I don’t mean this to be an insult in any way. If you want honest answers, you probably shouldn’t include your own opinion when asking the questions it makes those that don’t share it want to not answer.

That being said, yes, I did follow the maintenance as it says. If it was actually vital, someone would’ve shown how much is actually in a lower mileage oil change. Me and most people will have changed their oil per the maintenance recommendation. Just keep that in mind as since this is an enthusiast forum, the responses you get will be more toward your stance.

 

Yeah I thought about that before posting but keep this in mind. They never used to recommend a 10k oci on any 1.8 toyota engine in years past and synthetic oil has not gotten any better in the last decade so why the extended intervals? Makes no sense really except to entice people that don't want to do any maintenance to buy the car?

 

I did my first "break-in" oil-change after 6-7 weeks (approx. 1000 miles odometer) & then again at 6 months (approx. 3000 odometer), 12 months (approx. 4500 odometer) & 18 months (approx. 6000 odometer). Next one will be at 24 months in July/Aug at approx. 7500 odometer. Better safe than sorry with it comes to oil/filter maintenance (which isn't even expensive), not to mention regular replacement of transmission/gear fluids every few years, etc.

 

Yeah I just did mine at just over 1,000 too. I will run this probably until 4k miles are on the car. After that I'll go to 5k mile oci like I always do with synthetic. It's only 22.00 for 5qts and I only drive about 8k a year. Very small investment and changing the oil on this car is cake with the spin on filter right next to the drain plug.
My Tundra was much more annoying with the cartridge filter, o rings, skid plate etc to deal with. Not to mention double the oil the corolla uses.

 

I had my first one at 10k, second at 20k and third at 25k.
Will probably stick to 5k intervals for now on.
Pretty sure half the people reading this think I’m crazy. I guess I’ll let you all know how the car is running in 10-15 years haha.

Also, I think it’s funny when people recommend to follow the maintenance manual. Then call people out for not following it. But then don’t follow it for oil changes lol.

 

I had my first one at 10k, second at 20k and third at 25k.
Will probably stick to 5k intervals for now on.
Pretty sure half the people reading this think I’m crazy. I guess I’ll let you all know how the car is running in 10-15 years haha.

Also, I think it’s funny when people recommend to follow the maintenance manual. Then call people out for not following it. But then don’t follow it for oil changes lol.

I brought up this exact reason for the break in thread... people were saying stick to the manufacturer recommended break in, then the same should apply ... stick the the manufacturer recommended oil changes lol

 

My philosophy on long duration oil changes. This assumes nominal operations based on laboratory testing. How much can it account for your particular environment, thermal cycle or traffic and driving?

It doesnt hurt anything to change it early. So I do an inital break in oil change, then I change oil in spring and fall, or after a big mileage trip. Yeah, it costs money, but with all the complex systems oil interacts with in a modern engine, particularily timing? I want it in its best condition.

Caddy owners learned this one when CTS came out because even if serviced before intervals or service due notification in car? Well, oil contaminants and breakdown would start gumming up the VVT system, stretching and eventually breaking the timing drive.

 

I could possibly see 10k on a good synthetic and filter when driven lightly but certainly not the first oil change. I'll stick to 5k once broken in though. It's cheap and really easy to do.

One thing I don't like is the apparent quality or lack there of the plastic panels on the underside of the car. They are so floppy and thin. That access panel that needs to be removed to get to the drain plug and filter is held on with course thread screws into plastic. That is not going to hold up in 15-20yrs worth of removing for oil changes.

I do like it for aero purposes and especially to keep slush and crap out of the engine compartment though and I know they wanted it light but it could have had a better access set up.

 

I could possibly see 10k on a good synthetic and filter when driven lightly but certainly not the first oil change. I'll stick to 5k once broken in though. It's cheap and really easy to do.

One thing I don't like is the apparent quality or lack there of the plastic panels on the underside of the car. They are so floppy and thin. That access panel that needs to be removed to get to the drain plug and filter is held on with course thread screws into plastic. That is not going to hold up in 15-20yrs worth of removing for oil changes.

I do like it for aero purposes and especially to keep slush and crap out of the engine compartment though and I know they wanted it light but it could have had a better access set up.

I do hope it will be durable 🤞

 

I have a 2011 Camry LE. 2.5L 4 cylinder. It was the first model that Toyota made that called for 10,000 mile oil changes from the go. I have 122,000 miles on it as of today, only changed the oil every 10,000 miles. I bought in Oct 2010. I’ve had no issues at all. At 70,000 miles I stopped going to get an oil change at Toyota and did it myself.

 

Had an 05 Saab 16,000 kms oil changes

Bought at 70,000 kms sold at 250,000 10 years go and I still see it driving around.

 

I had an Acura that I bought brand new that had 10,000 mile oil changes it's entire life up to 218,000 miles when an accident took it out. It never had any engine problems the entire time.

 

It is absurd but your wear metals will not be the issue it will be insoluble. Every bake or cook and have the oil turn brown and practically glue itself to the pan where normal soap and water would not easily remove it? No take that stuff and suspend it in the oil. The oil can only hold so much of it before it starts to settle out and attach itself to the parts. We call this varnish or lacquer. It can also be tiny carbon particles, sludge and the like. I am over simplifying this but you get the picture. Properly functioning Toyota that have intact head gaskets and are not neglected or abused will almost never have wear metals being the reason why we need to change oil.

So unless your miles are all hwy miles and you always get the engines oil not coolant up to operating temp the 10K miles or 1 year oil change on 0W16 is fantasy if you plan to own the vehicle longer than the 3-5 years you will be paying for it. Keep in mind Toyota's own recommendations combined with lack of revalidation of the engine after many minor changes created the worst sludge problems we have seen since GM and 20W20 meet the autobahn many decades ago.

I generally think people must be idiots to follow an owners manual recommendation as if it is a command or moral imperative. No warranty has ever been cancelled because you changed the oil, atf, gear lube too often!

The OEM recommendations are geared at 2 main goals make that 3. 1) Make sure car or truck makes it out of warranty with very few warranty claims against the manufacture. 2) Reduce the initial cost of ownership by reducing maintenance requirements to make the vehicles attractive to fleets buyers and consumer review type organizations. 3) I forgot lessee's they like low maintenance cost's too.

No one can tell you with a high P value that letting the oil go 1 year or 10K miles will reduce the life of the engine by "X" amount. Observation though clearly has proven that even with cheap bulk oil that almost all of the vehicles you read about with 1 million miles saw 3K oil changes.

Millage is a terrible way to change fluids by! A better way is hours of operation or time in service is much better way to do this.

When looking at automotive cost's especially if you plan on owning the vehicles well past the time period it takes for you to pay off the loan twice a year oil changes are a better way to go. It does not matter if I put 10K miles of 1K miles on the oil 6 months and it is out and replaced with new as my plan. From time to time you might shoot past that because your on a road trip, just lost your job or the weather is too cold to do it.

Timing chains, cam phasers, oil control valves, seals and guides all like clean oil!


My 18 year old engine is super clean, burns no oil that can be observed on the dipstick and runs like a Swiss Clock!

6 months to 9 months is a good window to aim for but since a year is 12 months doing it every 6 is much easier to get into a rhythm and habit of doing.


Also every time you pump gas pop the hood and check the fluids then you will never be surprised!

P.S. Unlike Honda which used to actually use a special break-in oil or break-in additive at the factory Toyota has not done that in the last 20 years going by thousands of used oil analysis. So there is no compelling reason to keep the factory fill in for any length of time.

 

Well, guess I’m an idiot then. My belief is that Toyota has done way more R&D into these engines than you or I could ever do. Yes, Toyota is in the business to sell cars, and yes it would be beneficial for them to get you to buy a car every five years.

But if you bought one of their cars, and it died in five years, you probably wouldn’t be buying a new Toyota. Long term reliability is Toyota’s bread and butter. If they weren’t very reliable, nearly every Toyota model would have nothing special about it. None of them are top in their class at basically anything, but you can count it never dying. Every Toyota owner I know has not had a single significant issue with their car.

These cars are over engineered to last forever. Which way there are plenty of stories of people with old Toyota that have 100k miles on them but have had like five oil changes. Neglected, stupid, but still running.

Toyota knows what they’re doing. And I trust their research into their own cars that they design much more than I trust my own research. Never trust yourself to be the end all authority on everything. That’s my motto, cause at some point I realized I was just being a stuck up asshole.

 

Oil is relatively inexpensive. If you have a question, change it. New oil won't hurt a bit.

 

For now and like everything else that's bad for the environment the more waste oil is produced the more it drives up refining costs then oil price goes up then evrinmental fees increase so yes short term no issue long prices increase because people think engineers and scientists who developed synthetic oil should still change on a 5000 basis ...so if this is the rule people are using for years how often did you change your conventional oil when it was supposed to be 5000?

 

I've been told by many Toyota Master Techs over the years to change the oil on a new car at 500-1k miles, 3k miles, 6k and 10k miles. After that do 5k mile oil changes and I would never have sludge or oil burning issues. And guess what? In 40+ years they have been right. I've been using Mobil 1 since the early 80's doing 5k mile OCI.

 

IMHO: and not new I do what works for me. if the times changed and things are different, means the old is going out and the new coming in. a lot of old can be taken care of but the new is the easier way of life that said:

Engineers one day will write in the MM a code to say 1st oil change Xamount of Miles, so if the MM pops up at 7500 mi, you stop and change on the spot,.

I chose to wait the 10K Mi. and also I am going to be within the year as well. Dealer sent a note out at 5K to bring in. OW16 will be out and OW16 or OW20 will go in as now again OW20 is back in demand.

 

Never discuss politic, religion or... oil changes intervals if you want to avoid friction (pun intended ). The 10K intervals aren't that new : that was also recommended for the previous Corolla generation in US, but it was 5K in Canada. There goes the theory of an international manufacturers plot to kill engines. Recommended viscosity also vary from one world area to another. Guess manufacturers do consider local conditions.

Both oil (especially synthetic) and engine building tolerances are far better than from years ago. Remember when those discussions were not about going from 5K to 10K but going from 3K to 5K ? Now it's about "break-in" oil change, that manufacturers don't use anymore because of modern manufacturing process (Honda was the last one to use it, a few years ago).

The thing is that 10K (even 15K for some manufacturers) aren't plain insane but also never definitive, depending on each one's driving conditions (trip length, temperature, traffic or highway, etc). I've had cars with oil monitoring. The algorithm would sometime "allow" me to go 14K before suggesting an oil change. At other time, it would pop up at 6K. Depending on conditions.

"Never had a problem this way" isn't a final argument, as nobody know what would have been otherwise. But engineers recommendations aren't just pull out of a hat. As well as considering your own conditions. Probably why those debates generally end with : "It's your car, do what you want"! 🤷‍♀️

 

Never discuss politic, religion or... oil changes intervals if you want to avoid friction (pun intended ). The 10K intervals aren't that new : that was also recommended for the previous Corolla generation in US, but it was 5K in Canada. There goes the theory of an international manufacturers plot to kill engines. Recommended viscosity also vary from one world area to another. Guess manufacturers do consider local conditions.

Both oil (especially synthetic) and engine building tolerances are far better than from years ago. Remember when those discussions were not about going from 5K to 10K but going from 3K to 5K ? Now it's about "break-in" oil change, that manufacturers don't use anymore because of modern manufacturing process (Honda was the last one to use it, a few years ago).

The thing is that 10K (even 15K for some manufacturers) aren't plain insane but also never definitive, depending on each one's driving conditions (trip length, temperature, traffic or highway, etc). I've had cars with oil monitoring. The algorithm would sometime "allow" me to go 14K before suggesting an oil change. At other time, it would pop up at 6K. Depending on conditions.

"Never had a problem this way" isn't a final argument, as nobody know what would have been otherwise. But engineers recommendations aren't just pull out of a hat. As well as considering your own conditions. Probably why those debates generally end with : "It's your car, do what you want"! 🤷‍♀️

Absolutely never talk religion or politics unless you want to fight... this applies to all aspects of life lol

 

These oil debates are getting lame seriously

Change your oil whenever you want...

No harm to car to change oil more frequently

No harm anyone has reported changing oil following recommended intervals.

Gooday

 

It’s also important to note because someone said it in this thread somewhere(can’t find it now). But for the extreme conditions like prolonged idling periods if you frequently drive in heavy traffic, if you drive it in extreme cold or extreme heat often, if you tow often, or if you live in very dusty or dirty conditions, Toyota straight up recommends that you change at 5k.

Alright, I’m unsubscribing to this thread now. I’ve said my piece, quote me if you want me to see it. Deuces.

 

Toyota has been running basically the same 1.8L for over 20yrs. The lower end is identical. Synthetic oil is no better now than 15yrs ago. Been using the same M1 since then. So what changed? The only real difference on the newer 1.8 is valvematic and no one is going to convince me OLDER oil is best for the valvematic system so what changed?

Same with the whole 0w-20 thing. The 1.8 ran 5w-30 back in the day. That could be possibly explained by a more complicated valve system but cafe and the ever push to eek out .23215mpg is probably more likely.

I do agree to do what each owner feels best.

I do nearly all short trips of under 10mi and also live in the upper midwest so I will personally never run 10k miles but if I lived in a mild climate and did all freeway, I would run it longer.

 

Synthetic oil is no better now than 15yrs ago. Been using the same M1 since then.

Actually, it is. If you were to analyze the content of your M1 bottle from 15 years ago (GF-4 spec) vs M1 of today (GF-6 spec), you'd notice a difference for the better.

Same engine, different countries, different "requirements" Smells like fish up in here lol

This was true for the 11th gen (5K Canada vs 10K for US) but not for the 12th gen (10K for both). It might have to do with Toyota establishing that the newer spec oil was also suitable in winter country.

 

Okay so Canada is the same as the U.S.? That's at least better to hear. If not, it would be very strange.

I have heard other countries do recommend different oils for the same engine.

 

Okay so Canada is the same as the U.S.? That's at least better to hear. If not, it would be very strange.

I have heard other countries do recommend different oils for the same engine.

I bet it's true due to altitude or extreme weather etc.

 

By no means scientific and probably wrong but I have always changed my oil based on the color. When it turns a darkish brown I change it usually coincides with 3K-5k miles

 

My 70-yo FIL still changes it every 3K miles (5K km) cause he is used to it regardless of today's oils, engine quality, etc. I also met a Corolla owner once, this was in FL, who trades in his Corolla for a new one every year before his oil change is due, so there is that too

Like someone said above: do whatever helps you sleep at night

 

Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 and Mobil 1 EP 103a filter at 2,500 miles then at 5,000, then 10,000. Now every 5k miles, bottle of Techron every 3k miles. Every new car I’ve had in the past 17 years I’ve followed that schedule.

 

Hows this oil compared to the stock oil? 0W-20 Vs 0W-20.
I would like to switch to this oil at the near future oll change at 30,000 miles with 8,500 OCI.

 

these topics create a ton of talk, and traffic for the site. careful the topic can get shut down because its like today the pedemic of a dead battery

 

Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 and Mobil 1 EP 103a filter at 2,500 miles then at 5,000, then 10,000. Now every 5k miles, bottle of Techron every 3k miles. Every new car I’ve had in the past 17 years I’ve followed that schedule.
[/QUOTE]
Is techron even needed with how much detergent is in top tier gasoline?

 

Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 and Mobil 1 EP 103a filter at 2,500 miles then at 5,000, then 10,000. Now every 5k miles, bottle of Techron every 3k miles. Every new car I’ve had in the past 17 years I’ve followed that schedule.

Is techron even needed with how much detergent is in top tier gasoline?
[/QUOTE]

Honestly probably not, I only use Top Tier fuel also, 93oct from costco, but at only $6 a bottle why not, this hatch is suppose to be my long term commuter car so it certainly wont hurt

 

Hell no.....5k tops

 

I am driving a 2020 Corolla Hatchback and it's been 13,000 KM. I will follow the maintenance schedule to make the first oil change at 16,000 KM.

Don't know much about the pros and cons, but like some people said, it is your own choice.

 

Toyota recommends 8,000 km (5,000 mile) oil change intervals for severe service, which you may well fall into to some degree. First oil change should certainly be done by 5,000 miles.

 

I purchased my previous '98 V6 Camry in 2004 with 88k. I sold the car last year with 351k. I always used conventional and changed oil every 3-4k for several years. At some point I extended the change interval and had oil tested at Blackstone Labs. The Havoline 5w30 was good at 7k according to them. I continued this interval until I sold it to a co-wrker last year with 351k. Car still ran strong. I currently use the same interval on my 2000 Tacoma and have 344k on it. I have run the larger YZZD3 on both vehicles.

We recently purchased a '21 Corolla XSE and just had the 5k service done. I don't think they changed the oil but haven't looked at the paperwork yet. This was our first new car purchase and this thread has me thinking that changing it (myself) now at 5k might be a good idea. I don't have any concerns about using 10k as a regular interval with synthetic after that and will use our local dealer for that since it's included for 2 years.