Oil change interval

[Bmnorm2]

From a psychology standpoint, sometimes people get defensive about the things in which they are harboring guilt. In the context of this conversation, it’s kinda hilarious to imagine a buncha 4runner bros dying on the 10K-interval hill are deep down, feeling super guilty about not changing their oil more frequently.

So much guilt for following the manual… this isn’t a matter of opinion that would lead to “dying on a hill”.

I’ve had my oil analyzed at 10k mile changes and for my duty cycle, oil, and filter I actually have life left in the oil.

At the end of the day, the only true determination of OCI is regular oil sampling and analysis. For everyone else, 5k-10k will do just fine.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

The Car Care nut has said in the past that if you trade your car every 3-4 years you could go longer time and mileage than he recommends but if you keep your car 8-15 years do the shorter time and mileage. He replaced an engine that was burning a lot of oil in a Camry or something that had around 140k miles and showed the crosshatch gone on the cylinders. He said the owner followed the Toyota oil change interval and that more frequent oil changes would have prevented an engine replacement. If you trade frequently and do shorter mileage you are just helping the next owner at your expense. He recently did a video with 2 4runners, one a 3rd gen that had 310k miles with lots of oil changes that still runs great. The other a 4th gen with 150k miles that the engine is shot and burning oil. The 4th gen owner bought the vehicle used and did not have any past maintenance records. He has also said in the past that people come in with those oil test results that come out good yet the engine is burning oil.

 

[aggrobot]

So much guilt for following the manual… this isn’t a matter of opinion that would lead to “dying on a hill”.

I’ve had my oil analyzed at 10k mile changes and for my duty cycle, oil, and filter I actually have life left in the oil.

At the end of the day, the only true determination of OCI is regular oil sampling and analysis. For everyone else, 5k-10k will do just fine.

its a joke. relax. My statement was beyond absurd. All the same, if you find yourself getting defensive about oil change interval conversations, maybe get outside a little more.

Ill never understand why folks insist on passionately defending whats in the owners manual/warranty guide, and will then double down by going after people who change it sooner, but hey, its your time and energy. I was only trying to make light. By all means, if you need to get red in the face about this, dont let me stand in the way.

 

[spartacus]

Oil changes every 5000 miles keeps me sane!

 

[cbaty08]

Changed oil after the first 1K, and then at every 5k mark on the odo - just like the Car Care Nut says.

Cheap peace of mind.

 

[johnnygraphic]

On my 2021 Off Road Premium, the first oil change was at 500 miles. Part of that was due to going on a road trip and wanted everything checked over and fresh oil in the crankcase. After that, 5k on the odometer for me. Currently at 13k miles and will be due by summer.

Part of this is due to the drive cycle. We do a lot of around town/short trips. We do try and put some good miles on it from time to time, but a far cry from having a 30 minute freeway commute every day.

My 2004 BMW saw 30 minute freeway commutes and a lot of road trips and had 15k oil changes in the beginning, but soon changed to 7500 mile intervals. When I did some engine work, there was very little varnish if any at 60k miles. Only after I moved a lot closer to work (5 minutes) did I start to see varnish on the engine.

Low mileage and around town driving is awful for an engine. Just my 2 cents adjusted for inflation and after taxes, fees and administrative costs.

 

[FoxtrotRomeo]

.....
My 2004 BMW saw 30 minute freeway commutes and a lot of road trips and had 15k oil changes in the beginning, but soon changed to 7500 mile intervals. When I did some engine work, there was very little varnish if any at 60k miles. Only after I moved a lot closer to work (5 minutes) did I start to see varnish on the engine.

Low mileage and around town driving is awful for an engine. Just my 2 cents adjusted for inflation and after taxes, fees and administrative costs.

100% agree. Short trips are the bane of engines no matter how often you change the oil. Short trips don't allow the oil to get up to temperature to burn-off/evaporate all of the condensed moisture that was created by the prior short trip.

 

[Saker]

My previous 14 T4R oil change was every 10K. Never had any issues. It always looked good.
I decided to start changing the oil on my 21 T4R at 5K (just because), after the first 10K change.....

Just giving input.

 

[trey99ek]

Oil is cheap, every 5k for me.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[mfast10]

The manual in my 4runner states every 10k miles. Living in a smaller area we do not put a lot of miles on our vehicles but it is a lot of stop and go driving all year so I change the oil in the fall before winter and again in the spring before summer so every 6 months.

 

[Ravenscandle]

26k mile oil change

I'm looking to purchase a used 4runner and found one with seemingly a good deal. I've never owned one so idk what to expect noise-wise. Looks like the owner before added a whole bunch of aftermarket items so they must've cared at least a little. Because of this I suspect they may have changed the oil themselves but there is no proof of this. On the carfax it shows they did oil changes at 9.5k, 19.8k, and then finally at 45.3k. Didn't rotate tires at all either. I know Toyota engines are hard to kill but I don't want to buy a vehicle that is going to have problems. I've been changing the oil every 5k on the vehicle I currently own to be safe so that seems like a really long time to me. The engine is whiny but I hear that's normal although it's less airy than a 2020 I test drove last week.

Should I just not purchase the vehicle? It basically already has everything I wanted/need. The only issue is the questionable maintenance.

It's a 2017 4runner trd off road with 53k miles

Another question unrelated but this vehicle has leather seats and a moonroof. I couldn't find this as an option at the time. The dealer is selling it as the off road premium when the vin says it's just the off road. I'm going to bring that up but my question is, were those options in the past? I can see leather heated seats being aftermarket but not a moonroof.

(btw I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I "replied" to the incorrect thread)

 

[osugsxr]

I'm looking to purchase a used 4runner and found one with seemingly a good deal. I've never owned one so idk what to expect noise-wise. Looks like the owner before added a whole bunch of aftermarket items. Because of this I suspect they may have changed the oil themselves but there is no proof of this. On the carfax it shows they did oil changes at 9.5k, 19.8k, and then finally at 45.3k. Didn't rotate tires at all either. I know Toyota engines are hard to kill but I don't want to buy a vehicle that is going to have problems. The engine is whiny but I hear that's normal although it's less airy than a 2020 I test drove last week.

It's a 2017 4runner trd off road
Another question unrelated but this vehicle has leather seats and a moonroof. I couldn't find this as an option at the time. The dealer is selling it as the off road premium when the vin says it's just the off road. I'm going to bring that up but my question is, were those options in the past? I can see leather heated seats being aftermarket but not a moonroof.

(btw I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I "replied" to the incorrect thread)

as for oil changes I do mine own and just keep records of dates/mileage when completed. I'm not sure if there is a way to upload it to carfax. Tire rotations I wouldnt put much thought into that. Usually with aftermarket parts and some mods the owner will typically do their own oil changes and probably on shorter intervals vs the recommend 10k.

 

[Ravenscandle]

as for oil changes I do mine own and just keep records of dates/mileage when completed. I'm not sure if there is a way to upload it to carfax. Tire rotations I wouldnt put much thought into that. Usually with aftermarket parts and some mods the owner will typically do their own oil changes and probably on shorter intervals vs the recommend 10k.

If by chance they didn't change their oil for that long. Is it enough time to risk serious engine damage? Or will it be fine as long as I do my regular 5k oil change intervals?

 

[IslandJim]

If by chance they didn't change their oil for that long. Is it enough time to risk serious engine damage? Or will it be fine as long as I do my regular 5k oil change intervals?

You want to take the vehicle for a test drive. Have a friend help you. After the test drive (enough to warm up the engine), stop, have your friend check the exhaust while you rev the motor a few times. If your friend sees any oil burning smoke then you should avoid buying that vehicle.

Or you can swap places and have your friend inside the vehicle while you observe.

If your not burning any oil then it may be safe to purchase and start keeping up with the regular maintenance. This is not the only thing to check for when purchasing used, but this should help to relieve your fears about the oil changes.

You can have more peace of mind by purchasing new, but that is not always an option for everyone.

Good luck in your search....Jim

 

[AZ Craig]

If by chance they didn't change their oil for that long. Is it enough time to risk serious engine damage? Or will it be fine as long as I do my regular 5k oil change intervals?

Hard to say. Keep in mind the oil change interval with synthetic for these vehicles is 10K miles so at worst case they went about 2.5x mileage without a change. All you need is a single oil change that was either done personally or not reported to Car Fax (and I'm pretty sure it can miss maintenance as I've seen gaps in my own vehicle histories before on their site).

25K miles without an oil change is not great; but I don't think it would have huge lasting issues with these vehicles. They are hard to kill .

 

[johnnygraphic]

I'm looking to purchase a used 4runner and found one with seemingly a good deal. I've never owned one so idk what to expect noise-wise. Looks like the owner before added a whole bunch of aftermarket items so they must've cared at least a little. Because of this I suspect they may have changed the oil themselves but there is no proof of this. On the carfax it shows they did oil changes at 9.5k, 19.8k, and then finally at 45.3k. Didn't rotate tires at all either. I know Toyota engines are hard to kill but I don't want to buy a vehicle that is going to have problems. I've been changing the oil every 5k on the vehicle I currently own to be safe so that seems like a really long time to me. The engine is whiny but I hear that's normal although it's less airy than a 2020 I test drove last week.

Should I just not purchase the vehicle? It basically already has everything I wanted/need. The only issue is the questionable maintenance.

It's a 2017 4runner trd off road with 53k miles

Another question unrelated but this vehicle has leather seats and a moonroof. I couldn't find this as an option at the time. The dealer is selling it as the off road premium when the vin says it's just the off road. I'm going to bring that up but my question is, were those options in the past? I can see leather heated seats being aftermarket but not a moonroof.

(btw I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I "replied" to the incorrect thread)

25k between oil changes is a long time. A lot of it depends on the drive cycle. If the previous owner only drove it in town etc, then I would be REALLY leery of it. And, since it is a dealer, don't trust anything they say since all they want to do is get your money out of your wallet.

Do you have any mechanic friends? See if you can get somebody to come by and plug in a scanner-a good one to get deep data on the car and engine. Look up Scotty Kilmer on YT and search his tips on buying used cars. He almost always has something to say on the matter. He also is a huge advocate for 5k synthetic oil changes.

As to the leather, my best guess is that its the faux leather or Softex. It's a vinyl imitation leather.

 

[Pedro367]

I'm looking to purchase a used 4runner and found one with seemingly a good deal. I've never owned one so idk what to expect noise-wise. Looks like the owner before added a whole bunch of aftermarket items so they must've cared at least a little. Because of this I suspect they may have changed the oil themselves but there is no proof of this. On the carfax it shows they did oil changes at 9.5k, 19.8k, and then finally at 45.3k. Didn't rotate tires at all either. I know Toyota engines are hard to kill but I don't want to buy a vehicle that is going to have problems. I've been changing the oil every 5k on the vehicle I currently own to be safe so that seems like a really long time to me. The engine is whiny but I hear that's normal although it's less airy than a 2020 I test drove last week.

Should I just not purchase the vehicle? It basically already has everything I wanted/need. The only issue is the questionable maintenance.

It's a 2017 4runner trd off road with 53k miles

Another question unrelated but this vehicle has leather seats and a moonroof. I couldn't find this as an option at the time. The dealer is selling it as the off road premium when the vin says it's just the off road. I'm going to bring that up but my question is, were those options in the past? I can see leather heated seats being aftermarket but not a moonroof.

(btw I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I "replied" to the incorrect thread)

If the seats are the Softex "leather" with red stitching and TRD logo in the headrest then I doubt they are aftermarket. It's probably a premium.

In regards to the oil change, I would personally assume it got done especially if someone spent a few bucks on aftermarket parts and the first two got done right at the 10k interval. I'd also assume a lot of people on this forum have even longer gaps on their oil change histories because they do it themselves. My guess is they took the two freebies and then did it themselves.

 

[Dirtyvato]

Ugh so which one is it guys???

5k
10k?
6mo?
12mo?

The suspense is killing me! :nicethread:

 

[djeepin]

Ugh so which one is it guys???

5k
10k?
6mo?
12mo?

The suspense is killing me! :nicethread:

:rain: need to understand why we change oil.
the weakest link in an engine is cylinder walls. cold piston has bigger gap to wall. piston slaps into wall with every stroke and oil has to be there. those cunning Japanese engine builders does not want bad reputation, and developed watery-like viscosity oil to be delivered fast to every component, but for cylinder walls they not only invented special finish (they call it plateau), but supplement in TGMO 0W20 huge amount of anti-friction additives, among others Molybdenum. Why huge amount of additives? Because additives wears out, so TGMO from Tahari is still good to first 10K. Dealerships use Exxon-Mobile 0W20 and this oil has less Molybdenum, but that is OK, because first break-in period Molybdenum was there and it protected engine for warranty period. best for engine longevity is not to run cold, and not to have diluted oil.

 

[Rocko9999]

Ugh so which one is it guys???

5k
10k?
6mo?
12mo?

The suspense is killing me! :nicethread:

From master Toyota Mechanics-5K or 6 months, whichever comes first. OEM filter. Done.