6th Gen First Oil Change, WOW!

Wipe the dipstick with a white paper towel, you can tell how dark it is. For reference, put a drop of new oil next to it.

Not real scientific but you'll get the idea.

 

Can you share some pictures of it?

 

I haven't recycled the old oil yet. I can get a photo later.

 

Nothing wring with preventive maintenance.
Cheaper than down time for repairs

 

My dad has this same turbo engine in a newer Highlander he bought. We’ve been changing the oil at around 4k intervals, give or take. The color of the oil on the dipstick shows as a dark maple syrup color at that mileage, and it’s still transparent on the dipstick. How’s that for scientific!?

The color I’ve see thus far hasn’t concerned me too much, being a turbo with DI. But it does reinforce the idea of getting it done before 5k for sure.

Full disclosure: I don’t have previous experience with modern tiny turbos, so I couldn’t say what’s normal. That said, I did own a 2011 Optima which I mainatined at 7500 intervals. That oil looked like gear oil with that mileage (no joke, it had that black-gray look, completely opaque to light).

 

my cousin has a 4 cyl turbo Tacoma and he changes oil every 5000 miles. Turbo cars degrade oil quick

 

more heat + higher pressure + direct injection, no way around it. The T24A FTS has supplemental port injection but guess where the washed off carbon build up goes...

 

OK for what it’s worth. I haven’t recycled oil from either oil change but each one is in a separate gallon jug so I know which is which. The top oil is fresh oil. The middle one is from the 3000 mile oil change. The bottom was from the 1500 mile oil change.

This is high-tech, highly scientific since I took a screwdriver and dipped it in each of the three oils and wiped it on the paper towel.
The new oil has color to it I think only because it’s laying on concrete and you can see the concrete thru the paper towel. Otherwise, it’s mostly clear.

As someone else mentioned, you can’t really see it on the dipstick but you can tell the difference when you wipe it on a white paper towel.

And as always, your mileage may vary.

Feel free to critique or criticize, I don’t really care. I’m changing mine every 5000 because that’s what I want to do.

 

Wow, I've changed mine at 1K, 5K, and 10K and none of those times was it even close to that dark. I did see where someone else got grit out at their 1K but that seems excessive. JMHO

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I wonder if the first 1500 mile change is particularly bad due to the vehicle idling at the assembly plant, at the port, on ship, at the US port, and the stops between there and the dealership.

Perhaps Toyota has engineered with that in mind but having that bottom oil sanding and grinding away for another 8500 miles before first oil change, yikes!

 

I bet the first oil drain was so dark because the factory Toyota oil is much darker right out of the bottle.

 

Color isn't a great metric, just do it at the interval you like or if we want to start comparing potential "reliability" or overall quality, it would be better to get some hard data.

 

Deliberating over a vehicle’s longterm reliability by examining oil color is about as scientific as sniffing the exhaust. Or your own farts.

Here’s an alternative plan for any current or potential Gen6 owner: Spare yourself the stress of collecting oil swabs, and don’t waste your money on oil diagnosis. Instead, just drive 250k carefree miles at the 10k mi intervals that Toyota’s own engineers recommend. Then if you’d like, go ahead and report back here what color your oil is.

 

There's been times in years past that sniffing the exhaust could tell you something...like if the carb was set too rich or even today, its easy to smell anti-freeze burning in the exhaust (bad head gasket) so just because you don't think that disgustingly dirty oil can be problematic...well, sniff away at your farts.

Oil doesn't get that filthy own its own. Being concerned about an engine that obviously deposits some type of material into the oil or maybe is burning it should raise some type of flag to anyone with automotive engine experience. Observing and caring for your car is an issue to others. To others, the ostrich approach (AKA, an engineer said so) works best for them.

And trust me, I am a retired engineer and know a lot of them have basically no common sense. So, if you think that 10K is best because some engineer says so, you are apparently oblivious to the problems with the GM AFM engine destroyers called engineers that thought that turning off 4 out of 8 cylinders by moving a camshaft back and forth is a good idea. Or maybe the radiator and heater coil eating DexCool antifreeze that GM engineers claimed wouldn't need changed for at least 5 years. Well, they said, just don't expose it to air and you'll be ok. Most automotive engineers wouldn't design cars with windshield wipers unless someone above them told them that customers might drive the car in the rain. Most of the recalls in the automotive industry are caused by some engineer that F-d up.

Personally I don't care if someone does 20K miles or more between oil changes. I just know that I have NEVER seen oil get that dirty that quickly and understand that there is a reason behind it, somewhere. And no, I don't believe that Toy puts in dark colored oil at the factory.

 

I think I see the face of Jesus.

 

Have you ever seen the oil that comes out of a diesel engine? It’s jet black and those engines last a very long time.

 

I will have to check my forerunner to see if it has a diesel engine in it. that could explain a lot of things.

 

I was thinking Rorschach test.

 

I'm going with Groucho Marx.

 

I’ve read (and also noticed in a DI Kia I previously owned) that direct injection actually does produce more soot than port injected engines. I recall a couple of years ago I was reading that solid particulates (soot) in DI engines were “next” in being the target of environmental controls (can you imagine DEF systems in gasoline engines lol?).

I’d imagine that every DI design may act a little different. My Kia was sooty, but my NA V6 highlander with the DS port/direct injection design is not sooty. The new toyota 4cyl turbo I believe is a DS design, but being a turbo may make the exhaust look different than NA counterparts. Have you checked your exhaust tip or body work near the exhaust for soot? I specifically remember my Kia having way more soot staining than I ever experienced in a car previously. That Kia would also make the oil extremely dark very quickly.

Regarding the toyota oil being darker, I can only say that I recall being able to clearly read the dipstick oil level on my two last 0w-20 toyotas when the cars were brand spanking new, and after the first oil change with Mobil 1, it was nearly invisible unless I caught a strong glint of light reflected off the oil/dipstick.

 

Gasoline particulate filters have been in the works since early days of the last administration. I know several ford eco boost models have them starting this year. CARB states will insist on it regardless of what the current epa says.

 

Yeah, in terms of efficiency/pollution benefits, I kinda think that DI is just past the edge of diminishing returns. It adds complication, doesn’t allow the engine to keep it’s own valves clean, and the soot itself has more immediate and direct health effects for people (especially for those around dense traffic, or living near dense traffic) compared to the marginally reduced carbon that comes from any extra efficiency of a DI engine.

Turbos don’t help with that either, from my understanding.

 

It's ironic because the last of the econo sh!t-box, the 2025 nissan versa, uses an ancient 4 cylinder engine that still passes the emissions standards as of 2025MY but without DI and other measures, its 32/40 city/highway mpg wasn't gonna cut it for the ~2030 round of new standards, so Nissan in part made the decision to kill it back in 2024 and made 2025 the last year for the US market. It was not worth the effort to continue the model altogether. So there goes that last ~2500 lb NA Port injection economy car with a 5 speed manual option for the US market.

The game is rigged against small, light, simple cars. Simple as that. I have one and sure, it is no Miata, but it is more fun to drive and way simpler than, say, the current corolla.

 

That's the ticket, YOU paid for it, so I would think YOU can do what YOU want to do with it!