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]

Originally Posted by 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).

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]

Originally Posted by 127.0.0.1

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

This.

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]

Originally Posted by MadMax

This.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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).

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.

[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]

Originally Posted by RedRide

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.

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