is 5000 miles too long to wait for an oil change?

[Yarus Maximus]

Why does Toyota recommend a conventional oil change at 5000 miles for the Yaris? Every other car I've owned required a conventional oil change at 3000 miles (or 5000 if synthetic).

[britishbikes]

I think the 3000 mile interval is for Super Lube to make more money. A car that is driven in normal conditions does not need that frequent of an oil change. If you drive at high speeds, or pull a trailer then the interval should be reduced. The Dodge Ram truck owners manual goes into detail about this because trucks tend to pull heavy weight, etc. The oil change light on my car comes on at about 4500 miles, and the oil still looks fairly clear; the level is still at the full mark. I just checked the valve clearances at 82,000 miles and they are all still within spec, so there does not appear to be any noticeable engine wear. Valve cover pretty clean, almost like a motorcycle engine in there it was so clean. I have a MT '08 Sedan w/TRD suspension, it gets driven pretty hard on the twisties about twice a month including a couple of jumps, I run about 77 mph on the interstate for 400 miles per week, redline the engine frequently.

[britishbikes]

So in a short answer, no 5000 miles is not too long for a Yaris, especially driven like most people drive. The car appears to have very good blowby control; very little contaminants get into the oil.

[custom Lftback]

I change mine every 7500 miles with fully synthetic oil. No problems!

[big lo]

I dont think that is a problem, I allways change mine to 5000 to 6000 and my car has 58789 miles and with no problems at all.

[Astroman]

That's "old school" thinking. Following toyotas recommended oil change interval is just fine.

[Hershey]

no problem with a good 5w-30 conventional oil such PENNZOIL ( now rated SN ) , HALVOLINE , etc..

[127.0.0.1]

Why does Toyota recommend a conventional oil change at 5000 miles for the Yaris? Every other car I've owned required a conventional oil change at 3000 miles (or 5000 if synthetic).


3000 miles change is an old recommendation when engines and
oil formulas were built to less exacting standards. that crap doesn't
apply anymore, but oil change places put the fear into you so they make more loot



follow the owners manual.

if you use mobil 1 go to 10,000 miles before oil change

[salmonz]

I think it depends which filter you use.

Fram Tough Guard has a change interval of 7500 miles. I use this one.
http://www.fram.com/oil-filters/tough-guard.php

Fram Xtended Guard has a change interval of 10000 miles.
http://www.fram.com/oil-filters/xtended-guard.php

[Billiam]

Thread locked in 3, 2, 1......

[MadMax]

if you use mobil 1 go to 10,000 miles before oil change

This. :thumbsup:

Oil is a precious and limited natural resource, and people are pouring it away because of some outdated information. Luckily some of it can be recycled, but it would be better to use it to its maximum extent than to needlessly change it because of ignorance!

[BailOut]

This. :thumbsup:

Oil is a precious and limited natural resource, and people are pouring it away because of some outdated information. Luckily some of it can be recycled, but it would be better to use it to its maximum extent than to needlessly change it because of ignorance!
Well said! And there are "extended performance" blends out there that let you go all the way to 15k miles between drain intervals. I've been doing this along with a high performance filter since the first change and things are running fine at 65k miles. I have yet to find any metal on the magnetic drain plug.

[sidewinder]

5000 miles on an oil change, it depends on how much you love your car. Yes todays engines are better built then long ago, I was a mechanic then and still am. I also worked in an oil testing facility in the military. There is more break down of the oil the longer you use it, except synthetic oil. Toyota does not make any money from you by having engines last 500,000 miles. They want the engines to wear out sooner so they make more money. I did my first oil change on my "S" liftback at 1800 miles and my routine oil changes are at 2500 miles. Oil is cheap,engine work is not. Yes, you believe what you want to. Our 1.5 is a small motor that works hard and makes alot of heat. I have tested oil for many engines in a lab environment. Its science, not speculation.

[yarrr]

5000 miles on an oil change, it depends on how much you love your car. Yes todays engines are better built then long ago, I was a mechanic then and still am. I also worked in an oil testing facility in the military. There is more break down of the oil the longer you use it, except synthetic oil. Toyota does not make any money from you by having engines last 500,000 miles. They want the engines to wear out sooner so they make more money. I did my first oil change on my "S" liftback at 1800 miles and my routine oil changes are at 2500 miles. Oil is cheap,engine work is not. Yes, you believe what you want to. Our 1.5 is a small motor that works hard and makes alot of heat. I have tested oil for many engines in a lab environment. Its science, not speculation.

Well the yaris has been proven to go 400k miles with 5k intervals. 80 extra changes over that period is ~1500-2000 bucks. I could get a salvage engine and install it for half of that. Oil is not cheap, and BP just let the rest of the "cheap" oil flow into the ocean... lol

[RedRide]

Why does Toyota recommend a conventional oil change at 5000 miles for the Yaris? Every other car I've owned required a conventional oil change at 3000 miles (or 5000 if synthetic).

It all has to do with marketing.
Auto manufactures want to claim that their cars are more maintainence free and "greener" than the competition.
Bottom line, it's your car, you are paying for it so, change the oil when you want to.

Personally, I change my oil about every 3k miles or so. :smile:

[fmicle]

By the way, when I was living in Europe I've never heard of or seen anyone do their oil change under 13,000 miles, synthetic or not. And last time I checked, their cars were running just fine :) And let's not forget, in Europe a 2 liter engine is a BIG engine!

I also don't really buy the theory that a smaller engine somehow makes more heat than a bigger engine. Yes, they do work harder, because you have to rev them up to get into their optimal power range. As far as I know, modern engines are much more efficient than 20-30 years ago, in fact they are so efficient that they don't produce enough heat to heat up the car in the winter and you need extra gadgets to warm up the car...

And even if it did make more heat, applying the same logic, wouldn't it be easier to cool as well? Because it's smaller it has less thermal mass, right?

Bigger engines last longer because they produce more power at a lower RPM and low RPM means longer life.

My $0.02

[Hershey]

was told by head tech that TOYOTA will be going to 10,000 mile intervals and the use of 5w-20 . Not sure if synthetic or conventional or both .

[PhillyG]

It all has to do with marketing.
Auto manufactures want to claim that their cars are more maintainence free and "greener" than the competition.
Bottom line, it's your car, you are paying for it so, change the oil when you want to.

Personally, I change my oil about every 3k miles or so. :smile:

Amen brother! testify!.... YOU bought the car.. toyota does not own it anymore.. You do what YOU feel is right..

[jambo101]

10K with synthetic for me,my way of helping out the environment in a small way.also helps on whats in my wallet.

[33OH]

I run AMSOIL synthetic, change the oil every 25K miles. Change the filter every 10K miles.

[ctrj]

Use Amsoil and go 15k miles.

This. :thumbsup:

Oil is a precious and limited natural resource, and people are pouring it away because of some outdated information. Luckily some of it can be recycled, but it would be better to use it to its maximum extent than to needlessly change it because of ignorance!

[ctrj]

I run AMSOIL synthetic, change the oil every 25K miles. Change the filter every 10K miles.

:w00t:

[Billiam]

:smoking:

[goliath1812]

i go about 8000-9000 on royal purple... no probs so far.

[sickpuppy1]

Oil changes are a different story between convention loil and synthetic IMO. I can see synth oil on a 10-15 or 20k oil change, but last I heard there is still a sludge issue in toyota engines,at least compared to say Honda(but they get the oil VERY hot as a way to keep from sludging) and my car has a lifetime drivetrain warranty as long as mfg maitainence is followed and records kept.I will use ONLY WIX or better yet Purolator PueONE So I will be doing my 3-5k oil changes for a long time! I noticed on the tranny dipstick (auto)it states no changes needed under normal use, 1st time I've seen that!

[goliath1812]

you think purolator is better than WIX?

[mimelio]

http://filtrationcomparisons.weebly.com/conclusions.html

[jambo101]

So I will be doing my 3-5k oil changes for a long time!

Drill baby drill.

[firemachine69]

To the OP:


I'm brutal on my engine. Cold-starts, short trips, etc.

Even so, all my Blackstone Oil Analysis reports come back with stellar results, and lots of oil life left. Blackstone is always trying to encourage me to go 6K miles on conventional Shell 5w-30, however I don't (yet), due to the warranty...

[Hershey]

To the OP:


I'm brutal on my engine. Cold-starts, short trips, etc.

Even so, all my Blackstone Oil Analysis reports come back with stellar results, and lots of oil life left. Blackstone is always trying to encourage me to go 6K miles on conventional Shell 5w-30, however I don't (yet), due to the warranty... what brand of oil do you use ?

[yaris4062007]

i changed mine every 5k - 8k miles with mobile 1 and kn filter :)

[tk-421]

R2D2, where are you?!

[firemachine69]

what brand of oil do you use ?



Motomaster Formula 1 conventional. Basically, a Shell conventional oil, privately-branded, with a slightly lesser additive-pack.


Next OCI will be actual Shell-branded 5w30.

[R2D2]

I'm right here tk!

[Hershey]

Motomaster Formula 1 conventional. Basically, a Shell conventional oil, privately-branded, with a slightly lesser additive-pack.


Next OCI will be actual Shell-branded 5w30. o.k. . We're using SHELL 5w-30 conventional for now . Get it for $2.20 a quart . Dumped the SHELL 5w-30 synthetic for both to see if the leak stops for both with conventional . May go to a run of VALVOLINE 5w-30 dino . That's apparently a little thicker . Checked the 2010 earlier for the leak after being driven for over a 100 miles in 2 days and there was no oil . When drove the 2008 for 100+ miles in 1 day it was wet to the touch . Recleaned both . Will keep monitoring the two :rolleyes: . Thanks .

[firemachine69]

Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder Hershey. I'm gonna have to check my Yarii, haven't lifted the hood since my last jug of washer fluid... two months ago. :redface:

[Quaifer]

I run AMSOIL synthetic, change the oil every 25K miles. Change the filter every 10K miles.

You are crazy man. Not only is that way too long, AMSOIL is not a very good synthetic to begin with.


My yaris is at 65,000km (40,389miles). I was using Castrol 5w30 conventional but switched to Mobil 1 5w30 Full Synthetic on my last oil change. I am choosing to go 8,000km (5000miles), using a Fram Tough Guard filter on my first oil change.

The first thing I noticed when I switched to Synthetic was my engine ran a little quieter. Second was just performance, it seemed to accelerate a bit quicker and smoother. I know the filter says it's good for 12,700km (7500miles) but I don't feel comfortable going that kind of distance. I do a lot of highway driving going back and forth to work so I will find out in a month how the oil works out.

[Astroman]

Ok, amsoil states using their filters you CAN go that long, and it is excellent oil. Lets keep this as facts not speculation please. This is why oil threads go south :thumbsup:

[127.0.0.1]

every stinking oil discussion has 'amsoil' in it somewhere.

the ONLY reason for amsoil fanbois is: Amsoil markets their products through a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) network of dealers


MLM and that fact that every backwater racetrack has someone who is trying to make a buck (it is a business, is it not ?) and tout the incredible capabilities of amsoil vs (xyz) oil...so they may sell some....there is more 'word of mouth' about amsoil and the grapevine and somehow people seem to think that carries more weight than corporate marketing and buying something off the shelf at wally-world.

amsoil is no better and no worse than any other big brand oil with the same API specification. do not believe the hype, because it is hype.

this very post of mine is going to get someones panties in a bunch I imagine.

the chemists at Amsoil are good and they won't make a bogus product, but you are not missing anything
by not buying amsoil.

[Astroman]

Actually that was the reason I switched from amsoil, couldn't find a seller in Wenatchee. Went with royal purple since I can buy it almost anywhere.

[firemachine69]

every stinking oil discussion has 'amsoil' in it somewhere.

the ONLY reason for amsoil fanbois is: Amsoil markets their products through a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) network of dealers


MLM and that fact that every backwater racetrack has someone who is trying to make a buck (it is a business, is it not ?) and tout the incredible capabilities of amsoil vs (xyz) oil...so they may sell some....there is more 'word of mouth' about amsoil and the grapevine and somehow people seem to think that carries more weight than corporate marketing and buying something off the shelf at wally-world.

amsoil is no better and no worse than any other big brand oil with the same API specification. do not believe the hype, because it is hype.

this very post of mine is going to get someones panties in a bunch I imagine.

the chemists at Amsoil are good and they won't make a bogus product, but you are not missing anything
by not buying amsoil.


AMSoil makes all their products (minus one, because it was a customer request) with Group IV bases.

That can't be said for Mobil1 (EXCEPT for the zero-weight [0w-**] oils).


They have one of the best additive packages in the synthetic automotive application industry.

Castrol has one of the worst.


They don't rely on colours gimmicks to sell their oil.

Can't say the same about Royal Purple.


They don't try to pass off "full synthetic" from a Group III base-stock.

Sorry, Pennzoil, you're out.


They don't need to run million-dollar "feel good" commercials about how one "feels the power" with their superior oil.

Sorry Quaker State, maybe next time.


:drinking:



Ten bucks says Quaifer is talking out of his ass, AND has never had an oil analysis done. You know, a sample of data to see where your Si stands, fuel-dilution, flash point, etc. Any takers?

[Hershey]

SHELL motor oil is part of S.O.P.U.S. family .

[ctrj]

Lets see some facts to back this up!!!

every stinking oil discussion has 'amsoil' in it somewhere.

the ONLY reason for amsoil fanbois is: Amsoil markets their products through a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) network of dealers


MLM and that fact that every backwater racetrack has someone who is trying to make a buck (it is a business, is it not ?) and tout the incredible capabilities of amsoil vs (xyz) oil...so they may sell some....there is more 'word of mouth' about amsoil and the grapevine and somehow people seem to think that carries more weight than corporate marketing and buying something off the shelf at wally-world.

amsoil is no better and no worse than any other big brand oil with the same API specification. do not believe the hype, because it is hype.

this very post of mine is going to get someones panties in a bunch I imagine.

the chemists at Amsoil are good and they won't make a bogus product, but you are not missing anything
by not buying amsoil.

[Billiam]

Thread locked in 3, 2, 1......
:smoking:

[1stToyota]

Ok, amsoil states using their filters you CAN go that long, and it is excellent oil. Lets keep this as facts not speculation please. This is why oil threads go south :thumbsup:

I think Amsoil issued a warning that their ea filter [made by WIX] in our Yaris needs to be changed every 5k miles, even though it's rated by Amsoil for about 25k miles....so yeah, I guess if you're instructed by Amsoil to change their 25k mile filter every 5k miles their oil will easily last the claimed 25k miles/1yr.

[HTM Yaris]

I find it interesting that Toyota will be switching to 10,000 mile oil change intervals . I'm willing to bet they will be using Amsoil or made by Amsoil .

If you do a comparison with Amsoil and Mobil1 like I did , you will come to the same conclusion that I did . At 5000 miles the Mobil1 was "black" while the Amsoil was still somewhat lucent . Visual inspection alone clearly (pun intended) shows that Amsoil is a superior product .

I change filter at 5K (Toyota) and my Amsoil at 10K .

[sleey0]

Royal Purple FTW!!

I would use amsoil but it doesn't exist in my neck of the woods. RP can be had for a good price though.

[Happy Little Pony]

I don't want to get involved in another oil thread, but I can't believe that we're three pages into this thread and nobody has shown up to preach the virtues of SJ rated lawn mower oil.

Why doesn't everyone just pay for oil analysis so we can have some actual facts and not just speculation.

[1stToyota]

I find it interesting that Toyota will be switching to 10,000 mile oil change intervals . I'm willing to bet they will be using Amsoil or made by Amsoil .

If you do a comparison with Amsoil and Mobil1 like I did , you will come to the same conclusion that I did . At 5000 miles the Mobil1 was "black" while the Amsoil was still somewhat lucent . Visual inspection alone clearly (pun intended) shows that Amsoil is a superior product .

I change filter at 5K (Toyota) and my Amsoil at 10K .

I doubt that Toyota will be using an oil that doesn't even have their own base stock...Amsoil just adds their additive package to their competition's [Mobil] base stock.

Some people like seeing black oil because they claim it means that the oil has enough detergents to clean the motor better. Maybe it's just urban legend that my grandfather helped to get started. Personally, I don't like seeing the oil go completely black at 5k in a well maintained low mileage Yaris, but that's what happened when I also drained the M1 (0w30) out on a 5k mile OCI ...first time that's ever happened, and I've used Eneos, PP, HP Amsoil, etc...

[birdman]

How long would a Yaris run if you never changed the oil and kept it topped off?

[tdinut]

How long would a Yaris run if you never changed the oil and kept it topped off?

Not sure about a Yaris, but one of the guys I used to work with bought a new Honda Prelude many years ago. He NEVER changed the oil or had it serviced. I don't believe he even checked the engine bay at all. That car went almost 2 years until it seized up on the highway. Poor car. I hope she did not suffer too long before she died:cry:

Joe

[salmonz]

Can you really go 7500 miles on FRAM's Tough Guard filter (i know, never use fram, but whatever) on 5w30 Castrol GTX oil on the Yaris?

[detroiter]

I just switched over to Castrol GTX high mileage since my car hit 75k recently. I was using regular Castrol GTX since the first oil change.

[NinjaPirate]

How long would a Yaris run if you never changed the oil and kept it topped off?

here's one example off another forum I visit. I cant just link to the post because you need an account to view. (Echo is the previous gen Yaris with 2NZ-FE):

It's partly my fault for not actually doing something more than reminding her periodically to get a service done, but anyways my wife's 2005 Echo has only had ONE service in 5 years and 58,000kms. It's been about 51,000km since her last oil change. The other day she said the car was making a funny noise, I took it for a test drive and immediately noticed that the red oil lamp was coming on and off. (I later asked her about it, she said "oh yeah I saw it but it went off so I didn't mention it." LOL)

When I checked the dipstick (repeatedly) I couldn't even make out what the level was – I wasn't sure whether the oil had thickened into black crud or whether it had just burnt up and disappeared. I didn't know whether adding more oil was going to overfill, but I decided to try a bit anyway. The oil filler area was blocked with more crud so I actually had to stir it (!!!) to clear it so I could put more oil in. After cautiously adding about a litre I could finally see some oil on the dipstick, and it was LOW. So the car was basically down to no oil! I added a couple more litres to get it up to the right level.

[henry33]

HI I am from Slovakia and Toyota will change your oil after 15000 KM (app. 9500 miles) or one year which will be first ;)
5000 miles is for me very little you should change your oil every six months no ?

[n5odj]

snip and my car has a lifetime drivetrain warranty as long as mfg maitainence is followed and records kept.

The dealer where I'm looking to buy offers this lifetime warranty. Do you have to take it to the dealer for every oil change? Can you take it to quickie lube & just save the receipt? Can you do the oil change yourself & save the oil/filter receipt?

Robert in TN

[RedRide]

The dealer where I'm looking to buy offers this lifetime warranty. Do you have to take it to the dealer for every oil change? Can you take it to quickie lube & just save the receipt? Can you do the oil change yourself & save the oil/filter receipt?

Robert in TN

Absolutely!
By (federal) law you do not have have your car serviced by the dealer to maintain the warranty.
Just save the receipts.

[n5odj]

Awesome. I'm pretty impressed by a lifetime warranty on a car. Reckon I'll run over there tomorrow & probably spend some money on this Toyota.

Robert

[Solid T D]

I'm taking a class for auto systems and auto technician, here in Los Angeles. My teach(master mechanic : exp30+yrs) says that when driving under "normal" conditions, 5k miles is just fine for changing your oil, as oil does not break down, it mearly becomes contaminated. However, living anywhere NEAR Los Angeles (or metropolitain area for that matter), we are not considered to be driving under "normal" driving conditions and must change our oil every 3k miles.

[aznssaiyan]

going 20,000 miles every oil change with mobil 1 syn and the xtended 10000 mile filter. no problems, good looking oil every oil change. 2008 hatch. lovin it.

[b20vteg]

going 20,000 miles every oil change with mobil 1 syn and the xtended 10000 mile filter. no problems, good looking oil every oil change. 2008 hatch. lovin it.
nice. :thumbsup:

[bronsin]

I think the oil change intervals are longer because of FI. WHen engines had carbs you were warned not to idle the engine. I think thats because the mixture in a carbed engine at idle is too rich. And imprecise at all speeds in general. I know changing the oil in my 74 VW Beetle every 2k miles the oil smelled of gasoline.:eek:

With FI the mixture is very nearly correct for all rpms. When I change the oil in my FI cars at 6k miles the oil smells like it did coming out of the bottle.:w00t:

Also in general an engine that is driven longer distances between startup and shutdown is less hard on its oil than one that is driven short distances. The longer your drive interval the longer you can go between changes. Short distance driven vehicles, like my Yaris, need more frequent changes.

[nookandcrannycar]

I think the oil change intervals are longer because of FI. WHen engines had carbs you were warned not to idle the engine. I think thats because the mixture in a carbed engine at idle is too rich. And imprecise at all speeds in general. I know changing the oil in my 74 VW Beetle every 2k miles the oil smelled of gasoline.:eek:

With FI the mixture is very nearly correct for all rpms. When I change the oil in my FI cars at 6k miles the oil smells like it did coming out of the bottle.:w00t:

Also in general an engine that is driven longer distances between startup and shutdown is less hard on its oil than one that is driven short distances. The longer your drive interval the longer you can go between changes. Short distance driven vehicles, like my Yaris, need more frequent changes.

^^^^^:thumbsup: The shortest interval for me has been 3k and the longest about 17k. When I first changed my spark plugs at about 208,000 I'd had the oil changed about 17-19 times before that (I don't have my log book handy) and the Toyota dealer said my engine was in great shape, and not burning any oil at all.

[Absolutely Red 12]

I think the oil change intervals are longer because of FI. WHen engines had carbs you were warned not to idle the engine. I think thats because the mixture in a carbed engine at idle is too rich. And imprecise at all speeds in general. I know changing the oil in my 74 VW Beetle every 2k miles the oil smelled of gasoline.:eek:

With FI the mixture is very nearly correct for all rpms. When I change the oil in my FI cars at 6k miles the oil smells like it did coming out of the bottle.:w00t:

Also in general an engine that is driven longer distances between startup and shutdown is less hard on its oil than one that is driven short distances. The longer your drive interval the longer you can go between changes. Short distance driven vehicles, like my Yaris, need more frequent changes.

Absolutely correct!!:headbang: