4Runner Maintenance and Care

I have a new 2022 TRD-Off Road with KDSS. I am in the Rocky Mountain area going between the mountains and Denver. Just had a couple of questions for maintenance for 4Runners. I am coming up on 5K miles (can't believe it) and am looking to get my first maintenance appointment (which should be free at Toyota). I plan on getting an oil change and tire rotation. Please let me know how you guys take care of your 4Runners with the questions below:

- For oil changes, how often do you change the oil? I am planning on doing synthetic oil changes every 5k miles.

- For tire rotations how often do you rotate your tires? I am most likely planning on every 5k miles so that I can get the most out of my Nitto Ridge Grapplers.

- Does anybody have nitrogen in their tires? I am going to do some research on nitrogen and hopefully this should help my tire pressure light from appearing less, considering the high altitude and cold weather.

- Does anybody know if all 4Runners come with the same anti-freeze? Just want to make sure I have a viable anti-freeze for the Rocky Mountains as I purchased my 4Runner in the south-east.

- Does anybody have any undercarriage protection? Just seeing if there is something such as a spray treatment that could help the underbody of my car protect itself from the elements and the salt on the road.

- Do you take your 4Runner to Toyota for regular maintenance?

Please let me know if you have any other regular maintenance you do to your 4Runner or have any recommendations.

 

Your coolant/antifreeze is fine.

Your service intervals look good.

Don't go to the dealership.

Spray your truck with Fluid Film or Wool Wax.

 

Oil every 5K.

Tires every 5K, Nitto Terra Grapplers. I bought certificates from Discount when it was brand new. Road hazard, rotation, replacement, everything. Worth it to me.

No nitrogen. Waste of money IMO

Sorry, in south Texas we don’t care much about antifreeze

Haven’t done undercarriage protection but I’m considering it for beach travel.

I haven’t taken mine to a dealer yet for anything. God willing, I never will need to. I have a local mechanic I trust who takes care of everything except oil changes. For those I take it to a little mom and pop place that I also trust. You might call and ask if they will even do a 5K oil change. I believe I read here that someone took their’s in and was told they won’t do oil until 10k because that’s what the book calls for.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Synthetic Oil every 5k.

Tires every 5K - nitrogen in mine because I have access to it at work.

I still have factory antifreeze (only 30k miles so far).

No more dealer lies for me. I have a very trustworthy local shop that gets whatever I don't feel like doing myself.

 

The reason it’s recommended to replace antifreeze every 5 years or 60k miles is apparently it becomes acidic and can corrode gaskets and seals leading to leaks.

Most of us here do the 5k engine oil/filter change interval which is recommended for “high” utilization such as short trips, off-road and city driving. Some utilize 10k intervals that mainly do highway miles. That choice is up to you as far as what you’re comfortable with.

The problem many of us have had with dealerships is damage to the skid plate bolt holes (stripped) due to the fact they use impact tools and are pressured to hurry.

Enjoy your new 4Runner.

 

Can I ask why you recommend not going to the dealership? I believe the first visit I have will be free. I used to have a Camry and my buddy owns his own dealership and car shop, which it amazed me to see the markup the dealerships puts on you. Would you say they also replace stuff as its not needed?

 

The dealer is not going to change your oil at 5K and you should do it yourself if possible. They are no better than any lube place. Everything else is fine but look into lubing the prop shafts on your next one. Nitrogen is a waste of money. We breath mostly nitrogen.

 

The dealer provides “free”oil changes at the 10k and 20k intervals per the Toyota Care program. Not sure if it includes rotations. If you take it in to the dealer at 5k, I believe they only just look at it. And maybe not that closely. That’s it, the maintenance schedule doesnt call for much else.

Regardless, I would change the oil at 5k max the first time, just to get see how much glitter is in the filter and get a fresh one in there.

Taking a 4 runner to the dealer for an oil change almost guarantees stripped skid plate bolts. They may or may not change your filter…. It’s unfortunate, but about the only way to know is to watch them replacing it.

 

Is your buddy doing the work?

at 5k and 15k, toyo care is tire rotation, at 10 and 20, it’s oil change as well. I changed my oil and rotated tires at 5k then took it in for the free 5k service, the dealership told me there was no reason for me to be there.
You can either pay for the oil change at 5k or try to get them to do the 10k at the 5k.
Good luck.

 

-For oil changes, I do 5K intervals as I meet almost every criteria in the manual for the 5K interval recommendation. If you do mostly highway driving, 10K is fine. I think getting the first one at 5K is a good idea, regardless. There is no need to specify synthetic, as all 0W-20 is synthetic.

-5K tire rotations. The manual recommends this, and I'm already changing the oil anyway.

- there's nothing wrong with nitrogen, but air is 78% nitrogen, so it's not going to affect much.

A lot of folks use WoolWax it Fluid Film on their undercarriage.

It seems like most of the members here prefer to do their own maintenance. If you like your dealer, and trust them, there's nothing wrong with using them.

The dealership should rotate the tires at 5K. It's in the maintenance schedule.

 

Do you want overfilled oil? Stripped skid plate bolts? Over torqued wheel lugs, oil filter housing, and drain plug?

 

Yeah they suck.

 

Respone in bold.

 

I just bought a 2023 SR5 and I'm planning on changing the oil at 1,000 miles and then every six months or 5k after that. I hadn't thought of foregoing the free oil changes and tire rotations at the dealership, but after reading about stripped skid plate bolts and over-torqued drain pan plugs and oil filter housings, maybe I should just plan on doing it all myself.

Any recommendations for the best quality oil filter housing removal tool?

Is it worth getting an aluminum oil filter housing?

Thank you!

 

Motivix is the tool as per the picture below. If you are going to keep doing the oil change going forward I suggest you install the fumoto valve and get the metal housing filter. It will make a big difference on subsequent changes. Good luck!

 

That Motivix filter housing tool has the best fitment of any I've ever used, they knocked it out of the park. Highly recommend it.

 

Oh wow this is great. Thank you. I'll order the Motivix tool and metal housing. The Fumoto valve I'm not familiar with but I'm guessing that it goes into the bottom of the oil filter housing to facilitate oil drainage. This would take the place of the little plastic tool that comes with the oil filter?

Thanks again. Will order it all.

 

No, the fumoto valve replaces the drain plug from the oil pan. Get the fumoto valve with the nipple so that in the future you can connect hoses directly and there is no mess anywhere. Suggest you watch a couple of youtube videos on the case and get ready for the job. Take your time at first...don't rush anything. After you do these upgrades the next oil changes will be a breeze.

 

Oh I see, thank you. I will check out some videos on that valve. Thanks again!

 

Apparently, on another oil change thread, it was mentioned that the new version of the motivx tool no longer has slots that take advantage of the tabs built into the plastic housing along with the flats on the bottom. The current motivx tool only puts force on the flats, just, ironically making it the same as old-school filter wrenches. Even toyota apparently will only sell you an old school filter wrench. Something to consider.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/an...ting-is-best-for-a-4runner.28346/#post-396685

The old motivx tool (the more modern design apparently no longer sold by them) was similar to this one (which I bought at Napa). The slots grab the tabs, and the bottom of the wrench grabs the bottom of the housing. Once it’s seatd correctly on the housing, it’s fairly impossible for the thing to slip off, and forces are spread around the entire filter housing, not just at the bottom, increasing chances of removing a housing that was over-torqued.