rondocap

I use the Toyota recommended oil, 5w30 conventional, and have been changing it every 5k miles.

I have been driving about 3,500 miles a month, so that oil change comes up quickly. It's a good amount of highway miles, but I do have some city and stop/go mixed in.

I do plan to keep the car for a while still, so would stretching to 7,500 miles be a bad idea?

What if I used synthetic? Lexus tells me the interval is still 5k, but is it safer to go to 7500?

Or is it just a bad idea and I should just stick to 5k changes? I don't mind it, but sometimes it is a hassle getting an appointment every month and a half, and I lose a few hours of time.

jagtoes

If you are driving highway miles (55mph+) most of the time I would suspect extending the change frequency should not be to much of a problem. What i would do and I assume that when you look at your oil at 5K miles it still looks clean , I would check it every 500 miles. If / when it starts to turn a darker color then mark the mileage and change it. Syn oil should hold up for 7500 easy but if you have only run on dino oil then I would go to one of the BLENDED oils. I recently bough a Jaguar (5.0L , 510HP) and the factory oil (5W-20 syn) change is 1 yr or 12,000 miles with syn oil. Your other option is to have the oil tested at 5000 miles and again at 7500 miles and see what the difference is.

garsarno

If your car is under any kind of warranty, you better change the oil as prescribed. Corporations will look for an "out" if an oil related problem occurs or your engine develops problems.

jagtoes

Good point so if you change your own oil or you get it done at any place besides a dealer all you need to do is record the mileage and keep the receipt for the oil and filter.

dreyfus

From a warranty standpoint you should follow the interval in the owner's manual. From a longevity standpoint you can go 7,500 miles between changes without any problem. Modern oils and especially this engine are well suited to safely go 7,500 miles between changes.

rondocap

I'm out of warranty, so it's basically just a concern with the longevity.

EAS

I was also wondering about this. I will do my first oil change today and I already purchased Mobil One Extended Performance, 5w30 oil. Is this a good oil for the car and when would be my next oil change with it?

lexuspleus

Ah ok 5k miles (8k kms, I speak in imperial here because most of you are probably from the US) is what the dealership "next oil change due sticker" usually specifies. Obviously I did not bother to download a copy of the maintenance schedule.

Thanks all.

ellocovg

iTrader: (1)

That oil is good for 10k easy as long as you put a high mileage oil filter element as well. For peace of mind you can get a oil analysis from amazon drive it 5,000 miles get it changed get a sample it will tell you how much life was left in the oil. Next time if you had allot of life yet drive 7,500 miles get a sample and see how the oils holding up. You might be able to extend to 10,000 miles which should definitely still be good. Your changing oil every 5k so the oil analyst will pay for itself shoetly as your able to extend the intervals.

es350chuck

I did mine every 5k, fully synthetic 0W-20 every time. Some say you can wait for 10,000 miles between oil changes, but my dash would light up around the 5k marker between oil changes reminding me the oil was due for a change. I guess if you want to stretch it that's your call, but I rather have fresh oil every 5k regardless for the sake of keeping your engine running fine in the long run.

tolian21

Safely can go 10k/1yr with synthetic.
lexus corporate told me that.
It makes sense, 2013 ES350 uses the same engine model and its rated for 10k miles on 0w-20 oil.

CQRT

However the OP's profile says he owns an unspecified model of Toyota . . . .

Unsure if there are differences in the recommended service intervals . . . .but seems like cheap protection to go with 5k or what the manufacturer recommends.

ESh

Since I got the car I drive 10000 mi between the oil changes, with OEM filter. I currently use M1 0W30 EP.
10000 for this oil, Amsoil SS or Pennzoil Ultra is nothing.

chuyrobles

Up to 5K for dino oil. 5-15K for full synthetic. If you drive mostly city or short drives, or have a turbo, change sooner. Drive mostly highway miles, go longer between oil changes. Manufacturer recommendations are set up to cover a wide range of driving styles, and it is in their profit minded interest to recommend lower mileage oil changes. I've had the motor oil in our es350 analyzed three times and 10K is a conservative oil change recommendation for Mobil 1 Extended full synthetic 10/30.