block232

Anyone have any pics and tools necessary to change the oil in the NX 200t. The 0/20 weight is what it uses and I will go synthetic but I wanted to know if anyone has already done a change. It seems the oil casing sits vertically next to the oil pan but that is off a picture.
Any help would be appreciated

corradoMR2

Getting my NX in a few days so can't tell you exactly yet. However a couple things to note in case you're unaware.

1. 0w20 oil used by Lexus is synthetic.
2. First two oil changes are complimentary.

block232

Since I do my own oil changes the first one at 1000 miles and the second one at 2500 I don't worry about the complimentary ones from the dealer.
I think the tool I have for my IS 350 oil filter is the same one for the NX so I am covered.

raylor4

Just curious. Why are you changing your oil at 1000 and 2500? Break-in regimen? Something you've done in the past and it works? Seems like over-kill, but that's just me. Not meant to be smarty-pants, just curious about the advantage.

philwojo

There is no advantage to it, it is just old school thinking. People just don't understand that today's oil is not the same as it was back in the 70's and 80's and you can go longer than before without it breaking down.

Now, that being said, changing your oil is a cheap insurance policy and if you want to do that for peace of mind I don't have any issues with that. Personally, I would do the 1,000 or the 2,500, but not both for a break-in period. Then I would switch to the recommend change interval, which is probably 7,500 for normal driving conditions, which will be 80-90% of people driving the car.

sg021

What is the normal recommended interval? That was one of the bigger questions I forgot to ask.

tekbiss

Every 10,000 miles...

Swacer

LMAO. Thats just terrible. Every study, done by independent companies, along with Amsoil, Redline, and Castrol have all shown that even synthetic oil will break down and lose its additive properties by 7,000 miles. The fact that Lexus (and they aren't the only auto manufacturer trying ot say this), is even trying to say that 10,000 is ok, is very concerning.

Maybe they figure you won't keep the car long? Maybe they figured you'll use the burned up oil to help with carbon buildup to maintain compression down the road? Ugh....

5,000 miles is enough for me between changes. Its $80 at the dealership for an oil change for my wife's IS350, and $80 certainly isn't going to break the bank when looking in the long term.

tekbiss

Modern turbo engines nowadays require less frequent oil changes compared to engines in the past and that has to do with technology which is more advanced vs engines in the past and the same goes with multigrade engine oils and the way they develop them especially with fully synthetics. The tests are also more stringent and every few years are certified with higher standards. These are done by API, SAE and ILSAC which certify them and conduct the tests using the diff manufactured engine oils from diff manufacturers. I know this for a fact since I used to work for an oil company in the past. I still remember having an older model vehicle over 10 years ago that required adjusting the timing with a "timing gun" but newer engines have ECMs that adjusts the timing of the engine on its own thus eliminating the need for a technician...my Volvo which also has a turbo engine recommends every 12K KMs vs NX at 16K KMs but from what I read about the NX there is a technology that "siphons" the carbon from the engine that maintains a cleaner engine oil thus allowing for longer change oil intervals and this recommendation comes from the Lexus engineers and have done numerous tests on their engines with thousands and thousands of KMs run on them. Basically they know more about their car than any of us as these engineers are the so called "experts". Also, every OEM has their own recommended change oil intervals (Ford every 8K KMs, Volvo every 12K KMs, etc.) so if you follow their recommendation you should be fine.

This is just a myth about more frequent oil changes is a cheap insurance for a longer lasting engine as there really hasn't been enough scientific studies to back this claim up...some people have followed OEM recommendations and yet still racked up 200-300K Miles on their vehicles with no engine issues while some may do more frequent/shorter oil change intervals yet ended up with damaged engines.

Bottom line is follow your own instincts if you feel more frequent oil changes with shorter intervals will prolong your engine then go for it, which may be overkill to some but acceptable to others. Also, if cost is not an issue then yes it is a cheap insurance for peace of mind knowing your engine will not give up on you long terms (but this is still no guarantee). From my experience, I use Castrol Edge fully synthetic on my Volvo and following the recommended 12K KM change oil interval vs what dealership recommends of 6K Km and been doing this for 5 yrs now with no issues on the engine nor any change in the noise/timing nor torque performance etc.

bhvrdr

This is terrible information. If you actually do go view the UOA (used oil analysis) on BITOG you will see synthetics lasting far longer than 10,000 miles. Amsoils studies most certainly do not show their oil being used up by 7K miles. In fact, they specify their 0w-20 for use for up to 25,000 miles for Normal Driving and up to 15,000 miles for SEVERE SERVICE use. Mobil 1 for 15,0000 miles.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...tic-motor-oil/

Here is a guy who has gone 900,000 miles on his civic SI (a car that revs to 8300rpm) who had his oil tested at a 23,000 mile interval and the lab came back and told him it could go longer...

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/mecha...ng-strong.html

No, I am no suggesting you go 23,000 miles. But 5K miles is wasteful.

You should have no problem going with the factory recommended intervals. And to insinuate that lexus is recommending an oil change at 10K miles because, "...Maybe they figure you won't keep the car long?" is a bit ridiculous. They are the the luxury brand that is absolutely top in long term reliability.

Mike

Swacer

To claim that my information is terrible is very incorrect.

The numbers on the life of oil are dependent upon many factors, these include:

1. Naturally Aspirated v. Turbo'd (Also the number of turbos)
2. Naturally Aspirated v. Supercharged
3. Auto v. Stick
4. Engine Cycle type
5. Diesel v. Gasoline
6. Age of Engine
7. Upkeep on engine

these variables will change that "oil life" quite a bit.

Also, Amsoil's review was based on a NA performance engine being tracked. Thus, the most wear and tear on the oil and engine components.

Also, "wasteful" is relative. I have no problem eating up more dino remains (real or synthetically produced). lol

tekbiss

I agree and well said Mike! I am no expert either but 5K interval maybe overkill and spending unnecessarily with more trips to the dealership/service centre. However, everyone looks after their vehicles differently that's why OEMs have their own recommendations as their guide as not everyone are keen on maintaining their vehicles. Some are enthusiasts while some are just "drivers" (like my wife)...following the recommended intervals by the OEMs will not void the 3-4yr warranty of the new vehicle but going beyond may impact this when something wrong goes down the road and they investigate

block232

It is a cheap insurance policy changing the oil more frequently however the most important factor may not be the oil. Oil filter elements, which the 200t uses, will break down faster with than the oil itself and that is where the contaminants can come from. The filter is the weak link not the oil and if you change the oil and filter than you will protect your engine longer from particulate wear.

nx200tmb

It's cheaper insurance to get the oil tested than to replace it way too early. Why not pay the few bucks to get your oil sample tested to know how much contaminants are in it, how much life is left?

Seems smarter, more scientific, and better peace of mind to do that than to change out the oil for no reason.

Regarding the oil filter breaking down, is there any scientific proof on that? Even so, an oil test would reveal that as well.

PS - if the oil is so bad like some people fear, you would think Lexus would change the interval because the warranty claims would be costly. Nor would Lexus want their name tainted by damaged engines by people who follow their recommended oil change routines. Given it's a Lexus, I'm not even remotely worried about following manufacturer guidelines for oil changes.

Uglier

Here's some incidental proof that oil is not as important as you think.
1. The fact that 2 strokes work, they are lubricated by 98% gasoline, 2 % oil.
2. A friend had a Taurus with 250k miles running fine. he stopped changing oil at that point and ran it another 120k miles. Still ran fine but rusted away at that point, it was still using less than one quart per 1000 miles.