The old 5k or 10k oil change debate

i'm on the 3k mile buy schedule.

at 3000, i buy the oil and filter.

at 4000, i start thinking doing it next weekend.

at 5000, the weather suddenly improves enough that i start thinking about it more seriously.

at 5500-7000, i finally get tired of thinking about it and change it.

 

True Toyota owners that care about their investment keep fresh blood in their motors

 

5K forever. Don't care what the manufacturers suggest. All they really care about is getting past the initial warranty time frame and the emissions warranty which is longer. I can also inspect the oil and check for shavings or anything else unusual. And if something happens and I go over a bit, it's nowhere like going 12-13K on the same oil.

I consider ALL normal driving nowadays as severe.

It also gives me a chance to roll around under a vehicle and inspect the undercarriage for any issues that may be starting.

 

I agree, Ahmed is an expert Toyota technician. He has a great YouTube channel.

Basically what he says is if you want to keep your Toyota a long time (say 200,000 miles or more) then definitely do the the 5K/6-month changes--that's when you start to see the problems from 10K/1-year changes. If you don't want to keep your Taco that long he says it definitely will last with the 10K changes. It will be deteriorating, but not enough for you to notice (or care) before you get rid of it.

One thing I learned is that the time (ie 6 month or 1 year) actually matters too as much as the mileage. Apparently, small amounts (traces) of gasoline get mixed in with the oil as the engine runs and cause the oil to deteriorate.

Since I plan to keep my Taco forever I'm in the 5K camp.

 

So, back in the day when we always did 3K oil changes, motors were in bad need of a rebuild at 150K. Now we do 10K oil changes and get 250K out of the motor. Times, as well as motors and oils, have changed. Some folks need to change with the times.

 

I used to be in your camp. Then I watched the YouTube video by the Car Care Nut --an expert Toyota technician (see posts No.17 and 24 in this thread.) Now I'm in the 5K oil change camp.

 

Well, the first engine I rebuilt was a '71 Ford 302 and many after that. Todays engines and oils are far superior to what many of us learned under. I'm more than happy to go 7.5-10K in a modern engine and full synthetic as I know the vehicle will most likely rust away before I have issues related to lubricant wear.

I don't really care though. It's cheap insurance if people want to do it. I know people who go well above 10K as well and don't have engine problems, even though I wouldn't.

I don't even want to think about what my grandfather did to one of his trucks. Pretty sure it never had the drain plug out in 10 years. He'd replace the filter every year and top off. Someone in the family got that truck after he died and drove it another 10 years.

 

So are you guys talking about conventional oil or synthetic? My last Tacoma (2003) I used conventional oil & always changed it at 5K. Now With my 2018 Tacoma, I’m using synthetic (which I’ve never used before) & I’m told I can do oil changes as much as 10K. Now with synthetic, I feel more comfortable doing changes around 6 to 8K, but that’s just me.

 

Ever know a guy that changed his oil too soon and it caused harm to his engine because of the oil change. Pretty sure I don't know anyone like that...dang it to hell Harry only had barely 3,948 miles on that oil but, why we'll never know, he decided to change it out for fresh oil. If he would only let to to 10,000 or so his Tacoma might have been here to today.

 

The 2GR-FE engine is 20 years old . Im a believer if there was an issue with 10K intervals, there has been ample time for manifestation and the engineers wouldn’t continue to recommend it.

“Peace of mind” and “cheap insurance” is simply what people like to believe to justify early changes. And hey , its their truck and an early change doesn’t hurt anything except their wallets.

My personal experience is with 8-10K changes depending on the trucks recent workload. That has worked out for me and I have no reason to deviate from the manufacturers advice.

I sold both of my Tacomas each with over 200k miles using 10K intervals. Sometimes even up to 13k… Ive never had any engine issues as a result, so it’s been working for me and I have no problems continuing with my ‘21.

 

We are all talking about synthetic. Take a look at my post No. 24, above, in this topic and see the video referenced there.

 

Gotcha. Thanks.

 

For any new comers curious, just under the title at the top right, u can click un-watch thread.

 

2nd Gen is 5000 miles, I do 6000 miles which is 10 000 km because it’s a nice round number and easy to remember every time it ticks over 130 000, 140 000, 150 000 etc.

 

It happens.

It’s good to flip your CDs and play side B when you get to the last song.

 

I can’t wait until these people have to deal with eTacomas in 2035. They’ll be going nuts.

 

If you believe there should be only one oil thread simply don’t read or comment on any subsequent threads. Easy peasy.

 

Why don’t the “engineers” correct the timing cover leak if they are so interested in optimally engineering the vehicle?

 

Love the idea. We down here in the lower 48’s need only change our odometers from miles to km’s and the 10k discussion goes away. Genius!