5k oil changes

[Falls]

I know this has been beat to death , but whats your opinion on changing oil every 5k miles ??? To long of time ???? On my other truck's I used to do it every 2500-3000 , which for someone who drives as much as I do I was in there every month.

I've done this since it was new and rotate at the same time , everytime.

I just run regular Toyota oil that the dealer puts in.

I could switch to synthetic , but really don't know if its worth it as long as I'm consistent with my maint. Dealer said if I do go to syn. I could go longer 10k between changes but really dont know If I like that idea either.

 

[JB.]

I know this has been beat to death , but whats your opinion on changing oil every 5k miles ???..

I just run regular Toyota oil that the dealer puts in.

I could switch to synthetic , but really don't know if its worth it as long as I'm consistent with my maint. Dealer said if I do go to syn. I could go longer 10k between changes but really dont know If I like that idea either.

I think 5k is fine. I go every 4k because my truck is in the dirt a lot. I use Dino because I don't need any excuse to prolong the change intervals. Sure, synthetic is a better lubricant, but is it better if having it results in average change intervals for the life of the engine being, say, even 1 or 2K miles longer? Better lubricant, not necessarily a better solution.

 

[Uneek]

Dino here. I change mine every 3k, and usually I hit 6 months first, so even with synthetic I will end up having to replace the oil before the mileage. I have a decent amount of city driving as well.

 

[greasefingers]

I do not use synthetic motor oil since the blow-by gases contaminate whatever you use for this application. I change the oil every 4000 miles.

I do use synthetic gear oil in the axles.

I would never deviate from the Toy ATF T-IV for the tranny (for early 4th gen models)

I am have not used synthetic gear oil in the transfer case, but I am thinking about it.

I have drained and refilled everthing twice so far: the tranny, T-case, both diffs, and coolant.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Only synthetic (Mobil-1/ 5w30) oil in my 4Runner....and I still change it every 3,000 miles. Most of the time, it still looks halfway clean when I drain it.
:awais:

A waste of money? Well, probably not; as I can buy 5 quarts of it in a jug for about $22 on sale at Wally World and get my filters from the stealership for five bucks. Total cost = 15 or 20 minutes of time and less than thirty bucks cash.

That is still less than a stealer or one of those "quickie lube" place might charge, and I know it is done right and that my engine gets the extra protection of synthetic (whether it needs it or not). Best of all, I get the peace of mind knowing that my baby gets the best I can give her.

I leased my 4Runner (less than a year remaining on it - Boo Hoo!) for 3 years and 36k (12,000 miles per year), so doing an oil change every three months or so is certainly no big deal. Of course, I keep every receipt to document the fact that I am doing it more frequently than required by the factory recommendation.

I have used synthetic oil in my 2002 Nissan Sentra since it was new, and it is still humming right along with about 82,000 miles. I had two different Mustang GT coupes, a Ford van, a Toyota Corolla and a Nissan Maxima all perform flawlessly with Mobil-1 in the crankcase. I still followed the 3k drain interval, except for the Ford van.

That went for 5,000 miles between changes because I drove it as a work truck and put on 5000 miles every month, and I did not feel like changing the oil every other week. Once a month worked fine, as it was all highway miles and I put 200,000 miles on it in less than four years before selling it - with no engine-related trouble at all (although the tranny gave me some problems).

To coin a phrase from the Monkees, "I'm a believer." I treat every vehicle I drive as though I'll keep it for twenty years - even if I am not likely to do so. Aside from the peace of mind, a well-maintained car is going to hold its value better than one that has been abused, neglected or beaten half to death.
:bigok:

 

[xUSNavy]

In the past, I've owned an Acura, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota. All oil changes were done at 3k mile intervals with OEM filters and synthetic oil (Mobil 1 or Amsoil). All my vehicles reached well over 170k miles with no major issues.

Now my father owns strictly Toyota and he changes the oil on all his Toyotas at 5k miles using cheap walmart oil filters and dino oil. All of his Toyotas have also reached 170k miles and beyond as well.

So now I have decided that I will do my oil changes at 5k miles, but I will continue to use synthetic oil and OEM filters. I think this would be a perfect medium since I haven't seen any real benefit between 3k mile oil changes and 5k mile oil changes.

 

[spyne]

So now I have decided that I will do my oil changes at 5k miles, but I will continue to use synthetic oil and OEM filters. I think this would be a perfect medium since I haven't seen any real benefit between 3k mile oil changes and 5k mile oil changes.

I've been following a 5K change interval with synthetic for many years and it seems to be a good compromise. I rarely go off road and average about 50/50 city/highway driving. On the occasions when I go off road or spend a lot of time in dusty conditions I change the oil a bit earlier. The last two vehicles I owned went well over 100K following this routine and I expect the 4R will also.

 

[Climb14er]

My trucks and cars always go 7500 miles with top quality synthetics and oil filters.

I've never experienced an oil related problem and many of my vehicles have gone many, many miles.

IMHO, dino at 4000-5000 miles is a-ok and synthetics at 7500 miles are very easy on the vehicles.

 

[jeober]

5K will do you fine. 3K with regular oil is also cost-effective. As a previous poster mentions your oil picks up contaminants of combustion and fine matter that gets by the air cleaner. These are particulates smaller than what the filter can trap. As long as you use an SM rated oil of the proper viscosity you will have adequate lubrication and your job is then to keep the oil clean.