My '14 T4R has 6200 miles on it and the maintenance required light has kicked on for the 5,000 mile toyotacare. I leave for vacation here in a couple of weeks and will be putting at least 1500 miles on it during this time. Under normal driving circumstances I would wait until the 10K to make an appointment for the first oil change. But driving it this hard on the factory-poured oil is making me consider going ahead and paying for an oil change now. Just curious what some of you all might do in this situation.

Change the oil ffs. Or don't. It won't matter, except for your peace of mind (and your wallet).

Me, I'd change the oil just for the hell of it. But I sure wouldn't pay someone to do it.

While I don't yet have a 4Runner, my advice is this: You are going on vacation; the last thing you want to deal with while on vacation are any sort of vehicle issues. As such, it is worthwhile, IMO, to have the service done on the truck.

I have no affiliation with Blackstone Labs, but I definitely recommend having your oil sample tested. The results report is an inexpensive tool ($25) to know how your vehicle is running and any unusual conditions that may be occurring!

My $.02 worth. ;)

Oil changed not required til 10k. All they do at the 5k check is Multi-point inspection,
Rotate tires and inspect tire pressure,Visually inspect brake linings/drums
and brake pads/discs.

5K miles is only an inspection and tire rotation. Go knock it out. I think it took me 20 minutes. No need to change the oil early either.

10K service interval...WOOHOOO! Yet another reason why my move to a 4Runner is going to be a good move (no change from what I do with current vehicle, but not at 3000 mile intervals either! )

FYI, 5,000 for anyone still using non-synthetic. There are still a few Neanderthals out there. (I'm not one of them)

Synthetic is the way to go! I use Lucas 15w40 full synthetic in my Super-Duty right now and have had awesome results!

What is the recommended synthetic for 5th Gen T4R's?

Jordan tm,

The vehicle should have synthetic oil, which is changed every 10,000 miles. At 5,000 you should rotate the tires. What I would do is totate the tires and then look in the owners manual to reset the service engine light.

6.6 quarts of 0W-20 full synthetic. Looks sort of like castor oil, but don't drink it (or castor oil)

This is what I do with mine and rotate tires as well.

I use Mobil 1 full synthetic and I changed mine when the ODO hit the first 5,000 miles even though the OCI is 10,000. I always do an early change myself on all my new vehicles just to get all the engine break-in stuff out should there be any. I also went offroading for a week during the end of that first 5,000 so I considered it all good. I can afford it. I also rotate tires every 5,000 which is another good excuse to get underneath and see what's going on.

At 10,000 miles I'll switch to the 10,000 OC interval.

I will also use full synthetics on all diffs and cases underneath. My '03 V8 Sport full time 4x4 4Runner saw an average increase of 1.5 MPG immediately after I changed to synthetics in the t-case and diffs. I did that first change earlier than required as well on the '03, then changed to normal intervals after that.