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Camry oil change

181K views 94 replies 42 participants last post by  molson.david 
#1 ·
Hi guys new to your site hope you can help. Just bought a 2012 Camry 2.5 (4 cyl). I like to do my own service work even though they will do it for free for first 25,000 miles. The manual calls for 0w-20 oil and if you use 5w-30 to replace it with the 0w-20 on the next oil change. They also recommend it be changed ever 10,000 miles. My questions are 0w-20? this is very thin oil, can I go up to 5w-30 all the time?, I live in Maryland the climate is not that cold in the winter. Also is this a synthetic oil ? I like those they seem to make the engines last longer. If not what do you guys recommend? Thanks,Andy D.
 
#39 ·
We purchased a 2012 LE and I have a question...they added a oil change sticker to the windshield that states to come in at 5,000 miles. Is this just for the service, to change just the filter and/or the oil? I'll give them a call tomorrow but was wondering since the change interval was mentioned to be at 10k miles. After the Toyotacare is over I will be doing it myself but want to make sure this dealer isn't putting anything but the recommended oil in there.

Also I was reading that in order to change the way the doors open (all with one press of the unlock button) you have to bring this in to have it programmed. Do they usually charge you for this? I know on the Hondas you can do this yourself so I would be a bit disappointed if the service shop actually charges you for it.

I have a lot of reading to do in the next few days so I apologize if this is in the owner's manual.
 
#40 ·
Do not trust dealers! That idiots were putting 5w30 in my 2.5 2010 for 2 years good thing I noticed the second time and made a noise. But they still put a sticker for next change in 5000 mi. Also instead of checking tire pressure they just did reset the sensors and I ended up with 22(not 34) in all 4. Check everything they do!
 
#41 · (Edited)
I've sent an email to my salesguy to see if he or someone else can comment on this. The only thing I can think of that would put my mind at ease is if they say they didn't change it and they recommend changing it at 5,000 for the first change. They even scheduled my first service visit for March which wouldn't be following the manufacture interval either. I asked for documentation for my records so we'll see what they say today.

Even then I would still not feel comfortable, why would they go against what the manufacture recommends? I think a call to Toyota will be in order today and I will be asking that I take it to another dealer to have the oil drained and filled. If I can't get Toyota to do this as a one-time goodwill, I'll change the oil myself.

This isn't how I wanted my experience with Toyota to start off with :(
 
#42 ·
Might just be a ploy by the dealer to get more money out of you by doing 5k synthetic intervals and 3k conventional intervals. They shouldn't be doing it, but I've seen it. My dealer does 5k synthetic blend, and 10k synthetic intervals.
 
#44 ·
OK salesperson responded saying that it is just for rotating the tires and regular inspection, and that they changed the oil with 0W-20.

Now I am waiting to hear back if there is a charge with re-programming the unlock button to open all doors on the first press and a small ding on the chrome on the driver's side. I am hoping the can just pull it out instead of replacing the molding.
 
#45 ·
Now I am waiting to hear back if there is a charge with re-programming the unlock button to open all doors on the first press and a small ding on the chrome on the driver's side. I am hoping the can just pull it out instead of replacing the molding.
You can program the locks yourself. It's in the manual, I forget where. I programmed mine, but mine has the Premium HDD and it's done thru the nav unit.
 
#52 ·
My car was running a bit rough at 4500 and the maintenance required light came on at 5000. Just put in Mobil 1 0w20, runs better than ever now.

Mileage improved by about .5-1 mpg, though I can also attribute that to the engine breaking in.

*edit: 6.4 quarts for the V6! My 11 Pilot only needs 5.5 quarts.
 
#53 ·
Just look at your recommended maintenance schedule booklet. It tells you what they will do. At 5k miles, no oil change is performed. It's only performed every 10k. At 5k they just check the fluid levels, rotate tires, etc. It's all in your booklet.

Anyways, the service is free since you're getting the 2 year 25k mile free Toyota auto care.
 
#54 · (Edited)
Toyota Canada manual has two additional oil changes in their schedule: 5k, 15k miles. Then they do the next @ 20k miles, and then every 10k miles after that like the US. I wonder why :dunno: the difference with the two extra changes @ 5k and 10k miles.

Anyhow, I decided to change mine at 5k - boy was it dark.
 
#56 ·
Good to hear that. Did you change the air filter or anything else that might be keeping the oil clean? Also, when you changed it at 1200 do you recall it looking darker than you'd expect?

I had to use an 18" breaker bar to get the oil filter housing off - probably due to my crappy dual 65/67 filter wrench which kept sliding off. I bought a single size 65mm wrench which should work better next time - and hopefully it won't feel like a gorilla put the filter housing on.

One more ?? are you sticking with a Toyota OEM oil filter like I did or using something else?
 
#58 ·
two things of note here (may have been mentioned earlier as well)

If you switch away from the 0w20 to a heavier weight oil your gas mileage will suffer, not huge amount but it will go down. (hybrid models can/will throw codes and not start if its cold enough as they are very sensitive to resistance in the engine starting)

The other thing to remember is, toyota is telling you it is perfectly ok to change your oil every 10k or 10months (i think its 10 or 12 cant remember off hand right now). As long as you can provide proof (save your receipts) any oil related manufacturer failure will be covered by toyota. back in the late 90's early 2000's there was an engine sludging issue that was caused by some manufacturer defects, toyota released a campaign and as long as you can prove you changed the oil the entire engine rebuild was covered.
 
#61 ·
Hello everyone! Thanks for all the great information/insight regarding oil changes. I bought a 2012 Camry SE 4-cylinder earlier this year and so far it has almost 5000 miles on it. Based on what I have read so far and in the manual, 0W-20 every 10,000 miles with a filter change at 5,000 mile intervals seems to be the most efficient. Is there a reason why oil changes every 10,000 mile with a synthetic oil is normal (I used to always stick with the 5,000 mile interval rule). TIA!
 
#66 ·
I am wondering what guys are using for oil brand. Are you finding the 1L Toyota oil from the dealership is as cheap as other quality brands. From other reading it seems Mobil makes Toyota's oil but I'm having a tough time finding 0W20 brands, but I'm in Canada. P.S I have a 2012 Camry
 
#67 ·
5k is just tire rotation, visual inspection, top off fluids.

10k is when they do the first oil change.

Did anyone ever receive a Toyota Care welcome booklet explaining what each service is expected from the dealer up to 25k?????

God, I can't wait for my Toyota Care to be done with! DIYs to each 5k mark. Not really "feeling" the whole 10k oil change stuff. If Toyota is not using rebadge Amsoil bottles: may heaven be with us! There's such huge difference between 3k and 8k mileage marks in how the motor runs in mine. So sluggish: rough idling. Hell my old 236k tC idle smoother at 200k mile mark than this motor. It's not even at 9k mark!
 
#68 ·
Canadian recommendations are more frequent

Someone posted this elsewhere ... so after seeing all the posts in this thread I tried it out:

If you go to Toyota Canada website, you will see they recommend 8000 Kilometer (5000 miles) oil changes .......... at least for the first two. The reason should be obvious ......... it is soooooooooo cold up there ..... the engines barely warm up in the winter. Also .... more frequent cabin filter changes ........

http://xws.xtime.com/xmmmenu/?varia...ge=8000&units=km&estimate=false&inframe=false
 
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