10,000 Mile Oil Change

[Nick B]

I've been gone from this forum for awhile so I don't know if this is a common question .Anyway what's everone doing with the factory recommended 10,000 mile oil change ? Are you sticking with it or modding it to something like 5,000 or maybe 7,000 . Normal driving, no mountains, towing, dusty roads .
TIA,
Nick
2010 TE

 

[vicpick58]

As a new owner here I am interested in this too. I have had my TE for 4 weeks now and am at 4300 miles. I am going to do my first oil change around 5k and the second at 10k.

I have thought about running it from 10k to 20k and sending a sample in to Blackstone lab and see what the analysis says.

Oh and I wonder if anyone actually takes their T4R to the dealer for the supposedly free service for the first 25k. I have a hard time believing that this would be a good idea, knowing that the lube people are usually the newest and lowest paid employees.

 

[Bay33saw]

I have a new LE and I am getting my first Oil change done at 5K, after that I'm not sure.

 

[brockeverly]

I tow, wheel in the high desert, and both at the same time. Never worried about the 10k interval. If Toyota gave me a 5yr 100k warranty with 10k intervals then I trust its fine.

 

[Atlanta_man]

No risk on Toyota's part for saying go 10K. Save the planet and all.

Looks like Toyota is now giving 5 yr 60K mi on drivetrain.
I expect even with no oil change, a Toyota would probably still be running at 60K.
And any claims after 20K better prove to the dealer that the oil was indeed changed.

I would stick to 5K oil changes if I had a new 4R, and the first change a lot sooner.

And don't tell me that Toyota engineers decided on this. Their corporate bosses did.

 

[fdmstng99]

I get free oil changes for the first 2 years, I'll just go every 1,000 miles!! :thumb3:

 

[Nick B]

I get free oil changes for the first 2 years, I'll just go every 1,000 miles!! :thumb3:

We all got that . Free at 10,000 and again at 20,000 . Anything in between had to be paid for .

 

[chetJ]

This has been discussed before. The consensus seems to have been that 10,000 miles is too much to go between oil changes- I do mine every 5000 miles.

 

[brockeverly]

The general consensus means nothing, especially on forums where people just regurgitate opinions as fact. Send your oil to Blackstone Labs and get a UOA. I bet at 10k that 0w20 Toyota synthetic still has life left. Its your money, and cheap insurance if you're a skeptic, but so is flood insurance when you live on top of a mountain.

 

[chetJ]

Good point- I do mine every 5000 primarily because it does not cost that much more- and in my opinion may increase the longevity of the truck

 

[thebwlife]

I did my first one at 5K and will do the second one at 10K. I'll be going to 10K changes after that.

Here is the instructions I used. (good reference even for a guy that worked in a oil change shop for 5 years)

2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser oil Change with new oil filter element

 

[Qjake]

I change mine about every 3.5 to 4k just cuz thats the way I want it done. IMO 10k is to many miles between changes and it's just Toyota's way of saving money on their "2 year free service plan"

As a side note, I did bring my Runner into the dealer for it's 5k service. All I got was a tire rotation, greasy hand prints on my wheels and the same greasy hand prints on my service log. Ya the tech checked off all the little boxes next to what he was supposed to check but I watched thru the waiting area window an never did I see the hood up. I'll never go back there for service.

 

[brockeverly]

I do not understand the logic that it is there way to get off cheap on maintenance.

Think about this for a second -
2yr 25k on 5k intervals = 5 oil changes, not synthetic oil - $200
2yr 25k on 10k intervals = 2 oil changes, synthetic oil - $160

Now, think about over 100k miles -
75k on non synthetic - $600 in maintenance costs for the dealership
80k on synthetic - $640 in maintenance costs for the dealership

Now, add them up -
100k on non synthetic - $800 total revenue
100k on synthetic - $800 total revenue

So, over 100k miles on dealer service, which quite a few use (we forget that just because us on these forums are generally handy, the vast majority of people aren't) the maintenance costs are the exact same for the dealership doing the service. The cost difference in lost revenue for the dealerships is only about $40, but the cost for materials for the synthetic 0w20 to the bulk 5w30 used is significant. Not having the exact numbers, I would say that it actually costs Toyota more money to do 10k synthetic jobs than it does 5k non synthetic jobs. This would be due to the opportunity cost (two non synthetic oil changes bring in approx the same as one synthetic, with a lower material cost, thus a higher profit). Now, this is not touching the fact that if this was too long of an interval there could be engine damage, resulting in significant cost for Toyota.

Toyota does not do 10k intervals to save cost on their 2/25 service plans, that is asinine. They do 10k intervals on 0w20 because the oil is good for 10k intervals. Don't believe me, again I say, do a UOA at Blackstone Labs. You will be surprised to find that the oil has plenty of life left.

:snacker:

 

[Bay33saw]

I do not understand the logic that it is there way to get off cheap on maintenance.

Think about this for a second -
2yr 25k on 5k intervals = 5 oil changes, not synthetic oil - $200
2yr 25k on 10k intervals = 2 oil changes, synthetic oil - $160

Now, think about over 100k miles -
75k on non synthetic - $600 in maintenance costs for the dealership
80k on synthetic - $640 in maintenance costs for the dealership

Now, add them up -
100k on non synthetic - $800 total revenue
100k on synthetic - $800 total revenue

So, over 100k miles on dealer service, which quite a few use (we forget that just because us on these forums are generally handy, the vast majority of people aren't) the maintenance costs are the exact same for the dealership doing the service. The cost difference in lost revenue for the dealerships is only about $40, but the cost for materials for the synthetic 0w20 to the bulk 5w30 used is significant. Not having the exact numbers, I would say that it actually costs Toyota more money to do 10k synthetic jobs than it does 5k non synthetic jobs. This would be due to the opportunity cost (two non synthetic oil changes bring in approx the same as one synthetic, with a lower material cost, thus a higher profit). Now, this is not touching the fact that if this was too long of an interval there could be engine damage, resulting in significant cost for Toyota.

Toyota does not do 10k intervals to save cost on their 2/25 service plans, that is asinine. They do 10k intervals on 0w20 because the oil is good for 10k intervals. Don't believe me, again I say, do a UOA at Blackstone Labs. You will be surprised to find that the oil has plenty of life left.

:snacker:

I agree with you. However I am appalled that a self admitted photo whore did not include pictures of any kind. Your slacking my man!

 

[Antman]

.... and it's just Toyota's way of saving money on their "2 year free service plan"

I do not understand the logic that it is there way to get off cheap on maintenance.

.... Not having the exact numbers, I would say that it actually costs Toyota more money to do 10k synthetic jobs than it does 5k non synthetic jobs.

I dont get it...

Didn't you just prove his point that it costs more to perform the synthetic oil changes? At "normal" 5k changes double that, so it saves them money by going with 10k...am I missing something here?

Obviously Toyota went the 0w20 route for the benefits of the oil. Gas mileage probably being a very high priority, along with superior cold startability, etc. Plus it seems to be the way things are headed for everyone. Don't think for a minute that the "green thing" doesn't come into play here- less disposed oil...

That said, why would anyone even consider questioning Toyota Engineers on this? They have- as Brock stated- way too much to lose by comprising durability due to oil. No way in hell that's happening.

Past experience means nothing fellow shade-tree mechanics. This is the way of the future. Get used to it. I have zero doubts that this oil interval is more than sufficient (not an expert here, but I ain't losing sleep over it).


But- no dirty 18 yr old hung-over punk at a dealership will be half-assing my oil changes. THAT, my friends, should worry you waaaay more than Toyota's oil change interval!!!

 

[brockeverly]

I dont get it...

Didn't you just prove his point that it costs more to perform the synthetic oil changes? At "normal" 5k changes double that, so it saves them money by going with 10k...am I missing something here?

On the 5k oil changes synthetic was not included, it was dino oil. You had to pay extra for synthetic. I thought I went over that part in there, but I may not have.

 

[36bound]

Under no circumstance would I consider allowing 10,000 miles to elapse between oil changes. Seems to me that future buyers of our vehicles would much prefer to see documentation which substantiated that our oil had been changed every 5,000 miles, rather than 10,000.

In addition, I find it terribly coincidental now that Toyota is offering free oil changes for the first two years of ownership, that miraculously, the oil change recommendation has went from every 5,000 miles to every 10,000 miles.

Over the course of the next 150,000 miles the difference between changing out the oil every 5,000 miles compared to 10,000 might be a grand, so what. An extra $125 a year over the next eight years is a trivial investment. Then again, there is also the reasonable possibility that more frequent oil changes could help avoid other costly issues from arising.

When I have sold my previous vehicles, campers or planes, I have had friends, or friends of friends standing in line 3-4 people deep waiting to buy my stuff. And all because they were aware that what I was selling them had been maintained at a level that exceeded minimum scheduled maintenance requirements.

 

[Antman]

This is exactly the reason I hesitated to post in this thread in the first place, but I did- so here goes.

Check out the link- 10 pages. 2 years worth of this exact same argument, and there are many others like it. How many threads do we need to rehash people's opinions about oil change "expertise"?


http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/66263-recommendation-oil-changes.html#post560535

Let's hear from some Toyota engineers that designed the engine, because THEY are the experts on the subject. What we have done in the past is irrelevant here.

Want to change it sooner? Do it, it won't hurt anything except your wallet. Want to change it at 10K and STILL meet the requirements for the engine and the warranty? Why not?

People will be discussing this at 200,000 ++ miles. Then it will be worth listening to. :fishing:

 

[36bound]

"Want to change it sooner? Do it, it won't hurt anything except your wallet."

-Antman

Exactly. I'll change my oil twice as much (in truth, probably more often than that, because i can) as recommended for an extra $125/year- or whatever the amount- for the next eight years. No worries, whatsoever. If I thought I wouldn't be able to afford to maintain my vehicle at a level that exceeds minimum stated requirements and satisfies my own self-imposed higher maintenance regimen, I wouldn't have purchased it.

To each his own.

 

[Antman]

Exactly. I'll change my oil twice as much (in truth, probably more often than that, because i can) as recommended for an extra $125/year- or whatever the amount- for the next eight years. No worries, whatsoever. If I thought I wouldn't be able to afford to maintain my vehicle at a level that exceeds minimum stated requirements and satisfies my own self-imposed higher maintenance regimen, I wouldn't have purchased it.

To each his own.

Good for you.