Mechanic said I waited too long and it burned through 2 quarts

The easiest way to end the oil change interval debate is to test different change intervals and send them all to Blackstone Labs and see if everything is in spec

 

I thought someone had done an analysis a few years back. But, the results will be different from one driver to the next.

 

Though sending in your oil to Blackstone Labs will give you an idea of maximum longevity and condition of the oil it wont tell you if its better to do super early oil changes. Many Blackstone tests imply synthetic oil can go 20k, and we all know that would be bad.

IMO anywhere from 3k to 8k is probably more than safe, Blackstone test or not.

 

I think all new oil threads should be deleted.

 

Or a sticky where all oil discussions go.

 

That wont help. Someone always brings up Blackstone labs too. I'd use them in a race car or if I had a a rare exotic but not for the Runner.

 

Banning oil discussions certainly wont help. But making and moving all oil discussions to a sticky would prevent littering the entire forum with oil threads.

 

The Blackstone analysis can certainly tell you if you have waited too long to change your oil.

I'd rather read the oil threads than the raptor light threads.

 

That would be a 60 hour work week for someone.

 

You could just start adding links to the other threads when a new one starts.

 

Possible that the owner only "lost" .4qt of a quart?

Keith

 

When I put 6.5 quarts in, the oil level level lands squarely between the lines of the dipstick.

I would need to add 7 quarts total to get to the top line.

 

The oil level does not change on my truck during 5K miles driven after an oil change. must be lucky and got a truck that burns zero oil.

 

Does anyone NOT fall under the Special Operating Conditions? It seems to include anything but just driving stock, unloaded, with zero additional wind resistance at anytime after an oil change.

 

Usually change at 6k miles and the level never changes with 190k miles on it. Mobil1 0w20 Extended Performance

 

well as someone who documented that toyota used a camry oil filter in my 4 runner, I wish I had taken a sample for blackstone to know if that did any damage. I'll be sure to capture one at my next oil change just to make sure the health of my engine is still good and wearing at industry standard levels. So there is absolutely value in sending samples to BS. Probably not every oil change unless you're really hard on your rig, but ever 10 to 20 just to keep an eye on things certainly can't hurt the old peace of mind factor.

 

Im burning about the same amount. Is it normal?

 

Lol

 

Provided that you were using a good full synthetic oil, if you do a lot of stop and go driving and/or short trips where the engine never gets warm enough to evaporate the condensation that forms in the oil, then more frequent oil changes are a good idea. If you start your car and drive it 15 or 20 miles or more before shutting it off and don't do a lot of start and stop driving, there's no reason why it all changes can't be extended to 10,000 miles or more.

Let's not forget that these oil change places make more money if you change your oil more often.

If you started your car and drove it for a thousand miles at a time, you could probably go 20,000 miles or more on an oil change. It's the first 5 minutes after a cold starts that's hardest on the oil

 

As a general rule. The difference between the minimum and maximum on the dipstick is usually 1 liter~1 quart. If you are missing 2 quarts I’m almost certain that the oil pressure light comes on periodically in sharp turns or hard stops. Happened before in other car that’s how I know. So the mechanic is an idiot.

 

Nooooooooooooo!!!!

 

I suspect they short filled by 2 quarts. They prolly used a 5 quart bottle only.

 

I’m new to the 4Runner family with a 2023. Do they not give you an indicator when it’s time for an oil change? Literally every car I’ve owned for the past 15+ years does that. Does Toyota not do that?

 

Mine tells me every 5k, although you can set a reminder in the infotainment center, to what ever mileage you want I believe.

 

Ok, good. I knew 4Runners don’t do the automatic headlights (except the Limited, I think?) like literally every other car out there so was hoping they weren’t sleeping on this, too.

 

My '21 TRD ORP gives the oil change alert every 10,000 miles. Same was true for my '28 SR5.

 

I bought my 2022 SR5 Premium 4WD pre-owned / certified from our Toyota dealer last November 2023. Supposedly they changed the engine oil and filter as part of their certified program.

A couple days after I bought the vehicle, I decided to check the oil level. I was horrified and pissed to find the level 3/4” over the full mark. (Cold engine, sat
over night.)

I was not comfortable with this, as I had always been taught, and had also read, not to over-fill engines with oil.

Rather than take it back to the dealer, I made the decision to correct the level myself. So I crawled under there and drained out the excess myself. I took it down to the full mark, cold engine.

After that, I immediately made the decision not to take it back to the dealer for the next oil change. I didn’t bother saying anything to the dealer.

Just last week, approx. 6 months since I first purchased my T4R, I performed my first oil and filter change as owner. I plan on changing the oil and filter every 6 months. I am retired now, and not driving much. Some weeks there may be 2 or 3 days out of the week that the T4R just sets in the garage and doesn’t even get fired up. I’ve put just a little over 2,500 miles on it since I purchased it last November, hence my plan to just change the oil going by time, every 6 months.

During changing my oil last week, I received another surprise. I couldn’t bust loose the oil filter cap using my standard socket wrench on the filter cap removal tool. I was pissed. I had already drained the oil. I was home alone as wifey was at work. I needed a longer wrench to get more leverage. I had to go ahead and put my new oil in the engine, and then went in to town and bought an 18” breaker bar.

Got home, and was able to bust the filter cap loose, cussing up a storm. Had to place a foot pressing against a front tire and push to gain enough leverage power to bust it loose. Man was I pissed. I’ve read the horror stories about this and thought nah mine won’t be that way, but it was. Who ever cranked on that cap last was an idiot.

I feared damage to that plastic cap but it seems perfectly fine, no apparent cracks or damage that I can see. I lightly brushed on some Never-Seize on the threads of the cap, popped the new filter cartridge in and screwed the cap / filter assembly back in place. I don’t own a torque wrench, but I just went by feel to the point where I felt I got it snugged up just right without cranking on it like King Kong.

I left the skid shield off for a few days and have been driving the truck. Each time I get home I’ve been crawling under there to check the filter cap. It’s staying dry as a bone, no seepage or leaks, so later today I’m going to put the skid shield back up in place. Sheesh, what a pain. Next oil change will be by time- some time in November.

For warranty purposes, I am documenting my oil and filter changes- date, mileage, and saving my receipts. I am using a Toyota filter cartridge. My oil of choice is Valvoline Full Synthetic 0W-20.

I am filling the oil to the full mark on the dip stick- cold engine / sat over night.

At some point in the near future, I’m going to perform my own servicing of changing out the fluids in the rear diff. and front transfer case. I’m going to purchase the gear oils right from my Toyota dealer. I’m also going to get a grease gun and service the zerks on the drive shafts.

….. just don’t trust the dealers. My last vehicle was a 2006 Tundra SR5 TRD 4WD. I bought it new. I took it in to the dealer for its first oil change. A few days later, I noticed the big skid pan under the engine was missing. W-T-F. I wondered if perhaps some SOB had stolen it, and tried to retrace where I’d been with the truck. I decided to check with my dealer. They were brave enough to ‘fess up and said yes, they had a skid pan and were planning on calling me to check and see if I had mine. Dang! I drove straight there and had them re-install it. Guess what- that was the last time I took my ‘06 Tundra in to the dealer for an oil change.

I love my new to me 2022 SR5 4WD T4R. Best vehicle I have ever owned in my opinion. The bad thing is, I’ll be 69 in August and have a bad back, and also have osteo-arthritis. It’s hard for me to get under and out from under my truck. I’m not over weight, but I don’t know how many more times I’m going to be able to get under there to do my own work. I’m going to be searching for an independent shop who specializes in Toyotas and get to know them, and politely let them know how fussy I am. Ha ha. I wish I lived near the Car Care Nut AMD. lol.

Finally, I think the idea of going 10,000 miles on oil is whacked. But that’s just me. I guess I’m just old school. 5,000 miles tops for me, or more in my case, once every 6 months.

 

Change the oil yourself, 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. No harm in changing your oil every 3000 miles if you go offroad A LOT

 

This is especially true for Subaru dealers, they tend to overfill oil as they know a lot of boxer engines burn oil and it would trigger yellow warning low oil level light prior to the next oil change if they use proper fill.

For 4Runner, I don't think they typically burn oil, but I think any engine with 0w20 or 0w16 will burn at least a little bit. The oil is too thin for scraper rings to remove all of it.

My view is that slight overfill is not a big deal, you'd have to put enough extra oil for pistonsrotating assembly to start whipping it around for it to become an issue.