6 Month Service Advice

[Solofowaffles]

i changed by oil at 1000 miles and change it every 3000 miles

Are you not using full synthetic 0W-20? Changing that frequently is an enormous waste. Do you know something that the engineering team at toyota doesn't?

 

[tacoyota]

Change it at 10k and 20k. If you have money to burn, change it every 3k or paypal me so I can buy more mods

 

[18 trd off road]

i guess changing oil every 3000 miles gives me a warm fuzzy and i use fully synthetic i just cant go 10000 miles

 

[TacoRunn0517]

I've been following Toyota's recommended maintenance schedule and haven't had any issues thus far. I've owned my '16 TE since June 2017 and closing in on 57K miles. Knowing Toyota's way of conducting business, I'd imagine that their scheduling intervals are conservative and allow for wiggle room.

 

[renau001]

Nobody cares about your vehicle as much as you do. Just spend some time studying all the maintenance items in the link in my signature. No one can answer whether or not you should do it yourself. Cos we don’t know your previous experience, competence, confidence, etc. If you decide to do it yourself, great. Just do what your maintenance guide says, when it says. Keep good records and proof of the work with dates, mileages, maybe some pics now and then, I cut out SKUs from parts boxes and stuff too and keep them. And you’ll be fine. I do all my own maintenance, just got warranty work done, and didn’t get the first bit of hassle about it. You might run into somebody that gives you trouble. But by law they can only deny warranty work for something you didn’t do or something you did wrong or a mod to your vehicle that could have actually impacted what broke. And it has to be related. If you don’t rotate your tires, well that can only impact a tire warranty, for example.

If you don’t do it yourself, just find a dealer or shop you trust and just follow the schedule. Just know almost all Toyota dealers are gonna recommend a bunch of extra stuff. Just go by your maintenance guide and don’t let em rook you. If you wanna get a feel for the dealer service department, ask to talk to the shop foremen about your concerns, not the service advisors, you’ll know pretty quick whether it’s a place to avoid or not.

As far as service intervals. Somebody on here had an engine opened up with 180k or something like that, and had done 10k oil changes with 0w-20. It looked amazing. Yes, the intervals are fine. Especially for you doing it based on months instead of mileage, you gonna be doing anything at low miles anyway.

 

[DreamsOfDirt]

OP's question has been answered with all the angles' of response I can think of, so I'll just ask a question:

3700 miles? I think the real question here is why aren't you driving more? If you don't have a commute, make one up. Tell your wife you need to go buy milk and drive 3 towns over to get it. Take the road less travelled to get to your father in law's house. Anything to spend more time in your rig!

Good luck. I'm confident you'll make the right decision on the service question.

 

[jcage89]

Nobody cares about your vehicle as much as you do. Just spend some time studying all the maintenance items in the link in my signature. No one can answer whether or not you should do it yourself. Cos we don’t know your previous experience, competence, confidence, etc. If you decide to do it yourself, great. Just do what your maintenance guide says, when it says. Keep good records and proof of the work with dates, mileages, maybe some pics now and then, I cut out SKUs from parts boxes and stuff too and keep them. And you’ll be fine. I do all my own maintenance, just got warranty work done, and didn’t get the first bit of hassle about it. You might run into somebody that gives you trouble. But by law they can only deny warranty work for something you didn’t do or something you did wrong or a mod to your vehicle that could have actually impacted what broke. And it has to be related. If you don’t rotate your tires, well that can only impact a tire warranty, for example.

If you don’t do it yourself, just find a dealer or shop you trust and just follow the schedule. Just know almost all Toyota dealers are gonna recommend a bunch of extra stuff. Just go by your maintenance guide and don’t let em rook you. If you wanna get a feel for the dealer service department, ask to talk to the shop foremen about your concerns, not the service advisors, you’ll know pretty quick whether it’s a place to avoid or not.

As far as service intervals. Somebody on here had an engine opened up with 180k or something like that, and had done 10k oil changes with 0w-20. It looked amazing. Yes, the intervals are fine. Especially for you doing it based on months instead of mileage, you gonna be doing anything at low miles anyway.

Thanks for the link... and advice , much appreciated.

JC

 

[jcage89]

OP's question has been answered with all the angles' of response I can think of, so I'll just ask a question:

3700 miles? I think the real question here is why aren't you driving more? If you don't have a commute, make one up. Tell your wife you need to go buy milk and drive 3 towns over to get it. Take the road less travelled to get to your father in law's house. Anything to spend more time in your rig!

Good luck. I'm confident you'll make the right decision on the service question.

Fortunate in some respects to live within 7 miles of work. Actually have been using the TRD for weekend recreation and even taken two 500+mile road trips to the mountains and the coast but still just don't drive it far enough with regular commute to make up the miles. I get concerned with 15 minute commute that the rig doesn't have the opportunity to warm up sufficiently and that could play some negative impact on the workings. My mileage on regular basis is crappy 15- but on the road trips normalized to 20+MPG. Also my wife's car is the easier around town choice for kids' activities and other errands as it is small, much better mileage and easy to get around downtown.

I hear you though.

JC

 

[Barcelona4runner]

And it should be free. Toyota covers the cost of one alignment within the first 12 months of ownership.

Would Toyota still do that alignment within the first 12 months if you’ve upgraded shocks and coils?

 

[YellowSnow]

Once again....FPNI

 

[rasber3140]

Would Toyota still do that alignment within the first 12 months if you’ve upgraded shocks and coils?

Not 100% sure on that. When I had my TRD Pro 4Runner I had the dealer install the Toytec 1 inch coil seats and had no problems getting them to use the free alignment. But that was not a complete upgrade like you did. I think each service department is going to be different. I have a pretty good relationship with everyone at the dealer I use so I feel like I tend to not have some of the issues others on here express they go through with their dealer. It can never hurt to ask them though.

 

[JayceeP]

In Canada it’s every 5,000 miles including oil changes. This is off the US site.

 

[renau001]

Fortunate in some respects to live within 7 miles of work. Actually have been using the TRD for weekend recreation and even taken two 500+mile road trips to the mountains and the coast but still just don't drive it far enough with regular commute to make up the miles. I get concerned with 15 minute commute that the rig doesn't have the opportunity to warm up sufficiently and that could play some negative impact on the workings. My mileage on regular basis is crappy 15- but on the road trips normalized to 20+MPG. Also my wife's car is the easier around town choice for kids' activities and other errands as it is small, much better mileage and easy to get around downtown.

I hear you though.

JC

Keep in mind 6 month oil changes would be appropriate if you meet a special operating condition:

Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C:
Replace engine oil and oil filter 1
Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use:
Replace engine oil and oil filter 1

You should perform these additional maintenance services only if the majority of your driving is done under the special operating conditions indicated. If you only occasionally drive under these circumstances, it is not necessary to perform the additional services.

 

[srpuywa]

Fortunate in some respects to live within 7 miles of work. Actually have been using the TRD for weekend recreation and even taken two 500+mile road trips to the mountains and the coast but still just don't drive it far enough with regular commute to make up the miles. I get concerned with 15 minute commute that the rig doesn't have the opportunity to warm up sufficiently and that could play some negative impact on the workings. My mileage on regular basis is crappy 15- but on the road trips normalized to 20+MPG. Also my wife's car is the easier around town choice for kids' activities and other errands as it is small, much better mileage and easy to get around downtown.

I hear you though.

JC

My daily commute is 5 miles but still managed to rack up over 16K in a year going on trips :heh:

 

[Cndnmax]

And it should be free. Toyota covers the cost of one alignment within the first 12 months of ownership.

Where is this stated?

 

[rasber3140]

Where is this stated?

Page 13 in the Warranty & Maintenance Guide that comes in the black binder with all of the other manuals.

Sorry the pics will only attach sideways.

 

[4Runner911]

From the way that reads, it only covers an alignment if there's a defect in workmanship or issue. So you'd have to go in and say "hey I think it's tugging right/left" to get a free alignment out of the deal... correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, don't fret too much OP, I'm in the same boat as you... but I think I've decided I'll let them do the first tire rotation/inspection and see if they'll show me how to grease the propeller shafts and then not go back.. maybe compromise and do my oil changes at 7,500 for personal peace of mind only.

As someone said earlier, what's a ~$300 oil change savings if you'd rather protect your $40k investment.,,

 

[rasber3140]

From the way that reads, it only covers an alignment if there's a defect in workmanship or issue. So you'd have to go in and say "hey I think it's tugging right/left" to get a free alignment out of the deal... correct me if I'm wrong.

I am not sure if all dealers honor this this same. The dealer I use honored it for me on my 4Runner after they installed a level for me. Also on my Tacoma I was “in the green” according the machine, but I was unhappy with some of the numbers so they kept adjusting until I was happy all at no cost to me.

 

[jcage89]

In Canada it’s every 5,000 miles including oil changes. This is off the US site.

Right that's what I listed off in my post above. I think other than the rotation this is useless stuff to sit around a dealership for an hour. And since my tires don't have 5k miles yet its probably totally useless unless someone could deny a warranty claim because I don't show up and let a dealership do this 5k checklist. Now, other contributors to this thread report having no problem getting warranty service assuming I do this stuff myself and document that I did it. So that's probably the route I'll go.

JC

 

[jcage89]

Keep in mind 6 month oil changes would be appropriate if you meet a special operating condition:

Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C:
Replace engine oil and oil filter 1
Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use:
Replace engine oil and oil filter 1

You should perform these additional maintenance services only if the majority of your driving is done under the special operating conditions indicated. If you only occasionally drive under these circumstances, it is not necessary to perform the additional services.

I am somewhat concerned about the "repeated low miles" commute trips but I am not making those trips in sub zero weather and I don't work for Amazon making door to door deliveries so probably doesn't apply to me.
I'll probably document having done the checklist myself rotate my tires at 5k miles, change my own oil at 12 months which will likely be south of 8k miles which I figure is good compromise from everything I gleamed off this thread and past review.

Anyone know that local auto stores have place to take old oil and get rid of it when done? How much does that add to the tab?

Thanks to everyone here for all the feedback. Much appreciated!

Cheers

JC