Toyota free oil, change, first oil change

About two weeks ago I took my truck into the dealer for an oil change and tire rotation. In six months I drove a grand total of 3600 miles.

I told the service advisor that this falls under heavy/severe use because the vehicle has been used off-road, for hauling, four-wheel-drive, in the snow and ice, and has also been driven short distances without allowing the engine to heat up.

He argued that oil change and service were not indicated and Toyota wouldn’t pay for them until I told him just have the 10,000 mile service pay for it and the next time I’ll bring it in I’ll use the 20,000 mile free service and be done with it.

I’m not big on changing oil but I have had low a mileage Tacoma in the past in Hawaii where I barely put 20,000 miles on the truck in over eight years simply because I did short distance runs around Kauai and I was changing the oil every 6 months to make sure moisture didn’t get in the engine.

The one time I waited a bit more than six months the oil was starting to look a little sludgy.

The service advisor wasn’t very helpful but I talked to one of the service guys who says that if you get the engine up to temperature once every week to two weeks, you should probably be fine with moisture, but he still thinks that six months is the way to go especially with heavy use and short trips.

Anyone else have any opinions? I think when I was back in Hawaii the service guy told me three months would be safer if I’m not driving it a lot.

 

I would change mine once a week just to be safe, like underwear...

 

Since I only put 6k miles on it a year, I change mine once a year!

 

If you are worried, send it out for analysis. My money is on the analysis showing it's just fine.

 

Pay out of pocket if this is important and move on or drain oil on O'Reilly parking lot and refill.

 

I would tell the service adviser to stick it in his ear...change it when you want it changed.
But thats just me

 

I’ve been doing every other change myself. I change every 5K miles.

 

^ X2
You don't even need a jack. Slide under and make it happen..

 

Probably will take less than type a rant

 

Heck, on my first toyotacare visit they did replace the oil at 5k miles and rotated the tires, plus gave me a sheet of all the stuff that was inspected.

 

ToyotaCare covers normal factory scheduled maintenance for 2 years/25k miles. It does not provide services for special operating conditions.

 

I am aware of that, I was just puzzled that instead of offering to use the 10,000 mile service to pay for it, he just didn’t wanna pay for it altogether.

 

I’ll start doing it as soon as Toyota stops paying for it. I think I have one free oil change and tire rotation left?

 

If it only covers the maintenance under “Normal driving conditions”, then that’s why.
Somewhere there is computer that won’t let it be “free”, the numbers don’t match.
It might not actually be the service advisor that won’t let you.
It might be corporate and their system.

 

I dont know how toyota works..but here you get 5 oil changes..you can change it whenever you want,but you only get 5 for free

 

I got one free in 2005 when I bought my PreRunner.
Took it in at 5,000 miles and that was that.

I don’t get anything with my current truck. I bought it used.

I think OP should do what he feels is best.
With what he says, his driving style aligns with 6 moths.
Short trips, stop and go, and no extended periods of run time at operating temp is hard on oil.
A weekly long 30 min drive will help a lot.

 

I had the same fight with my local dealer when it was new. Short answer find a new dealer. Long answer they just don't want to do it because they don't understand how to make that work for the system. In the end instead of fighting I just did it my self in between but you are correct. Oil change every 8000kms(5000mi) or 6 months. What ever comes first is the key to longevity.

 

Not to get into a debate on frequency, but I plan to always do 5K or 6 months. I just hit 6 months (under 5K) and have my first change scheduled tomorrow. I fully expected from Day 1 that I’d have to pay at 6 and 18 months and get the ToyotaCare to pick up the 12 and 24 month ones. I know you logically think since they are paying for 2, why not just the first 2 whenever you want them. But in this day and age I would never expect a company to give me something earlier than they are required to.

 

There’s not much to debate, Toyota clearly puts in the service manual that if you do severe/heavy use you should do it every 5000 miles or six months.

And the service guy said that this is my 10,000 mile free service and that means I only have one free left and he documented that.

The whole Toyota care thing is a bit confusing.

 

Bro, you don't need to change your underwear once a week. I flip mine inside out after the first week and wear them another weak. Double your usage and conserve water and detergent.