Oil change frequency

[jhguth]

^this plus i'd also be worried about sludge buildup with mileage that low, make sure you are taking it on a nice long drive where it can get up to temp on a regular basis

 

[AlcantaraFTW]

Hopefully along the same lines, would you guys have an aversion to buying a used 4runner with 40k miles that missed one oil change? One I'm looking at is just about perfect, but the carfax shows a 20k mile gap between oil changes, and the dealer doesn't have any further service records.

 

[4RunnerL2016]

Since I'm on synthetic, I do the ole' 10K, but almost always end up around 8-9K because I get nervous. ha!

 

[msp]

So did a few searches and it seem like this may be a good place to post a question about low mileage oil changes. My wifes 2018 Rav4 has got 3400 miles after 14 months and am wondering how often should I change the oil as it will take 3 years to get 10000 miles. And if I should change it yearly, should I still be using synthetic? Doesn't make sense to use the synthetic if I am only getting 3000 miles before oil changes. My 4Runner will be getting even less miles, maybe 1500 miles a year. What say you?

You're a brave fellow.

All of your questions can be answered on page 38 of the 2018 RAV4 Warranty and Maintenance Guide. Available here:

https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/T-MMS-18RAV4/pdf/T-MMS-18RAV4.pdf

And, why would you try to save a couple buckets if Toyota put synthetic in the vehicle to begin with?

Good Luck.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

Hopefully along the same lines, would you guys have an aversion to buying a used 4runner with 40k miles that missed one oil change? One I'm looking at is just about perfect, but the carfax shows a 20k mile gap between oil changes, and the dealer doesn't have any further service records.

Probably got done somewhere else that didn't log it. I wouldnt hesitate if it sounds fine. The fact they did it every other interval shows they knew it needed to be done.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

And BTW I shoot for 7500, usually Castrol synth - that's just me though. My other cars get 5k.

 

[IslandJim]

You're a brave fellow.

All of your questions can be answered on page 38 of the 2018 RAV4 Warranty and Maintenance Guide. Available here:

https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/T-MMS-18RAV4/pdf/T-MMS-18RAV4.pdf

And, why would you try to save a couple buckets if Toyota put synthetic in the vehicle to begin with?

Good Luck.

Did not say I was trying to save a couple of bucks....lol, feel like I'm being impeached!

Somewhere in the previous 4 pages of this thread it says synthetic oil is not even broken in until after a few thousand miles and is why I was asking

Per your advice I did check the manual and it says to use "Toyota genuine motor oil or its equivalent", so it will have to be changed with 0w-20 synthetic oil. And it looks like it needs to be changed every six months due to Florida being a "heavy duty climate".

First off, this the 4Runner forum, not RAV4. Second, always run synthetic, since that is what the engine is designed for, even the RAV4. Oil change intervals aren't just miles, but at time too. One oil change a year isn't difficult (or expensive), so use the correct oil and don't cheap out. Case closed.

Drewso I was going to post in off topic, when I did a search though this thread came up and seemed appropriate. If you would have read my entire post you would have seen I included information about my awesome Magnetic Grey ORP which qualifies my post to be in the 4Runner forum :guitar3:

 

[Jivewalker]

Hopefully along the same lines, would you guys have an aversion to buying a used 4runner with 40k miles that missed one oil change? One I'm looking at is just about perfect, but the carfax shows a 20k mile gap between oil changes, and the dealer doesn't have any further service records.

I would look real hard at it. Pull the PCV valve and see if it is sludged up. Look down the filler tube with a flashlight and see if it's clean. Pull the camshaft position sensor and see if there is sludge on it and look down the hola at the cam lobe. I would do all of that regardless, but especially with a 20k oil change.

Also, I do 5k oil changes.

 

[johnbt]

"And it looks like it needs to be changed every six months due to Florida being a "heavy duty climate"."

I don't know, looking at Tampa vs Richmond, VA they both have the same average July temperature = 90*F

The summers there are longer there, but not really any hotter.

I've been doing 10k synthetic changes for years. I'm not driving on dirt roads in equatorial Africa or Death Valley.

 

[drewsro]

Drewso I was going to post in off topic, when I did a search though this thread came up and seemed appropriate. If you would have read my entire post you would have seen I included information about my awesome Magnetic Grey ORP which qualifies my post to be in the 4Runner forum :guitar3:

I was just giving you a hard time about the RAV4 thing being on here. My wife also drives a RAV4 (2012 though). Even for that Toyota recommends 0W-20 Synthetic. As far as the oil break in goes for synthetic, you will probably be fine with whatever cheaper synthetic you want to go for that way you're using the right stuff but saving some money. I spend a little more for Liqui Moly but my wife and I both drive around 12-15k miles a year.

 

[Nuke]

I'm 64, have been doing my own oil changes since dirt was new and just on the 7 Toyotas I own/have owned I've logged over 1.25 million miles. Of those 7, 4 were/are T4Rs and I tow regularly.

My oil changes have always been every 8,000-10,000 miles or 1 year on full synthetic. Other than my new 5th gen, all of those other T4R tow vehicles had/have (still have the 4th gen) a minimum of 152,000 miles on them before being sold. The 2nd and 3rd gens had over 200,000 miles. Not 1 of any 7 of those ever used oil or had any compression issues.

I feel confident I could go 15,000 miles based on other folks info from oil testing. But I'm more than comfortable with 10,000 miles.