Oil change

Going off your profile you have a 2nd gen. That is a regular port injected non aspirated engine. The Turbo 4 is direct and port injection with a turbo. The oil starts smelling and looking pretty nasty around 4K miles. No way in heck I'd go 10K on an oil change on my truck. But, people can do what they want.

 

I always check my engine oil level before I leave the dealership just to be sure. And they always wait awhile for the oil to settle for an accurate check.

 

Funnel it into a couple of gallon water jugs with screw on caps…..

 

I probably didn't need much to steer me towards more frequent than recommended changes, but this I think will be enough.

 

Took mine in to my dealer for 5000 mile service today, told the guy I wanted to change the oil, and he said I could either use one of my 2 included or pay today. I used the included, easy peace of mind.

 

The simple answer: Insurance. Oil is cheap, engines are not.

 

does it still come with 0-20? Some OEs have actually moved to 0-16.

 

The Tacomas use 0w-20. I've only seen 0w-16 used in the smaller vehicles like the Camry so far.

 

My daughter just bought a new RAV 4 and it takes 0W-16, I never knew that weight of oil existed before she got it

 

That makes no sense. Got any verifiable evidence that changing at 5000 instead of 10000 will insure (using synthetic) your engine will last longer without internal failure. If such evidence existed the manufacturer would recommend 5000 mile changes.

 

Not quite. The manufacturer’s priorities and end user’s are not always aligned.

 

Kind of vague. Sounds nice, got conclusive evidence that changing oil at 5000 miles will make your engine last substantially longer? Got evidence that the manufacturer is suggesting longer interval oil changes so that your engine fails sooner?
I understand wanting to change oil at 50000 instead of of 10000, and if that’s what you want to do that’s great. I’m just saying I know of no evidence that changing oil at 5000 instead of manufacturer suggested 10,000 intervals will make any difference.
I understand the hesitancy to go 10,000 miles between changes. I grew up when the suggested interval was 3000 miles. But on my Highlander I go 10,000 and absolutely no problems. Bottom line if you feel the need to change oil sooner than manufacturer intervals go for it.

 

You should have toyota care for the first two years. I took mine in at 1k and 5k for oil change. They told me thats not when its due but i told them i want to do it anyway. They said i basically have two free oil changes and i can use them whenever i wanted, so I used my two free oil changes for 1k and 5k.

 

Oil Geek has his own agenda. Keep that in mind as well.

 

Agreed. I have seen counter arguments from people with more certifications and experience than him.

 

Apparently some Corolla and Yaris models use 0W8 now: https://autoparts.sunshinetoyota.com/products/product/gtmo-0w8-cs-glv1-6x1-0027908qte

 

Single data point stats are never going to be sufficient to support either side. There’s no contrasting example to your Highlander, but I’d bet there are highlanders that people forget to change the oil in for years and have no problems. Why not go to 20k intervals?

My point is that Toyota’s corporate goals aren’t always aligned with those of an end user. To use another example, oil weight might be chosen because it gives a CAFE mileage standard improvement while maintaining *satisfactory* protection…but that doesn’t mean that weight provides optimal longevity. An end user might value maximum longevity over fuel mileage.

It’s easy to see parallels with other aspects of the inevitable engineering vs business compromises that manufacturers make. So the appeal that “Toyota says do X and anything else is wrong” is a bit short-sighted. Toyota also told me 32” tires were ideal. They told me that Bilstein shocks weren’t ideal for my first gen by putting on KYBs. They told me redline trans oil wasn’t ideal, but it improves shifting in the w59 dramatically. Etc

 

This summarizes my thoughts better than I could have. To take it another direction, consider recommendations for transmission oil changes. Most change intervals reference temperature as an indicator of how long the lubrication will be sufficient. Under 200 deg F, you can get a hundred thousand miles. But over 300 deg F, you get like a few thousand miles. But does that mean I'm going to keep driving at 300 deg for a few thousand miles? I'm more likely to just replace the oil completely at my next chance if I've hit 300 for 20 miles up a mountain. To me that's cooked. There's no single point on a continuum of progressive lubrication deterioration at which everyone's comfort level with cost vs mileage vs wear will always align. Is anyone going to go 20k between engine oil changes? 50k? What's the evidence that engines wear out more at those intervals? Maybe 10000 is the same in terms of engine breakdown than 5000, but that study will never be done because there are too many variables, and in the absence of clear evidence in either direction, I'll spend the extra $50 and a happy hour tinkering with the truck twice a year instead of once. Call me an environment killer.

 

I appreciate your response but it’s all conjecture and supposition. More frequent oil changes probably make the petroleum companies happy but I doubt the automobile companies care. If you want to try to out guess the automotive engineers and petroleum engineers, if you have hard facts and study based evidence, go with it, that is your prerogative. If 5000 intervals is good then wouldn’t 2500 mile intervals be even better?
It’s like my truck, it’s a gen 2. I believe the recommended interval is 5000 miles. I’m old school and harken back to my youth when it was 3000 mile intervals. So going 5000 miles some how doesn’t seem right. I generally change it between 3500 to 4000 miles. I know it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, but it’s what I do. I know my engine won’t last a day longer changing it 1000 miles early.
So everyone should change their oil how ever often they want (at least not exceeding manufacture published max), it won’t make any difference.
Actually I’m done with this thread. It’s become another fucking oil thread for which there must be thousands of on TW. I hate fucking oil threads. Just asked why 5000, and the bs started. My wrong, my bad. I’m outta here. But please keep the debate and conjecture going, nothing better than another oil thread to add to the “anal” of TW history.

 

there’s a lot of disagreement and differing opinions even among lubricant-specialist engineers. It’s not that I’m “out guessing” anyone, it’s that I’m leaning toward agreeing with some opinions instead of others.

Completely agreed, so why is 10k vs5k an issue for you?

not sure why you seem so exasperated. It was a cordial conversation. Have a good day my dude