Hi, I bought an 06 is350 about 24 mos ago ,currently has 4100 miles .pretty much garage kept,only used on weekends . I have been getting just a regular oil change every six mos. on this car. I wonder if there is anything else that I need to do maintenance wise on this car since it only has 4100 miles on it besides oil change every six months. Appreciate any info/tips you can provide regarding proper maintenance on low mileage cars .

 

Why would you change your oil every 6months when you only have 4100miles??

 

Yeah you shouldn't done any oil changes yet on your car. I would just change it once a year if you are using syn oil.

 

doesn't the manual say to change it every 6months or 5k miles? I think OP is just sticking to the recommended maint. schedule which I think is not a bad idea.

 

wow, 24months & only 4100 miles. I don't think I will change the oil if it is not 5k yet.

 

Mostly oil gets contaminated from the burning of fuel, not from dirt intake. It becomes acidic and will eat the bearing surfaces. You are correct to flush every six months. Didn't any of you build engines and work on cars when you were young?

 

Yes. change it every 6 months or 5K miles, whichever comes FIRST. Why skimp on a $50 oil change.

 

used, and they by design, dumped lots of fuel into the combustion chamber that got past rings, and diluted the oil. But today's vehicles are pretty much all fuel injected and Lexus uses both port and direct injection, so dont you think the oil would stay cleaner ?
I built a few engines back then, and the procedure was to pre-oil it by priming the oil pump, start it up, get all vitals stabilized, get it to operating temps and then shut it down, drain the oil, change it and the filter.
BMW used to require 1,200 miles oil and all fluid changes (differential, transmission) with a new filter. Then after awhile when they saw how many people were buying their cars, they changed it to just the M-cars, got the 1,200 mile service.
I just missed 1200 miles on my IS350, and change oil and filter at 1315 miles.
The oil was pretty clean looking but I feel better about the longevity of the engine doing this part at least. I will get around to dumping the transmission fluid and the differential if possible soon.
I know the new oils are said to go 5xxx-10xxx miles, but I just dont like that much gunk running around my engine.
I dont know if I had a car in the garage that got lightly used and change it twice a year with synthetic oil. I might go once a year with synthetics, depending on the mileage if was as low as you were doing. And the advantage of being garaged makes a difference too. What you dont get inside most garages that are insulated somewhat is alot of changes of temp and moisture, so there is less buildup of moisture inside the engine if any..
I like to baby my vehicles too, and would never go 5k miles on any oil unless I just blew it and forgot. Thats just me, ok ??
DanF

 

this is true WHY!?!? skimp on a $50 oil change when you got a lexus!

 

Not wasting money on un-needed maintenance is -why- some people can afford a Lexus.

I'd probably do the first 5k change regardless since it's "free" from the dealer, but after that there's little reason to change it that often...this isn't a 1950s Chevy engine.

If using cheap dino oil you'll be fine to at least 7500 miles... 10k if it's not pulling severe duty driving. With a good synthetic you can comfortably run 15-25k between changes depending on type of driving. Now, time-wise, annually is probably fine within those mileage guidelines.,

You can do your own UOA to prove it, or you can believe the bunch of other folks who've done them and all had results consistent with what I'm saying

 

Hmm I don't know about the IS350 specifically but I have an Integra that I drive once a week for the most part (to keep the battery alive) and put maybe 5-10 miles on it a week (so in a year that is roughly 260 to 520 miles) and I change my oil every 6 months regardless--

I did the same with my tC-- had its oil changed at 3k miles I believe, because 6 months had passed, and I'm sure I'll do the same with my IS250 because 6 months is going to come before I hit 5k miles =]

I would do the same with your IS to keep it in good shape

 

I kind of agree on stkdgs on stuff being in the oil. Syn oil will suspend the "gunk" more then regular oil. Even in today's fuelie cars they still have the same problem the carb'd cars have if you dont bring the engine into operating temps. there is still unburned fuel left in the oil because there is still a percentage that get passed the rings when the engine isnt warmed up.

If it was my I would change the oil every 6-8 on regular oil and 12-15 on syn.

Caloi i would do the regular checks like tire pressure, air filter stuff. Dont think you have much to worry about. Good luck and have fun!

 

Where's lobuxracer when we need him....I still say its a waste of money to change the oil in 6months.

 

A simple search should reveal that it is widely agreed and backed up by UOA that any decent oil can go 10k+ and/or 1yr+.