2023 Tacoma 27.L Oil change increments

Ahhhh. Thank you.

 

If I follow the manual to the letter it is basically telling me 5k changes. The extreme conditions stated is not really that extreme. So 5k it is and always will be. But this coming from a guy who still does 3k changes on the 08 Ram. Slightly old school I guess.

 

I'm still a newbie to TW and I was happy to find a new oil change interval thread. I'll be using Dm93's logic for my rig.

I bought my new ('23) Tacoma TRD Pro last month and just hit 1,000 miles. I did a bunch of googling of engine break-in true/false, pro/con, etc. and I am getting my first oil change today and then will be getting them done every 5K miles after that.

I'm not super handy mechanically nor do I own a bunch of tools. (My magnum opus was changing the alternator on an '82 Olds Delta 88 Royale in my car port and, as you can tell, I'm still pretty proud of that accomplishment. : ) Anywho, I went to the dealership and they were reluctant to take the oil change appointment and were sure to point out that a 1K mile oil change was not part of "Toyota Care." I'm still doing it despite being out of pocket.

This is where Dm93's logic kicks in. I think maintenance intervals are strongly influenced by MBAs and not technicians.

I can see the conversation going as follows:

MBA: "Can we get away with no break-in oil change and a 10K mile interval?"
Tech: "That's not optimal for the vehicle."
MBA: "We only need the vehicle last for 60 months or 60K miles, whichever comes first."
Tech (with the facial expression of someone who just sucked on a lemon): "Well...I guess so."

Relatively speaking, oil changes are cheap and motors are expensive. And as one YouTube dude said which is part of Dm93's point, "Lifetime Transmission Fluid means it lasts the lifetime of the power train warranty."

 

So I used both my Toyota care oil changes at 5k and 10k on 2 different vehicles. Don’t see why they would care when you use your 2.

 

If you can get under there and reach the filter then I would suggest putting a mark on the filter. We have credible stories here of dealerships that don't actually do the filter change. Since they know that yours is "not due" they might just figure that it won't matter. Now this is harder if you don't have a 2.7L (spin on) filter, but there should be something you would put over the nut that they would have to wipe off to get the work done.

You should also take a small oil sample on a white paper towel and save it to compare with a sample taken after the oil change. Even at 1000 miles you should be able to see the difference.

 

I wouldn't listen to the dealer on any maintenance interval suggestions.

 

Make sure they're real....lots of fake "OEM" parts on Amazon.

 

Yeah, this. Get OEM filters from the dealer, a dealer that sells them on eBay, or even Walmart sells Toyota OEM filters now. But there are many counterfeit parts from marketplace sellers on every site.

 

I get mine from Coniccelli Toyota via Amazon. Free shipping. Same with sparkplugs.

 

Keep googling. You'll find people.that believe in the tooth fairy.

Follow the owners manual.

 

be a wild man and go 7500

 

I didn't see this until I got back from the dealer but these are great ideas to confirm that the work was done. I did check the oil afterwards and it was super clean/translucent looking.

I agree with your googling comment. Not only is a lot if information on the internet wrong but much of it is intentionally and maliciously wrong or misleading.

In the face of this unknown, I'm left to rely on my critical faculties, BS detector, instincts, intuition, and risk tolerance. It is an imperfect system, to be sure, but this Taco cost more than my first house and I want to do what I reasonably can do to ensure that it lasts.

I got the first oil change today at 1,200 miles and will get them every 5K going forward. (With the understanding that the owners manual says every 10K so if it stretches past 5K due to schedule, finances, or whatnot, I won't sweat it.)

I have no quarrel with those who prefer to follow the owners manual and I sincerely wish them the best. To each their own.

 

I do 5000 miles and I use OEM filters and OEM oil. I think they are good filters and half the price of a Wix or Purolator. I know this has been beat to death but I also use Toyota 0-20, from what I’ve been able to gather, it’s Mobil 1 with an additive. Bottom line, you do you and others will do them. I changed mine at 5000, the dealer did 10,000, I did 15,000 and next the dealer will do 20,000. By then my free changes will expire. Then I’ll continue with 5000 mile changes. Also a retired Toyota mechanic at my church told to never ever install an aftermarket oil filter housing. He said I don’t care what oil or filter you use but the bypass valves may not be up to spec in aftermarket housings. Could lose an engine if it fails, so why take the chance.

 

I'd set your mark at 7500 miles if you're using 0W20...in order to meet the 0W20 spec, it can't really be garbage oil...like some back in the day when 20W50 was a thing.

A thousand miles over or under isn't gonna hurt anything, and changing the oil at a target of 7500 miles vs 10K miles isn't gonna cost you much more over 100K miles.

Ideally, send samples off to Blackstone or one of the other oil sample outfits, but if you stay under the factory recommended interval you'll be safe and I wouldn't bother with the samples. The samples will likely show that you can stretch things out another 5-10K miles past the recommended interval.

Most of us would rather be safe for a few bucks extra than walk the line to save $1 or 2.....