I just got my Toyota Connections magazine and in it was a article about oil changes. It said "Under normal driving conditions, if you use regular oil, change it at least every 5,000 miles (though some industry experts swear by 3,000) or every three months, which ever comes first".

My manual says 7,500 miles. So what do you think? How often should you change regular oil in the 4Runner? Also any comments on that article?

I get free oil changes from my dealer every 3500 miles.. So Ill stick with that.

Wow, that's generous of your dealer!

Wow, that's a long time, even for synthetic oil! I probably would not go that far. Remember, you change your oil BECAUSE you want to remove engine debris...NOT because the oil has turned bad. So, regardless of regular or synthetic, you need to change your oil regularly. I would probably still change synthetic oil at around 7500-10000 miles. For regular oil, i would recommend between 5000-7500 miles.

My opinion.

Every 5000 miles (8000 kilometers) or 6 months on 5/30 synthetic.

Does Toyota recommend 12K oil changes for SYNTHETIC???

No, Toyota does not make the distinction between synthetic oil and conventional oil. Toyota recommends 7,500 mile oil change. Interestingly, Castrol says they don't make the claim that synthetic oil last longer and still recommends the oil change at 3,000 miles. Mobil does not really come out and recommend longer oil changes. Amsoil makes the claim of longer oil change and even gives a warranty. However, when a Lexus customer went past the 7,500 mile oil cange with Amsoil and got sludge. Lexus (Toyota) said he voided the warranty and Amsoil's warranty is not worth the paper it is written on.

Bottom line stick to 7,500 miles when you are under warranty and then take your changes after the warranty with what ever your heart desires.

No I didn't mean to say Toyota recommends 12,000 miles. Sorry I should have worded that better. They recommend 7500 miles oil changes with dino oil.
Quick poll from other Toyota 4R owners:
http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.p...ght=oil+change

The oil forum:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

Read some here on Mobil 1:
Not the be all, end all but informative. Take it as you will:
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

from the site:

*Engine wear actually decreases as oil ages. This has also been substantiated in testing conducted by Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips, and reported in SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119. What this means is that compulsive oil changers are actually causing more engine wear than the people who let their engine's oil get some age on it.

* Topping up the crankcase is a critical component of extended oil change intervals, and frequent filter changes are most likely the key to extreme-length intervals. The cumulative effect of even minor top-ups, let alone a filter change, substantially increases the longevity of the oil.

*One thing we're pretty sure about though: 3,000-mile intervals is a huge waste of resources.

*To date we have completed our test of Mobil 1. It held on for 18,000 miles, and didn't need its first oil filter until 12,000 miles

Interesting reading! Thanks.

There are obviously many different opinions. Here is what Castrol Website says:

"How often should you change your oil?
The more often you change it, the longer the engine will last. Engine oils are designed to meet car manufacturer requirements, and therefore need to be changed according to manufacturer recommendations."

However, to further support FirstToyz's statements, my BMW M3's first oil change was at 12,400 miles (according to my M3's internal computer). My M3 uses 10W60 fully synthetic oil from Castrol (made in Germany specially for BMW M-cars and Porsche). With most M3 owners, oil changes occur between 12K and 14K miles. (This topic has been debated for ages on BMW M3 forums!)

So, in conclusion, it's hard to tell who's right. For me, I am still with the opinion of changing oil at around 5000-7500 for regular oil and 7500-10K for synthetic. (My BMW M3's oil changes are free...so i follow the computer's recommendations...yeah, i am cheap!)

This has been such a good and informative discussion. Thus, i have moved it to MAINTENANCE and made it into a "sticky" for future reference.

Thanks again all for participating!

I know most people go longer than 3,000 miles. Thai, since you change the oil in your BMW according to BMW guidelines your warranty is still valid. My point is: If you exceed the manufacters interval and have a problem, they may say your warranty is void.

For me, I change my Castrol GTX every 3,000 miles and on the 4Runner I use Mobil 1 and change it every 5,000 miles.

I use M1 dino and change the oil every 5000 miles since I do 50/50 city verse highway, when I do more highway or Im lazy I'll change it at 7500.

Toyota recommends 5000 and 7500, the longer of the 2 for the less extreme, my Toyota dealer told me I should change it every 3000 but their out to make the dollars.

On Toyotas website in the frequently asked questions it says use regular oil but synthetic is fine but does not recommend exceeding what they recommend to retain your warranty, get it

Here's the article FirstToyz was referring to:

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

Interesting reading. FirstToyz, according to the article, your 12,000 mile oil change is on the long side.

Their conclusion is similar to what I recommend:

"Based on the results we've got here, we'd recommend 8,000 miles between oil changes on an engine that uses no oil at all, perhaps 10,000 miles on an engine that uses some oil, and 15,000 miles or beyond with a filter change every 5,000 miles. This, of course, isn't any kind of guarantee, and you must evaluate for yourself what your engine requires. One thing we're pretty sure about though: 3,000-mile intervals is a huge waste of resources."

Has anyone used oil analysis to determine oil change intervals?

All your talk about timing is just that until you get results from an analysis.

I find that service people at dealerships give lots of interesting advice, some good, some not so good.

Changing too often can't hurt, except when the important job of changing oil is put off on someone that is not qualified or does not care.

If you get confused or receive conflicting information, fall back to the owner's manual.

And finally, document your oil changes. Don't get caught like this...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...e_dur_oil.html

Many of these owners did not keep records, had engine failures and the factory told them to pound sand.

I just feel that after spending almost 30 g for my toyota an oil change every 3000 miles makes good sense