Synthetic Oil Change

Toyota and the dealership recommend changing synthetic oil every 10,000 miles. Is there any benefit to changing more frequently--i.e. every 5,000 miles? Would like to get to 150,000 miles or more on my 2018 4Runner TRD. Back in the day, we changed motor oil more frequently than recommended mileage.

 

Interesting question, and curiously, the first it has ever been asked. FWIW, I changed my synthetic at 5000 miles and have easily made it to 6000 already in my 2022 with no side effects.

 

Personally I don't trust the 10K mile change but I'm sure people follow that interval without issues.

 

Best way to find out is a blackstone analysis. They can give you are more accurate answer.

I personally do it every 10k miles. Other than “wasted” oil, earlier won’t hurt it.

 

8k-10k or 1 year. Whichever comes first for me.

 

Why stop at 5k? Why not 2,500 or 1,000 or after every time you get gas? You can never be too careful. There is a reason Toyota recommends 10,000 and it’s not to sell more engines. I’m not going to pretend to be a mechanical engineer and think I know more than the engineers at Toyota.

 

There's been a 1000 posts on this topic. What often gets missed is that Toyota itself recommends 5K intervals under many conditions, including off roading, towing, heavy loads, lots of city driving, extended high speeds....

The idea that 10K is the recommendation of the engineers and thus safe is simply wrong. It's in the owners manual. 5K is the official, recommended interval for many drivers -- particularly the kinds of drivers who post on this forum.

 

Respectfully, what Toyota recommends depends on the model and year. The 5th gen is 10k miles under normal conditions. If you're just daily driving, 10k it is. Even a weekend off road may not change the interval. Heavy dust/debris may require additional work for the cabin air and engine filters. Add a heavy load or high heat, long periods of high speed driving, and you may want to change the oil early. Otherwise, synthetics combined with increased mfg quality are quite capable of a 10k interval.

If you are not sure what the interval is, see your owner's manual. 5K is not the official, recommended interval for all vehicles. Especially those on synthetics.

 

Below is a cut and past from the Maintenance Guide for current 4Runners. You can find it here: https://www.toyota.com/owners/resources/warranty-owners-manuals.4runner.2020

I'm not saying people are dumb for going 10K miles. I'm just saying people should stop spouting the nonsense that 10K is the interval recommended by Toyota. They recommend 10K for normal use, but 5K instead under numerous conditions. And those numerous conditions apply to many of us. Especially those who off road. More especially those who off road and with armor and and a bunch of supplies. Thus, 5K is the "proper" interval for many users.


5,000 miles or 6 months

Check installation of driver’s floor mat Inspect and adjust all fluid levels1 Inspect wiper blades
Rotate tires

Visually inspect brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs

Driving on dirt roads or dusty roads:

Inspect ball joints and dust covers Inspect drive shaft boots (4WD) Inspect engine air filter
Inspect steering linkage and boots Lubricate propeller shaft4 Re-torque propeller shaft bolt4 Replace engine oil and oil filter2 Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading:6

Lubricate propeller shaft4 Re-torque propeller shaft bolt4 Replace engine oil and oil filter2 Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C:

Replace engine oil and oil filter2

Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use:

Replace engine oil and oil filter2

Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditions3

Dealer Service verification:

Date: Mileage:

10,000 miles or 12 months

Check installation of driver’s floor mat Inspect and adjust all fluid levels1 Inspect wiper blades
Replace engine oil and oil filter 2 Rotate tires

Visually inspect brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs

Driving on dirt roads or dusty roads:

Inspect ball joints and dust covers Inspect drive shaft boots (4WD) Inspect engine air filter
Inspect steering linkage and boots Lubricate propeller shaft4 Re-torque propeller shaft bolt4 Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading:6

Lubricate propeller shaft4 Re-torque propeller shaft bolt4

Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

 

Just because you went on a dirt road doesn't mean your oil change interval should be cut in half all the sudden.

10k for normal driving conditions.

5k for extreme conditions.

A lot of people like to think they drive in the "extreme" category, but they don't.

If you have any questions about it, get a Blackstone analysis and it will give you a definitive answer.

 

According to YouTuber “The Car Care Nut”, a former Toyota factory mechanic who now runs his own independent shop, the 10k oil change interval is specified to make your engine run trouble free until it’s out of warranty. But if you want your engine to last 250-300k miles without major repairs you should change your oil every 5k.

Also, interestingly, he says that any good quality oil that meets the spec is fine, and glamor oils like Amsoil and Redline are a needless extra expense.

So the tacit message there is if you only plan to keep your 4Runner a few years then the 10k interval is fine — though you’ll be passing on the high-mileage engine repairs on to the subsequent owner.

 

I do 5k changes on my 20 4R & 16 Taco, w/5w-30.

 

I have a 2013 that will be hitting 150K within the next few months. Honestly, 150K is nothing, you could use dino oil and change it every 10K miles and still easily hit 150K.

I wouldn't even start to worry about longevity till more like 300K.

As far as my 2013, I bought it with just under 80K on it, and according to the Carfax the oil had been changed approximately every 10K miles. I've kept up that schedule, even at 10K miles the oil is full and still looks fairly clean. I do a lot of highway driving, so I'm pretty easy on the vehicle. If I did more off-roading or city driving, I would change it more frequently.

Doing it every 5K definitely won't hurt anything but your wallet, and if it helps your peace of mind, it's worth it. If anything, it'll look great on the maintenance history if you ever go to sell it.

 

Given the relatively cheap cost of changing oil at 5K, if you can afford it, why not? It certainly won't hurt anything, and will certainly benefit the engine. My last oil change with Mobil 1 and a Toyota filter element was $31. If I do that twice a year rather than once a year, I can handle the extra $31,

 

He has spoken. Let it be written. So let it be done!

 

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yes the clean air is around 10K miles of the engine oil synthetic ////
then the off road dusty air is around 4K -6K miles change the oil... also clean the air filter OFF ROAD ....

 

Let that stern powerful look sink in. Look at him!!!! Stop! How dare you look at him!!! Look at the ground!!!! Who dares raise a hand against him?

As for me, after this Car Car Nut video, the Oil War is over. Done.

I love how kindly he tears the heart out of every toyota dealer’s shop practices. Absolutely destroyed them, and with authority.

I generally change my oil at 5k, but I have been easy on myself if I let it slip a bit to 6 or 7k. No longer!!!

 

Isn't that what I just said? Read the manual? And because you own a 5th gen doesn't mean everyone else reading this thread does. So read the manual.

Anyway, I've spent time learning about oils and blends from Shell. I feel pretty confident that if Toyota specifies synthetic and 10k miles, it's good.

 

I do mine at 5k on both the 4R and the Taco. It helps me check other things in the vehicle as well.

 

Folks who do your oil changes at 10k, how do you deal with the oil change light that comes on between 4.5-5k miles? Are you ignoring it, or resetting it? Or are you not getting the message until closer to 10k.

I’d never do a 10k interval. I’d either have to reset the maintenance light twice every interval, or I’d need to simply ignore it for 5k+ miles of every 10k. I’m also wondering if people with 10k are maybe not living in stop-and-go metroplexes, and the 4Runner computers are actually adept at adapting to driving conditions.

 

there are still items that need to be changed or checked every 5k miles. Tires rotated. I use it for that.

more people need to use blackstone. You would be amazed at just how long oils today can last.

 

I have heard many people talk about using the Blackstone service to analyze their oil after a change. I am new to that, what does a typical Blackstone report contain? I assume if probably lists a breakdown, in ppm, of the contents of the used oil. Do they also give recommendations or suggestions for potential remediations? Genuinely curious.

 

This is probably going to start a flame war, but so be it. Oil analysis is generally misused in the automotive community. It is very suited to aviation and industry, where engines spend the majority of their lives at a given RPM. Oil analysis, performed periodically, can be a valuable diagnostic tool. Knowing the condition of your oil, which additives persist and which do not, the type and quantity of other particles which could be a predictor of the condition of bearings, seals, and gaskets before they fail - these are the reasons to get oil analysis. Unless your commute doesn’t vary from day to day, oil analysis is a useless gesture because if your driving is varied the results of the analysis will vary from one test to the next.

 

+1 for following the manual, as @Singleminded pointed out.

I did 10K on my previous 4Runner without any issues (synthetic). But, I never beat that one the way I beat this one. I meet almost every one of the listed criteria mentioned in the manual for the 5K recommendation.

Agreed. Not everyone who drives down a gravel road occasionally needs to switch to 5K intervals.

Even if I were doing 10K intervals, I'd rotate the tires every 5K. The light is a good reminder.

 

on the advice of my brother who is an oil nerd (petroleum engineer) I've changed at 10-12k intervals for the last 20 or so years. Even my crap Chevy products made better than 150k before I traded them off and probably still going. A Toyota will probably do 200k even if you NEVER change the oil though I don't recommend that. 150k is barely broken in for these trucks.

 

Motor oil has always been a contentious topic. Even before the Internet.

 

FWIW, this was just posted on a Tundra page I’m a part of. I’ve seen a few similar reports. Everything pretty much within the normal range for a 1st oil change at 10K.

 

Who has time for oil testing.. lol 5k+- filter, done. Too many places eyeing my money. I'll bet on fresh oil at 5k 100% of the time. The 04' Taco looked very clean when I did the VC gaskets at 130k, were now up to 260k...

CCN is an amazing resource. Discount his experience at your peril.

 

This conversation is cracking me up.

I change the oil on all my cars every 5k miles with Mobil 1 0w/20. Why? Because I want to and I don't drive that much since I work from home (8600 miles in 16 months with this 4Runner) Which means at 5k intervals, I change it roughly every 8 months. Can I go to 10k? Sure. I'm pretty confident the oil would be in good shape. But I am comfortable and happy doing it every 5k. (I also changed it at 2k when it was new).

Your vehicle your choice...haha.

From a cost standpoint, I do my own oil changes. With TRD filter it is roughly $44 to change my oil. At 5k miles, that works out to .88 cents per mile ($0.0088/mile). So doing it at 10k saves you .44 cents per mile ($0.0044/mile).

Seems this is hardly worth the conversation ... yet here I am commenting on it.