Oil Change Interval: 5,000 miles or 10,000 miles?

This is the final answer for those still under warranty.

 

I service my oil once a year or 10K miles whichever occurs first. I use a high quality synthetic oil (Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum) since both products are formulated with high quality synthetics like Polyalphaolefins (PAO) and/or GTL base oils. I use to develop synthetics base oils for applications in engine oils (Mobil 1) and Aviation Turbine oils, so I have a lot of experience in the products ability to protect the hardware and offer excellent oxidative stability. I agree with many other posts indicating the type of driving has a big impact on service cycle.

 

i did my first change at 1000 miles and used costco oil. will do my next one at 6000 or 6 months whichever comes first and will again use costco oil and maybe 300 ml of ceratec just for shits.

 

was doing 10-12k intervals loooong before it was cool (ok from the early 1990s onward). never an issue and we tend to keep vehicles 7-10 years

 

I do what I want... at 5k. Because I drive in the dirt, and the heat, and at high speeds, with a heavy truck. Seems like I am always trying to escape some moron that can't put their cell phone down while driving. I also do short trips of less than five minutes... And drive in heavy traffic (stop & go).

Yall do what you think is right.

 

Right on

 

How do you prove you did it.
How does toyota know if you are lying if you say you did but actually didn't.
Lot of people do oil change at home.

 

What are you talking about? How do I prove I did what?

 

I used the app to enter a service record with the date and mileage, and I entered it immediately after resetting the service reminder. It's not absolute proof, but it's better than no record, or a delayed retroactive entry.

 

Anything that is documented, be it receipts with service date and mileage would be admissible as evidence.

 

There is good reason to do at 5k and alternatively 10k, Toyota even suggests 10k is fine with there synthetic. And since my 4Runner is going to remind me at 5k anyway I usually do it every 6-7k at most.

 

Is it safe to say everyone is running synthetic? I don't hear the syn vs dino debate and think all 0w20 is synthetic.

 

They did mine at 4K/1yr.

 

Sometimes I use avocado oil.

It's a little pricey, but it's organic and it's cheap insurance. Supposedly also reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease compared to traditional cooking oils

 

Did you request it or have to do any persuading I want it done? Or did they say 1 year needs to be changed.

 

I guess I'm different from you guys. While under factory warranty, I let a Toyota dealership do the scheduled maintenance. Then, I don't have to prove anything since it's a matter of record.

After the factory warranty has expired, then I do all of my own maintenance at whatever schedule I see fit.

 

I'm agreein' w/ ya Schlapp. Ever since Bill Gates started putting tracking chips in all the motor oil sold in the world I've switched to yak oil.

I get the good kind, straight from Mongolia. But I still change my oil every 25 miles. Although all those stops along the side the interstate make for hellishly long road trips...

Still, better safe than sorry!!!

 

The service manager has turned out to be a stand-up guy. He put it on the service order without me saying a word.
BTW, I’m 68yrs old and this is the first time in my life I have ever had someone else do an oil change on any of my vehicles.

 

for toyota to claim you didn't do oil changes every 5K they'd have to prove it. My question is how does anyone do that. They can not.

 

I do the same, its definitely more expensive but I am lucky to have a really good dealership with good mechanics, even the oil change guys. I used to do my own service, but with a truck its a little different and I have the extra $$ to spend since my time now is more valuable.

 

I have had problems techs over tightened filter or drain bolt. Easier for me to do myself knowing it's done right or who to blame if unhappy.

 

Hi - I change the oil every 5k miles and use Mobil 1 0W-20 full synthetic 6.5 qts. There are 6 zerk fittings which I grease every 10k miles. Obviously new OEM filter element with O-rings and crush washer are included. It doesn't hurt to change the oil more often than 10k miles. I do the work myself just for peace of mind. Travel safely.

 

I sympathize with that. I had a similar problem with my Honda. I won't like Toyota doing my maintenance while under warranty but it boxes them into a corner if something does go wrong. When the warranty expired on my Honda, I literally spent days re-torquing every bolt while changing all fluids. I'll do the same with my Runner.

 

Yep it was something I debated let them do it for records or do it myself. Decided risk of problems with oil is likely not filled or not changed and sludged up. For me being on top of it risk i can take documentation and records.

 

I try to split the difference and aim for getting it done by 7500 miles. Around 6k miles I'll start thinking about when would be a convenient time. Why do I split the difference? Because I'm indecisive, and all the arguments for both 5k and 10k sound reasonable to me.

 

Well, there really is no wrong answer here. If you feel comfortable doing the maintenance yourself, great. If you want the ironclad records of the dealership doing it for warranty purposes, also great.

...but let's not argue. We are all brothers from another 4Runner. That's why we're all on this forum.

 

That sounds a little far fetched. How do you extract oil from a yak? And how do you get him to cooperate?

 

Every 100 miles. Its cheap insurance

 

Why the need for dumb comments after you have already shared your perspective?

I am glad you do extended drain and an interested in seeing the analysis. Great your superior

 

I think he’s making fun of the “if a little is good then more must be better” thinking of those who change their oil at 5k as a precaution.

I started a poll thread a while back asking people with more that 200k miles on their 4Runners whether they changed their oil at 5k or 10k. There weren’t enough respondents for a definite conclusion to be drawn, but the results were 50-50.