1st Oil Change Poll

There seems to be alot in question the first oil change on their vehicle. Toyota recommends on vehicle from 2004 to current model year at a 5000 mile interval. This is the factory recommendation. Years ago people would be told to change their oil the first time at 1000 miles at the end of the "break in" period. There were a few reasons why you changed your oil the first time at 1000 miles. For one all of the engine blocks were honed, cut, shaved etc with metal items. This left small debris inside of the oil journals, cylinder walls, valve train and other small areas that later would have oil flowing through them. With the oil flow it would drag all this metal debris through the engine and down into the oil pan. Thus when doing your first oil change you would actually be removing some of this debris. Also some debris would be removed during the seating process of the engine parts. The components on most of the vehicle back in the day if you remember were iron and steel. So at that time that was a prudent thing to do. Mainly because you were shaving metal to get everything to seat and fit for longevity.

Now that being said the process in which these engine blocks and heads etc are all done with water jets. By using water to cut, hone shave and shape metal the process is much cleaner and almost no debris is left behind, thus meaning that there was no longer the need to remove whatever left over debris was left in the internal parts of the engine. Also most of the blocks now are aluminum. By using aluminum, the blocks, heads etc actually shrink and expand which causes less removal of debris which in turn leaves the metal attatched to the cylinder walls, valve trains, heads etc. So the need to remove these pieces of debris no longer exsists as it once did. So changing your oil for the first time at 5000 miles is completely acceptable, also the technology within the oils has changed dramatically over the years allowing for a longer life span of the oils and also helps in cutting maintenance costs. at 100,000 miles if you changed your oil every 3000 miles you would have had 33.3 oil changes, when using a 5000 mile interval you are doing 20 oil changes over the course of the same mileage. at 32.95 per oil change, it's a signifigant difference in costs as well as consumption of a natural resource. 33 oil changes would cost 1,087.35 over the course of 100,000 miles, 20 oil changes has a cost of 659.00. Pretty signifigant number. Using Synthetic oils obviously increases the cost of oil changes.

I am old school and it was beat into me that you change your oil every 3000 miles, that's it, end of story, and it took me quite awhile to get used to 5000 mile intervals. You are doing doing no harm to yourself or the vehicle by following the manufacturers suggestions. I use Mobil 1 every 5000 miles and my truck runs like a dream, I also do ALL recommended services, which makes a huge difference later in life. Are you going to feel it at 30,000 miles, no. Will you feel it 100,000 miles? You absolutely will. We all bought Toyotas for longevity, performance and reliability. By doing what is needed at the recommended intervals will insure a long life.

Now the bottom line. Are you hurting your vehicle by doing oil changes more frequently? No. Are you spending more money than you need to? Probably so. To each his own. I still know people that feel that they NEED to change oil more frequently, or they NEED to change their oil the first time at 1000 miles. You can certainly go with what you feel comfortable, but is it necessary? No.

Also using products such as BG MOA etc help bond the oil to the metal which makes a huge diffeence in the long run.

 

i was told not to run full synthetic till about 30000 miles when the engine is broken in

 

"Water jet" machining actually uses fine abrasive in the water. That would be worse than metal shavings, so I wouldn't accept that as a reason not to change the oil earlier.

 

It all gets tanked washed after the fact. But still leaves a very fine residual, but nothing like old school fabrications. Basically what I was explaining is the process that was explained to me by some of the engineers at Toyota. Working for Toyota has some advantages. Being on the service side, I get to see some of the engineers as well as deal with them on the phone from time to time when we see stuff we can't figure out.

Wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel, just passing on some good info.

 

You can run synthetics from day one if you choose, or change up whenever you want. You can also go back and forth between convential oils as well as synthetics. The new 4Runner, Avalons, 4 cyl Camry's and RAV4's for 2010 come with synthetic from the factory and the others will follow suit soon. Alot of the newer Toyota vehicles also use a 0-20 synthetic blend from the factory. Other manufacturers do similar, Corvette, Mercedes, I believe some BMW's and Audi's use the extended mileage synthetics with 15K intervals. Eventually all manufacturers will attempt to go full synthetic for emmissions and saving resources.

 

You need to take into account not only the total miles when deciding the oil change intervals, but also the type of driving that is being done...short stop and go trips compared to highway, towing compared to non-towing. I use conventional oil... my oil change intervals are more frequent because of the type of driving I do.

 

I first changed my oil at 5000 and then every 30,000 it gets a full oil change. Every 3000 I change the element in my bypass filter housing and add a fresh quart to keep the additives current. Running Amsoil 5w-30; also just changed out the transfer case and transmission oil with Amsoil

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 if I remember correctly. That was at 10,000Truck runs great and have run bypass filtration on my last two Tacoma trucks and the two Dodge with cummins td's. Only do this with bypass filtration though. Do not run extended drain if not fine polishing the oil to keep it clean.

 

I bought mine used,
but the first oil change i gave it
was with Castrol SYNTEC, nd Mobil 1 oil filter.
Might change it today but with K&N oil filter.

My Dad's first oil change for his Tacoma was
at 4,000 at the dealership.

 

I change mine every 8000kms or six months which ever comes first.most times it's six months,I use synthetic

 

I have had my truck almost 6 months now and it has 3,590 miles on it. I need to get oil changed by months end and tires rotated. Can somebody give me the pros and cons of going to synthetic oil? Once you change to synthetic, can you to back to regular?
Thanks.

 

For what it is worth I think oil changes before 7K is a waste. A few years back I bought my wife a new Toyota Sienna. I did first oil change at 500 mile and every 2500 after that. 30K miles she needed a new engine, threw a rod.
My Acura's I change the oil 7500 + or - and never had problems going 100-150K on 3 cars. Its just dumb luck a lot of times. Now I just do what the manufacturer says. I use regular oil.

 

While waiting for my new Taco (seven miles on it when I took it for a test drive) at the dealer last week, I saw a letter on the SM's desk listing the new 2010 Toyos that came with 0W-20 synthetic oil, and the letter said that these models had an OC interval of 10k miles. The Taco wasn't listed. I asked the SM, and she said that I could switch to syn at any time, but that I should use 5W-30. With the syn, the OC would be 10k miles and that the factory warranty would apply as usual--just keep the documentation that the OC was done with syn.

So, this tells me that there's no special oil in it when it's delivered, dino doesn't break in an engine any better than syn, and that some of us may need to update our opinions. I've always changed the engine oil in a new vehicle at about 300 miles because I learned in HS shop class that milling processes sometimes leave behind metal shavings in new engines--yes, I'm that old. Probably no longer true, if it ever was. I'm switching to Mobil1 in this one at about 300 miles because the first change is free and I want Mobil1 in crankcase, and I'll go with the 10k OCI.

Just a newbie's opinion.

 

I went to Walmart and got Mobil 1. 5 quarts for $18 Cant beat it when its on sale! I also change it every 7k miles with syn oil and a syn oil filter. package claims to be better and last longer with the special filter. I see it as you get what you pay for unless its on sale.

 

It's tough waiting till 5k to switch to synthetic when the outside temp dips into the minus 20 range. On the other hand it's tough changing to synthetic when your wife took over the garage and the only place you have to change it is on the icy ground with a windchill of minus 40!

4200 miles now, and as soon as the temps warm up to the mid 20s I'm switching over. Synthetic sure helps with cold starts!

Pete

 

HAHAHHA That sucks. My garage is too full of junk to get a vehicle in there. We need it to get warm so we can change that. But by then there is no need for it.

 

So has anyone heard this from any Mechanics?? I was told that a blend is the best thing and to not run synthetic no matter what for seals and such. The synthetic does'nt work its way in there and your more prone to replace seals over the life of the vehicle.

 

Hogwash.

 

I am a mechanic and whoever told you that is partially correct. You should only run conventional or blend for at least 5000. This gives the rings a chance to seat properly. After that synthetic is the best thing for your car or truck. Keep in mind to switch to high Milage synthetic as you get upto the higher range. If you do switch your oil to synthetic right away the rings and valve seals may never seat properly causing you to burn oil for the life of the vehicle. It is 100% normal to burn oil as the engine breaks in. The more you change your oil the better. I personally on my truck dis the first at 1000 with conventional. Then t 2500 with conventional. And finally 5000 with synthetic and the same every 5000 after.

 

alright thank you for the info...

 

thats what the oil filter is for