[twii]

After owning the 2020 limited for 10 months and only seeing 4,000 on the odometer, I thought I would do the initial oil change this weekend. Manual says yearly or 10,000 miles, but this year we certainly saw low mileage and in another 2 months, it would be January and in Ohio, that could mean either 40* or -20*, so with yesterday being 50 and sunny, I decided it was a good day.

For the DIY'ers, this is not the easiest oil change. The plastic engine guard/pan or whatever they call it is a real pain. It goes WAY the heck toward the rear of the car, so if you jack up the front end and put on jack stands, make SURE you are way up in the air. You can't see the rear fastener and have to release it by feel unless the car is really really jacked up. The next recommendation is to make sure you get a good tool to remove the oil filter housing, and definitely use a torque wrench to install the housing. It would be rather easy to over torque it and then make your life miserable the next time you went to remove it. The first time it took well over an hour, probably close to 90 minutes, I'm sure the next time it will be much shorter knowing what exactly to do and which tools to have at my side.

 

[Lamplighter]

After owning the 2020 limited for 10 months and only seeing 4,000 on the odometer, I thought I would do the initial oil change this weekend. Manual says yearly or 10,000 miles, but this year we certainly saw low mileage and in another 2 months, it would be January and in Ohio, that could mean either 40* or -20*, so with yesterday being 50 and sunny, I decided it was a good day.

For the DIY'ers, this is not the easiest oil change. The plastic engine guard/pan or whatever they call it is a real pain. It goes WAY the heck toward the rear of the car, so if you jack up the front end and put on jack stands, make SURE you are way up in the air. You can't see the rear fastener and have to release it by feel unless the car is really really jacked up. The next recommendation is to make sure you get a good tool to remove the oil filter housing, and definitely use a torque wrench to install the housing. It would be rather easy to over torque it and then make your life miserable the next time you went to remove it. The first time it took well over an hour, probably close to 90 minutes, I'm sure the next time it will be much shorter knowing what exactly to do and which tools to have at my side.

Are you getting 2 years free Toyota care

 

[AutoMechanic]

Yep they are definitely hard to do I hate the new ones.

 

[twii]

Are you getting 2 years free Toyota care

I'm not getting free anything as far as I know. The dealer we bought it from is 45 minutes away and the closest dealership is 30 minutes away. Not sure an oil change would be worth it even if it was free. The filters are cheap, the oil not so much, but time wise, I'd have as much time tied up in driving as I would doing it myself. I needed to figure out how to do it anyway. I'm 64 and have had 15 cars and 3 motorcycles over the years and I think I've paid someone one time to change the oil in any of my vehicles. However, at 64, that garage floor is getting further and further away!

 

[Lamplighter]

I'm not getting free anything as far as I know. The dealer we bought it from is 45 minutes away and the closest dealership is 30 minutes away. Not sure an oil change would be worth it even if it was free. The filters are cheap, the oil not so much, but time wise, I'd have as much time tied up in driving as I would doing it myself. I needed to figure out how to do it anyway. I'm 64 and have had 15 cars and 3 motorcycles over the years and I think I've paid someone one time to change the oil in any of my vehicles. However, at 64, that garage floor is getting further and further away!

If you bought new you should have 2 years free Toyota care. Check it out

 

[twii]

If you bought new you should have 2 years free Toyota care. Check it out

It's ironic, when I got home yesterday, checking my email, there was a reminder email from the dealership that has been checking out the slow start and driver's seat memory loss problem, it reminded me to take advantage of my 2 year Toyota Care! We bought the car from a different dealer, (long story), but have taken it to a bit closer one for the this other concern. The selling dealer did not mention a thing about the 2 year Toyota Care. The selling dealer did not end up being very professional on other areas as well, I would never recommend them.

 

[Lamplighter]

It's ironic, when I got home yesterday, checking my email, there was a reminder email from the dealership that has been checking out the slow start and driver's seat memory loss problem, it reminded me to take advantage of my 2 year Toyota Care! We bought the car from a different dealer, (long story), but have taken it to a bit closer one for the this other concern. The selling dealer did not mention a thing about the 2 year Toyota Care. The selling dealer did not end up being very professional on other areas as well, I would never recommend them.

Good luck. You can also extend it to 45k I think for a added cost

 

[JohnGD]

Toyota Care comes with every new car, and you can get service at any Toyota dealership. No longer are the days where the selling dealership gave you free oil changes that's only redeemable at that particular dealership.

ToyotaCare | Car Maintenance & 24-Hour Roadside Assistance

Toyota includes a no cost car maintenance plan and 24-hour roadside assistance with the purchase or lease of every new Toyota. Learn more.

www.toyota.com

As far as the Toyota Care Plus (4-yr/45K miles), try haggling to get it for free next time.

 

[nutdriver]

I also did an early oil change on my Avalon at about 2500 miles. I then let Toyota do my next free change at 10,000 miles which included rotation. They also left a new unopened car cabin air filter in my vehicle for later install. I too am a hard core do-it-yourself owner but I also wanted the record of a certified Toyota service in case of later warranty issues. That said, I do keep good records on the oil and filter purchase as well as a record of my change if there is ever an issue.

 

[twii]

I've spent my whole career in the trucking business as a mechanic, maintenance director and now shop manager for an OEM truck dealership. I guess that is why I have a hard time having someone else do simple tasks like oil changes on my vehicles. However, the days of the DIY'ers are getting near the end on a lot of repairs just due to the need for software to read the faults and the need for schematics due to the complexity of the wiring systems and general complexity of the vehicles! Most of these things are not available to the average guy and even if so, they tend to be pricey. To equip all our techs, our company spends over $500,000 a year on software licenses from 5 different manufactures. It's mind boggling. As far as the warranty goes, no one can "void" a warranty, it is a legal document. However, due to neglect or abuse, you can create a situation where a normal warranty repair would not be warrantable. Keep good records and you'll be OK.

 

[Den49]

My last two new Toyotas and my recent new Cadillac all came with free oil changes for the first two years. Plus, my Toyota dealer recently offered me a free oil change on my now seven year old Avalon. Even though I have confidence in my Toyota dealer, I used none of these freebies. It is still easier and more rewarding for me at the age of 71 to do my own oil changes and other maintenance on my cars than have someone else do it. I suppose I will have to relent at some point, but not as long as I am still able.

 

[Evolved_1]

Even though I have confidence in my Toyota dealer, I used none of these freebies.

With the cost of synthetic oil being so high I would find it hard to pass up on free oil changes.

 

[Den49]

With the cost of synthetic oil being so high I would find it hard to pass up on free oil changes.

Cost is not an issue for me. As for the price of synthetic oil, a five gallon jug of 0w20 Mobil-1 at Walmart is $25.00 to $28.00 which in my world is low. Price of a genuine Toyota oil filter is only $5.00 at my dealer.

 

[1242547]

After owning the 2020 limited for 10 months and only seeing 4,000 on the odometer, I thought I would do the initial oil change this weekend. Manual says yearly or 10,000 miles, but this year we certainly saw low mileage and in another 2 months, it would be January and in Ohio, that could mean either 40* or -20*, so with yesterday being 50 and sunny, I decided it was a good day.

For the DIY'ers, this is not the easiest oil change. The plastic engine guard/pan or whatever they call it is a real pain. It goes WAY the heck toward the rear of the car, so if you jack up the front end and put on jack stands, make SURE you are way up in the air. You can't see the rear fastener and have to release it by feel unless the car is really really jacked up. The next recommendation is to make sure you get a good tool to remove the oil filter housing, and definitely use a torque wrench to install the housing. It would be rather easy to over torque it and then make your life miserable the next time you went to remove it. The first time it took well over an hour, probably close to 90 minutes, I'm sure the next time it will be much shorter knowing what exactly to do and which tools to have at my side.

Use 4 jack-stands instead of just 2, get all 4 wheels off the ground, more room. Works for me on the Camry V6, takes 2 minutes longer.

 

[twii]

A free service is a good thing for folks if you live close to the dealership. In our case, 30 minutes minimum. Although, not a great length of time, but enough to turn a "free" oil change into a 2 - 3 hour ordeal if you're going to wait on the car and 30 minutes away is way too far to involve 2 people and 2 vehicles for an oil change.

Good idea on the 4 jack stands. I have 4 so may try that on the next one, but if this virus doesn't let up and my wife continues to teach from home, it may be next fall before it sees it's second oil change!

 

[Den49]

Use 4 jack-stands instead of just 2, get all 4 wheels off the ground, more room. Works for me on the Camry V6, takes 2 minutes longer.

Four jack-stands also allows you to rotate the tires at each oil change. I used four jack-stands for many years until I bought a car lift for my garage.

 

[missilemonger]

After owning the 2020 limited for 10 months and only seeing 4,000 on the odometer, I thought I would do the initial oil change this weekend. Manual says yearly or 10,000 miles, but this year we certainly saw low mileage and in another 2 months, it would be January and in Ohio, that could mean either 40* or -20*, so with yesterday being 50 and sunny, I decided it was a good day.

For the DIY'ers, this is not the easiest oil change. The plastic engine guard/pan or whatever they call it is a real pain. It goes WAY the heck toward the rear of the car, so if you jack up the front end and put on jack stands, make SURE you are way up in the air. You can't see the rear fastener and have to release it by feel unless the car is really really jacked up. The next recommendation is to make sure you get a good tool to remove the oil filter housing, and definitely use a torque wrench to install the housing. It would be rather easy to over torque it and then make your life miserable the next time you went to remove it. The first time it took well over an hour, probably close to 90 minutes, I'm sure the next time it will be much shorter knowing what exactly to do and which tools to have at my side.

Anyone think that getting the first oil change early, say 3000 miles, still a good idea?

 

[twii]

The service schedule says 1 year or 10,000 miles, so at 3,000 miles I threw 5 qts of good, practically clear oil down the drain. However, the reason I did it so early was that it was a nice day and I do it myself. I didn't want that "year" to come up in January with nasty temps in my unheated garage. I knew it was going to take me longer on the first attempt so I planned accordingly. Oil is relatively cheap, even synthetic oil, so I have certainly wasted more money on more foolish things than this oil. Oil change intervals will always be an argument item. My Civic doesn't even have a "recommended" drain interval, the engine's ECM keeps track of fuel usage and basis the oil drain on that, which is the proper way to do it. So I would answer your question at 3,000 miles, no, not necessary. Maybe a little earlier than recommended just due to new engine break it, but 3,000 is extreme.

 

[JohnGD]

I'd just change it. Many owners, including this HL one here, found lots of metal in the initial filter change. And I wouldn't want that oil in there either.

First oil change...

I am anal about my cars and oil changes. I always change out the oil and filter at a 1000 miles on my news cars. Here is how much metal is in the filter!! I always open up filters to look inside every oil change. This doesn't surprise me at all. Oil was very dark for a 1000 miles also. No...

www.toyotanation.com

 

[Greasymechtech]

Nothing extreme about 3000 miles or 4000 miles since you mentioned both numbers. The oil was in use for 10 months, so it was 2 months early which is 10/12 months. Mileage or time whichever comes 1st regardless of either.
Even Honda's maintenance minder requires a yearly change if the computer doesn't trigger it. You would think that they would create an algorithm that includes the calendar. So, you're Civic does have a yearly recommend interval besides the countdown timer.

Practically clear oil means nothing. You could've sent the old oil out for analysis if you want to see its real condition.

How do you buy a car and not know what it comes with? Impressive resume in the 'trucking business' but consumer clueless?????? Yeah, ok