, watched a few YouTube videos and suddenly think they are all knowing about subject matter.

Yep. Highly agreed!

 

That actually looks like mold on the dipstick.

 

Um, don't tell the guys who are getting 400K using the 10K OCI and definitely don't tell the million mile Tundra owner who had his oil changed every 10K at dealerships.

Last thought...
Remember the 4.3L Vortec V6 Chevy ran years ago?
I actually saw several of those engines that were torn down, along with the test documentation. They were run an equivalent of 250K miles in a lab. Some were run with different filters, some were run with different viscosities and types of oil. Guess what: Every one of the made it to 250K with simulated loads, temps, etc. They key was they were regularly maintained according to the schedule. It didn't really matter what brand of oil nor filter but most importantly the schedule of maintenance is most important, as long as the oil and filter meet spec.
I was there as a contractor as we were designing a new test apparatus for GM at that time. That engine was a decent engine but not in the same league as the 3.5 Toyota is using now.
So talk all you want about whatever, just remember.to follow the engineers spec on duration and type and you and everyone else will be just fine.

 

I tend to do oil changes more on the recommended time interval. The reason is I drive less than 7,500 miles a year. So for a Tacoma that would mean I would do 1 only change a year if one followed the 10K or 12 months.

For my Frontier it means two oil changes a year. Every 6 months. I also do a lot of short trips. Figured for a cost of an oil change it is cheap insurance.

 

Oil change interval discussion aside, I have driven many shitty vehicles and filled them with many shitty oils.

I have never seen a dipstick come out looking like that.

 

Flat Earther...

 

I've just hit 19,000 miles on my 2017. I changed the oil myself at 5000, and had the dealer do it again at 10,000... and I'll need to have it changed soon, of course. Since I got an OK deal on the dealer maintenance plan, they do the changes. I'll have to check the dipstick and see what the oil is looking like. If I can remember to do that tomorrow, I'll post a picture.

 

wow....i just did my oil at 30k....it was very dark brown.....not clear like yours......wonder if i should go to 7500 intervals......change filter each time....but, i had dealers do it at 10k and 20k......before that, i had done it at 1.7k and then ten......wonder if they really changed it.....i forgot to look at the dip stick.....

 

No

 

I guess see what it looks like at 5000 and then at 7500 . Might have to change it early if the dealer didn't change it just to get it back on track.

 

At first I didn't want to be THAT conspiracy guy, but these instances where the oil is really black after supposedly dealer oil changes is making me wonder. Might be a good idea to make a couple inconspicuous marks with a crayon on your oil drain plug/oil pan and also on the base of the oil filter just to see...

 

Please don't start posting facts. That is just wrong. Next thing you are going to say is that the 3k oil change was a ploy by Jiffy Lube to sell more oil changes.

 

Just when you think you have it all figured out, another back and forth oil change thread shows up and confuses the fuck out of you.

 

There’s nothing to be confused about. You do what the manufacturer recommends because one, they put way more money into r&d then everyone on this forum combined and two, if you want to maintain your warranty I suggest doing what they recommend. After your warranty is up you can change it every 500 miles and use full synthetic maple syrup for all I care. Times change and so does the quality of products used. Back in the day roads were all gravel. Now it’s asphalt or concrete. I wouldn’t recommend tearing up the later and replacing at the same rate as a gravel or dirt road. But I’m sure someone would argue that point as well.

 

And that’s your opinion, there are others that try to convince you they want me to destroy my motor by following the Manufacturers schedule or the dealership only tell you they change the oil.

 

Just wait until my business loan gets approved, then you can visit my gas station. You can get your oil changed while you are pumping gas. So fresh oil with a fresh tank of gas, you never have to worry about a thing.

On the other hand, the Dakota I traded in had around 60k miles and I remember doing three oil changes, including the first break in change. It had a water pump leak but no engine issues or odd noises.

 

You can’t account for malice on the dealers side. Not even fair to equate that. Standard practice with full synthetic oil is 10k miles under normal use. This is backed by tons of research.