High Cost of doing the right thing

As has been said, $75 is about par for the course for synthetic oil changes.

I'm going in for my 3rd oil change in my truck on Sunday as part of the ToyotaCare deal for the 10,000 mile service. It's actually my 3rd oil change, but that's just because I'm a bit overkill when it comes to that stuff (I did the 1,000 mile change and I'm holding to 5,000 mile intervals). I know the 0w-20 is for emissions, but I can't fathom how a 20 weight oil is heavy enough for these trucks.

When I had my 2G, I did 5,000 mile intervals (per the manual) and did 5w-30 synthetic. For the ToyotaCare, I got the first 3 and paid about $40-50 for the synthetic upcharge.

 

Please help me understand.....the very first oil change is not necessary until 10k miles???

 

In theory.

 

I'm not driving a $41,000 truck 10k miles in the Texas heat before an oil change.

 

According to the manual, yes. Or, 12 months, whichever comes first. On our Rav4 we only had around 5k at the 12 month service, so our first oil change was at 5k miles, but one year old.

 

Oil has come a very long way.....I'd bet that you could replace your oil now with Amsoil and never change it again for the life of the truck (provided it doesn't get low).

That is a bet if honestly like to make. Maybe I'll try it in my truck

 

Me too.

 

Old habits are hard to break. This is a weekly debate. I really don't mind spending a little money on oil changes.

 

EXACTLY why I do my own oil changes. Mobil 1. I put a mark on my filter and drain plug on a previous car, went in for an oil change, 45 min later I get the car back and check my marks....still there..not even touched

 

Actually it's the high cost of not RTFM.

 

Just add a little water.

 

That's some low ball crap ... which dealer ? Places that do stuff like that deserve to be thrown under the bus.

 

Some dealer when I was stationed in Kentucky. If only there was some way we can fully trust dealerships haha

 

Agree that it's a hard habit to break, growing up and it being drilled into my head that oil changes are a 3k interval. I also struggle with the "lifetime transmission oil" concept that manufactures are now selling.

However, I've seen enough synthetic oil analyses to be convinced that 10k is a very safe interval for what these new oils are capable of providing protection.

The far more critical piece is the filter. That is what is driving the interval.....not the oil.

 

Kings Automall just north of Cincinnati offers free oil changes for life with your vehicle purchase and has a #1 customer satisfaction award for like the last 5 years. They're the first dealership to have a specific Toyota Truck portion of the dealership too. Free oil changes every 10k miles +/- 1000 miles. Used toyotacare at 8k and 16k miles. Now my next one at 25k. I'm not worried.

 

Oh also, my truck was driven by a dealer for a short while. When I took delivery of the truck it had 371 miles on it and they changed the oil before I took delivery so I'm not worried about metal shavings

 

I do my own for about $30 bucks and therefore can afford to do it at 5k which is were I’d rather be, lots of different opinions on this matter so to each their own.
Doing it yourself you know what type oil/filter you have in there for sure. I like to be consistent and stick to one brand and oem filter.
And I can take my time and look for any trouble spots before they happen like rubbing lines, leaks, scrapes and loose or bent components. Yesterday I saw a lady dragging a hanging component under her car making a racket at 70 mph and seemed oblivious to the noise, so yeah I look for loose things under there at service time, you never know.

But be advised it’s not for everyone, diys can get into trouble and it can be costly to repair that oh chit moment. Not to worry though, you have the awesome TW community for that, its what they do, so stick around, never fear!

However, you do have to look over whom ever does your work too, because if you don’t catch their booboos, it can still land on you.
A couple years ago a friend of mine was telling me he just had his F-150 oil changed at the stealership the day before and I looked under and saw drop from the oil plug that was left loose, so he called them and they had it towed back to them, so yeah, chit happens, not often but when it does…

I’ll leave with this parting observation for those still on the fence and for those looking for reinforcement on doing the right thing. The rest carry on, to each their own and everyone has their own opinions and AH, but misinformation is the mother of all F#$%$!

Cheers!

'For automotive use, the oil change interval for synthetic oils is the same as for conventional oil, typically 7,000 miles to 10,000 miles following the manufacturer's "severe service" schedule (which is the schedule that covers city driving). Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type. Extending the oil change interval with synthetics is likely to contribute to engine damage and is not recommended'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

 

Yup.........what he said!!

 

Gotta love when people place feelings over facts for changing their oil. Threads like these seem to never get searched and pop up month after month. Let the dealer do the work for the first 25000 miles, they screw it up, they fix it. After that do everything yourself.