I took mine in at 4 months and 5002 miles. The initial 5k service calls for an inspection and tire rotation. I paid the dealer to also do an LOF. I felt I could afford the $45 for new synthetic oil, and I just didn't feel comfortable going 10k miles on the initial oil. It was probably unnecessary.

I never considered taking the car in before 5k miles.

My plan is to take the car in next at around 11k miles and let the dealer change the oil and rotate the tires. Then my next LOF won't be until 20k miles.

Are you actually thinking you should take your car in for service before its first 5,000 miles?

 

Took mine in for the 5K service at about 4,500 miles, right before a road trip to AC.

And the thing was, since I purchased an early production dealer demo, they had already done the 5k service (at 3K), but I brought it in anyway...I don't think they did much.

 

I brought mine in at 5k miles and got the free service (no oil change). The service writer said Toyota changed the schedule so that the synthetic oil should be changed at 9,000 miles and not the 10,000 I was told about when I bought the vehicle.

So I will go back at 9k miles.

 

You should phone Toyota direct to confirm. Your dealer may be trying to pull a fast one.

 

Took my V6 Limited in for 5k check. Tucson Desert Toyota put window sticker showing next check at 9k. Had 9000 mile check done in Seattle this past week.

 

You say dealer "put" window sticker in car. Is this a dealer add-on sticker or the factory window sticker?

If not the factory window sticker, or in your owners manual, call Toyota to get the correct information. Their number is in your manual.

 

I don't ever plan on letting my car more than 5,000 miles in between oil changes. Just my personal opinion. My salesman told me to tell Toyota I drive it under extreme conditions (dust, gravel roads) and they will change ever 5k. Hope this helps someone. :hi:

 

My personal opinion: The industry reduced recommended oil change intervals based on trying to get customers to change more often, not based on science. The supposed "recommended" 3,000-mile change intervals you see from dealers and shops is a travesty that wastes money and harms the environment. I saw this when Toyota reduced the interval from 7,500 for my '02 Camry V6 to 5,000 for my '08 Avalon, practically the same engine. My response has been to use synthetic oil, which lasts more miles and has no breakdown over time, and waiting 7,500 mi. or longer to change. My '02 Camry has 185k mi. and is going strong, my '08 Avalon 85k mi. and I expect the same longevity.

So I was thrilled to learn that my TAH came with synthetic oil and 10k recommended change intervals (for normal driving). I am skeptical of the reported reduction to 9k. I intend to follow the recommended schedule for as long as Toyota is paying for the oil changes (2 yrs 25k mi., which is just two changes), so I guess I will check to see if the dealer will replace it every 9k. Then I will wait at least 10k miles regardless of what the dealers convinced the engineers to say to get people in the door more often.

This opinion valued at $0.02.