How often do you change the oil? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

camryce · 01-08-2009, 02:42 PM

Mine is Camry CE, and the manual said that the oild needs to be changed every 6 mths. What's your cycle?

Venom_5 · 01-08-2009, 07:35 PM

go by mileage, not months ... unless you rarely drive the car

i try to do it every 5k miles, which is more than whats recommended by most shops (3000-3500) but its got me this far and im the sole owner of the car so i think its okay

... what i do is check the level after about 3500 miles, and its usually still full ... by about 4500 its burned 0.5-1.0qts but still golden (and i drive with a heavy foot) so by 5000 miles its time for a change

Tom 2000 · 01-08-2009, 07:37 PM

Every 3000 miles, which happens to be about every 3 months for me.

TheKevin · 01-08-2009, 08:07 PM

every 3,000 miles with conventional.

every 5,000-7,000 miles with synthetic.

BUT for the past year, i've been changing oil on all my cars every 3 months since i put less than 2,000 miles every 3 months.

dixonL2 · 01-08-2009, 08:25 PM

Funny story: When my father bought my mother the '01 Camry XLE that I now have, the Dealer had, preprinted on the invoice, "lifetime oil changes" for $149. Mom and Dad had that car 154,000 mainly trouble-free miles. The dealer changed that oil every 2500-3500 miles, free! I figured that's about $3.00 per oil change! Now, after 2500 miles, the oil's still the color of miller Lite. NICE! Makes a GREAT commuter car for me!

gladis · 01-08-2009, 08:41 PM

I go by time, which is every 6 months, but that's mostly because I know how much I drive, and it usually is between 4k - 6k miles (I don't drive a lot)

***PhatRoyale*** · 01-08-2009, 08:46 PM

Between 6000-7500miles running full synthetic

Venom_5 · 01-08-2009, 09:29 PM

just remember, for those of you using synthetic .... if youre using a regular oil filter (cheap or not), many companies design them with 3000 mile intervals in mind so even with synthetic oil you might not wanna go 7500 miles

now if youre using a better filter, then by all means - although tbh, ive never heard any complaints of people who use synthetic oils and regular filters

***darksparkz*** · 01-08-2009, 09:31 PM

More or less up to you, recommended is 6 months or around 5,000 miles on synthetic.

I'd change it more if you drive fast normally. Or if road conditions permit it, meaning things like lots of city driving with stop and go traffic.

I personally do it around 3-4 months or 3,000 miles, whichever arrives first, even with synthetic oil.

touringcamry · 01-08-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dixonL2

Now, after 2500 miles, the oil's still the color of miller Lite.

That's not necessarily a good thing.

cruisn76 · 01-09-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by touringcamry

That's not necessarily a good thing.

Why is that?

btw, I change every 4000km with Castrol GTX I too have a heavy foot sometimes.

Jimnist · 01-10-2009, 01:55 AM

Wow, you sure change your oil often. My service manual says to change it every 10 000km (about 6 200mi) approx 6 months.

cruisn76 · 01-10-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimnist

Wow, you sure change your oil often. My service manual says to change it every 10 000km (about 6 200mi) approx 6 months.

Does it really say that? I never looked into it. If you change ur oil @ 10,000km you will run into sludge problems depending on your driving style.

touringcamry · 01-10-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruisn76

Why is that?

It could be an indication that the engine isn't suspending contaminants.

Jimnist · 01-10-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruisn76

Does it really say that? I never looked into it. If you change ur oil @ 10,000km you will run into sludge problems depending on your driving style.

Mmm...May as well start changing it approx every 5000-5500km, which is approx 3100mi to 3400mi. I only just got the car not to long ago and have only driven it a handful of times.