Once a year oil changers

Me for one. Mostly because of economic reasons. My 2003 2.4l manual still shows no oil loss, even tho I wait a year between changes. Synthetic or a blend, of course. My yearly mileage isn’t that high, maybe 8,000 a year. For piece of mind, I’m now adding some Lucas Oil additive. currently at 116k. I suppose when you get to 200k plus, you’re likely to see some oil loss.

 

But what about oil contamination? I’d recommend changing more frequently. You could get away with twice per year at that annual mileage.

 

For the last several years, I put 2-3k miles per year on my Tacoma and make sure to drive it every week at least once 10+ miles. Change oil with Mobil1 0w-20 and OEM filter 1x per year. Zero oil lost. I wait for the Mobil1 yearly rebate on 5quart jugs and buy 2 each time - keeps the price down to less than 20$ per jug after rebate. 155k on it now and runs like a champ.

 

I run what ever decent synthetic oil is on sale. Currently Costco is oil of choice. Change the oil about every 18 months or 5,000 miles whichever comes first.

 

My taco is my daily so it gets changed a few times a year, but my duramax that sits a fair bit of its life only gets an oil change every other year or so.

 

I’m doing once a year. I’ve had the truck 3 years and changed oil 3 times with Mobil 1 high mileage synthetic and Fram filters. I drive less than 1000 miles per year, mostly occasional grocery and hardware store runs.

 

Another once a year changer here, I've always used Mobil1 5-30 and an OEM filter.

My truck is mostly a weekend driver and sees less than 3k miles a year. I've owned it for 12 years to the day actually, and it now has a whopping 62k miles on it. Runs like a champ and has never let me down

 

A bit long for short attention span folks but this is a good watch and the guy does a great job...

Bottom line? Change your oil...
<-- Not an Expert, enjoy peace of mine, hate long walks on the beach...

https://youtu.be/TJhFAwFv-O0

 

Once a year changer here too. I use what ever synthetic oil is on sale and I use an OEM filter. She's parked in the garage and I drive it maybe every 3 months on a Saturday or Sunday. Still runs strong.

On the other hand, I do change my 06 Tundra's oil every 3k but that's because I drive it more often. Use synthetic and an OEM filter.

 

Don’t forget I do the once a year change out of sheer poverty, heh. Walmart, hehe. Did you know you they offer 3 choices of oil filter quality? I opted for their second best. Please, don’t wanna hear nightmare scenarios about Walmart oil changes. Stuff happens.

 

You'll get some naysayers coming in, specifically because most that own a Tacoma (or Toyota in general for that matter) daily drive their vehicles.

They're reliable, meant to be driven.

Had this been an ACR Viper club thread, then I can see the whole once a year oil change.

A Tacoma? Drive the piss out of it. It deserves it.

 

Impressive. I would let this guy work on my Tacoma.

 

Both my cars have 10k OCI per Toyota. They see <5k miles a year and get annual oil changes with Mobil1. Been doing this for years, no issues.

Synthetic oils don't break down over time like conventional oil does. You should be fine as long as you periodically check your oil level OP.

 

you should watch the video above on 10K oil changes and Toyota's. You look GTG with yearly changes on a low mileage driven car though.

 

Yeah.. the most I will typically do is about 7500 miles between changes. I have a Niki Lauda ass though and can feel every little nuance in a vehicle and can tell when the oil starts to break down via the idle and other vehicle characteristics. I can't describe it, but it makes things really annoying sometimes. I wish I was more naïve with vehicles lol. If one tire is even 1 psi low or my shocks are 1 click off from what I normally have it set to I'll notice it.

 

Thanks for the link. I'm a maintenance nerd when it comes to my trucks. I feel a lot better knowing that I change my oil sooner rather than later.

 

I change mine (Mobile 1) by time instead of mileage... every 6 months. I tow a fishing boat up a mountain road during the summer (3000' elevation gain), make short trips, and occasional offroading... about 2,000 miles a year. At 6 months the oil is pitch black.
Edit: mine's a 2nd gen... with the filter on top the oil changes are a pleasure do do.

 

Yeah synthetic oil is like magic.....should last 1000yrs, or more...

Problem is when u heat to 400 F and then throw in fuel vapors and mechanical stress it.....
You get sludge......
And to make it even worse in modern oil the crap in the oil is prevented from settling into the pan bottom....
its called detergent oil......keeps the crap and contamination in suspension, floating around the engine again and again...
at 400 F......Its a sludge party.

Question is how comfortable are you with a constant sludge banquet...hot soup.....the oil base is still fine....


Myself would change at 4K, 5K, 6K depending on cylinders....4/6/8
and not miles...but rather kilometers....oil is always jet black after only 2km...
for pure city stop and go......

If your almost a pure highway commuter, might be able to almost double these numbers.....

 

I read up on this a lot on a blog 540RAT. A bit disorganized (TOC is about 1/3 down the page) but the guy (mechanical engineer) tests oils on his dime. He tests mostly for wear properties but he also has the additive package tested which is whats important for determining oil change interval because the additives get used up. The high mileage oils are all BS marketing as he found the additive package amounts are exactly the same as the normal oil of same brand. The exception is Amsoil, it has about twice the additives. So his conclusion is 5k mile oil changes are best.

I change once a year since my truck is new and compression is like new. I think once a year (< 10k miles) is probably OK if you use full synthetic but 5k miles is safer.

IMO there is something fishy on that video, not that the mechanic is lying but why only 2 cyls damaged and such severe damage. If it was caused by wear I would think all 4 cyls would show some wear, looks more like lack of cyl wall oiling to me. I think maybe piston squirters clogged which is probably still oil change related but probably also because low quality conventional oil. Lots of engines have fouled oil control rings and that does cause lots of oil consumption but not extreme cyl wear, that is lack of oil. Just my opinion though...

 

I do yearly oil changes since I only drive my 1st gen about 4-6k miles a year. I've been real impressed with the 5vz, has never burned or leaked oil, and the oil comes out looking pretty clean. If your 2.4 is similar I wouldn't be too concerned about going to 8k miles.