LSBen

I bought an 2004 RX330 AWD 2 months ago from a lady who's idea of maintenance is a Jiffy lube oil change every 12-16 months which is 15-20k miles. The only saving grace is she used penzoil synthetic. Prior to Jiffy lube, she was bringing her car to the dealership with last service at 100k. I got the car at 188k miles. She also only did 1 air and cabin filter and ATF change since he dealers. Breaks were done at a tire store. I have all the receipts.

I brought all the services up to date at my local toyota Indy shop which includes fixing a coolant leak under the intake manifold. They had to remove the valve covers to remove the intake manifold. The mechanic was expecting to see an engine full of sludge and gunk given the mileage between oil change but he was shocked to see such a clean engine. The claims of 15k mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil does have some merit. I will start using a high mileage synthetic oil like mobile 1 high mileage with 10-15k change intervals.

LSBen

Another picture

LSBen

Last receipt

LSBen

Picture of coolant leak under the intake manifold. He missed cleaning the carbon deposits in 1 port. Hopefully it was done after the picture was taken

LSBen

Another picture. This was a $600 dollar repair to replace a $20 hose. At least I know the engine is clean and won't leak oil from the new gasket. Seems to burning a quarter quart of oil after 2k miles.

LSBen

Another pic

smassey321

Thank you for posting this. Synthetic oil really is great stuff and 5k mile oil changes are excessive.

cdnewton

+1 on a thanks for posting. Engine looks pretty clean for 15K intervals.

I wonder if the 1 qt per 2,000 miles is due to the longer intervals? Our RX330 with 190K doesn't use a drop in 5,000 intervals (1 qt synthetic, 4 qts conventional)????

Grumpa72

Wow. That is one nice looking engine interior. I would be happy with that and the report of engine oil usage.

LSBen

I was noticing about 1/4 quart of oil loss after 2k miles since I got it. I know this car wasn't maintained very well and maybe that explains the cause of oil loss. At 70k miles, the dealer replaced all the intake and exhaust valves because she hadn't change the oil in 18k miles using conventional oil, based on the service records. That was a $3500 repair. Somehow this neglect was covered under warranty. Her maintenance habits didn't change much other than switching to synthetic oil. I knew going into this car was going to cost me but since I only paid $4K for it, I can't complain. Plus its going to make a good 1st car for my daughter who will be driving soon.

My 01 LS430 with 149k miles doesn't burn oil. But she gets new oil every 5K miles, just plain conventional oil. Will switch to synthetic high mileage oil now that I see how clean an engine can look

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

It looks to be one hell of a car for $4000. As for oil change intervals, ever since owning an es300 that was notorious for sludge, i have been paranoid about oil change intervals, for the ES i did every 3k, and now every 5k. That being said, 15K seems ridiculous to me, but I know BMW requires an oil change ever 10k miles, I'm assuming Mobil 1? So i guess these synthetics really can go much longer.

LSBen

The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that Synthetic oils do not sludge or gunk like conventional oil, so all the marketing hype is true. As for brands, I assume it applies to all. In my case, Penzoil worked on my RX330. But since Penzoil doesnt sell a high mileage full synthetic, I'll be going with Mobil 1 High Mileage synthetic on the next oil change. I have regular Mobil 1 in there now from my recent service since that's all the shop had for synthetic.

pauljcl

I have used Mobil1 for years. More recently, on my 2009-RX350, after using Mobil1 5W-30 but changing oil every 6 mos., 5000 miles max (so that my warranty would not be voided - but what a waste!) I have finally been agreed by the dealer to put the Toyota 0W20 oil at the last oil change - Yes, I know that Lexus had supposedly authorized that use for my motor a few years ago, but the dealer refused to accept it. I checked the oil after 3700 miles and - to my amazement - not one drop consumed (still at max.) and the oil is clear as - well - new oil. Engine works absolutely fine.... And the dealer says I can now do 10K mile oil changes or 10 months, whichever comes first. It seems to be a good choice, and accepted by Lexus.

tomit

I hope this user checks the dipstick on a regular basis. Oil can get contaminated in many ways and 'assuming' the oil is synthetic is not wise, IMHO. I'll stick with self-changed 5000 mile intervals using the cheapest synthetic from Walmart.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

I would recommend a oil analysis if you want to push the oil change interval....