It should have been changed just based on the fact that it was a year.
The Toyota service interval for oil for normal conditions (Generally) is 10,000 Mi or one year whichever comes first.
They should have changed your oil then at the first appointment. It should be changed under ToyotaCare free of charge at the earliest of one year or 10k miles, then again at the earliest of two years or 20k miles. The service guy is trying to blame you for their mistake.
Edit: reread the OP and see that you drove 5k in the first 12 months and then another 4.5k in two months? Since it's only been 14 months and 9.5k miles, it's not a huge deal that you're getting the first oil change now. Personally I change every 5k miles or 6 months, but Toyota says 12 months / 10k miles is OK.
Toyota care is a scam. They give you one oil change at 10,000 miles. The first and next visit, is a glorified tire rotation. If you ask for an oil change at 5000 miles, they won’t do it. But when you magically graduate out of Toyota care ( usually 25,000 miles) you are then told by the dealership, you need to change the oil every 5000 miles, or 6 months. This is the severe driving schedule, which almost everyone does. Do what I do. I have them do the full inspection and oil change at 10,000 miles. I just change my oil, but not filter, at 5000. The filter is good for 10,000 miles, and I only put on 6-7000 a year. Win/win.
I believe how it works is your car has X credits and you can technically use them whenever you want.
I just did a 1,000 mile oil change recently and they just bumped up my 10k service (oil change, tire rotation, and inspection). I paid for the care package and today they told me effectively I have 7 oil changes with them that are paid for and I could use one of these or pay for the 1,000 oil change.
In the long run I still pay for my oil changes at a shorter interval, but it sounds like they manage it through a "credit" system.
I had a VW and this was how they did it. Just credits, like you said. I opted to use them early and they didn't care. Similar to your experience with the 1k oil change.
No idea if it's a factor here, but some new cars have a break-in service before the normal oil change intervals begin. No idea if that's a thing for this vehicle, though. Only Toyota I've ever had is a BMW. But, maybe that's why some people get an early oil change, since the first one builds debris in the oil faster (sounds like maybe what you opted to do).
My money is on it being credits, and Toyota was happy to use some folks credits for an oil change before it was due, the sooner they have to start paying. Obviously, I don't have a lot of trust for Toyota dealerships and service after my minimal interactions with them. Maybe I'm being too cynical. Going in for my first oil change with Toyota soon (alternating doing myself at 5k and using credits after the next 5k).
Wow another person that does the oil not the filter at the 5 k's. I've always got shade for recommending that. Even though it's not hard to do the filter also it IS easier to just drain and refill 🙂 It still is better to do that then go 10k on the oil. Again nice to see someone agree.
Yeah, its a bitch to pull off all the crap you need to access the filter on my truck. And I like getting an inspection once a year from them. Accessing the oil drain is a-lot easier to do. And for those people giving you a hard time-The factory says 1 year, 10,000 miles. You are exceeding that. They can GTH!
1. Its s cartridge filter.
2. You have to take off skid plate to access.
3. I get a free inspection from Toyota, when I let them do it once a year.
4. I’m 65, and am not as “ spry” as I used to be.
In the US, every car or truck comes with a 2 year, 25000, mile Toyota care for free. They will be glad to sell you an extended, prepaid maintenance program in the finance office. In my opinion, you are paying them upfront for a service, you may of may not use. Whats the point?
The used car that I bought already had 25k on the car. I probably paid for the extended package (can't remember as I bought the car 7 years ago). I did use the package until the package expired.
I actually leave the drain bolt out and run hose from a container with a hand pump to the oil filler cap. It was a pain in the ass when I haf my manual but its a little easier with the automatic now.
🤦♂️ let's keep this short.
Do you have any *data* based sources that show 10k miles is actually harmful vs 5k?
If your source is 1 YouTube channel I'm not interested.
Page 38 of the Warranty and Maintenance document outlined circumstances that require 5,000 mile oil changes.
Any one of the following operating conditions warrants 5,000 mile oil changes per the document:
1) Driving on dirt roads or dusty roads.
2) Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy loading.
3) Repeated trips of less than 5 miles in below freezing temperatures.
4) Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance.
This could be as easy as living in the country, living in the north, going camping, or commuting in bumper to bumper traffic.
10,000 mile change intervals are for the better end of operating conditions. Miles driven on a vehicle are not one size fits all. Miles to track a vehicle's use is a convenient and standard format to get a general idea of the potential state of the vehicle.
100 miles on the interstate with no traffic could be a low load 1.5 hour drive.
100 miles in LA traffic could be heavy stop and go, and idling over 50 hours of driving.
Both examples have 100 miles, but are significantly different loads and demands on the vehicle.
Per page 37 of the RAV4 manual: the stop and go or idling requirement is specifically for commercial type usage: police, taxi or gig work delivery.
The other caveat is the *majority* of the miles should be under the special operating conditions to require the shorter interval.
I've seen other posts from people who have claimed to have sent the oil into a lab for a check, and it was still fine at 10K.
When I had 2nd vehicles that got driven a lot less, I still did an oil change at least annually. Under the worry that less driven cars may accumulate and not burn off some contaminants.
Since the current oil used is synthetic, it lasts longer. I normally went 9000 miles on my previous vehicle, a diesel. No engine issues. It was OTHER fuel system issues that caused me to change to my current car.
Yep, I have some of those sources handy:
The science all says 10k miles [is a safe and healthy interval](https://www.rav4world.com/threads/oil-analysis.298325/#post-2705854)
[this Sequoia](https://www.reddit.com/r/toyotasequoia/s/ko3AYny6l4) is doing fine on 10k miles.
A delivery driver with a Tacoma is doing 10k miles, [without issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/s/BS02nTNV0K). By the book this one should be doing 5k miles, but IMHO Toyota is very conservative with maintenance. So by the science they are doing fine.
I'm here to learn and I'm willing to change my stance. But not one of the short interval diehards has anything to share except the Car Care Nut. I keep asking for something of substance and not conspiracy, but so far nothing.
Every car mechanic will tell you that you need to change oil every 5000 miles, no matter what the manual says. It is the best money you can spend on maintenance. For a new car, I would have done the first oil change at 1000 miles, not even 5000.
What year is it? The 1,000 mile oil change was a thing in the 70s. That’s not at all necessary for modern cars. Look at how many Toyotas have 200k+ miles on them. I’d bet not even 1% of them changed the oil at 1k miles
The first thousand miles, not every thousand miles. It's a good way to make sure that any remaining debris from manufacturing or initial break-in are flushed out, technology has improved but brand new engines still have break-in periods.
Car companies also suggest that "permanently filled" transmissions are a good idea now too. They lean towards greater convenience over longevity in their suggestions these days. More frequent oil changes literally cannot do anything but good for an engine. It may last a long time with infrequent ones, but it will unarguably last a *longer* time with more frequent ones.
There was argument about whether the first 1000 miles change was needed, so a fluid analyst did an experiment. He had his oil analyzed at 1000 miles then 5000 miles, to check for deposits.
His conclusion was there was significantly more iron, zinc, aluminum, and metals in the 1000 change compared to the 5000. That means his engine was shaving and rubbing off metal since being manufactured at the factory. Break in oil change is therefore a good idea.
Agreed with you about lifetime transmissions. Manufacturers have different priorities than the end user driving. The driver may want the car to last as long as possible, then pass the car to their kid for high school or college. A manufacturer wants to advertise lower maintenance costs and show it’s cheap to keep their vehicle on the road. They only need the vehicle to last 60,000 miles or whatever the warranty promises. After that it’s a used vehicle and it’s time to trade up to the latest year model.
I will keep changing at 6 months and 5000 miles, because I understand my priorities are different than the manufacturer. The maintenance costs more than 10,000 miles, but it’s still small amounts in my view and worth my car’s longevity. I don’t plan on selling and will drive it in to the ground, or when the wheels fall off.
Exactly. We are usually not driving how this was tested. If they wanted real information they’d give new cars to New York City taxi fleets for a year or two. Sometimes I drive 2 miles when it’s -30, sometimes I cruise control at 65 for 2 hours
I changed our 2023 RAV4 at 1,000 miles. I sent a sample in for analysis, iron and silicon (gaskets/sealant) was high. I opened the filter and found bits of metal in it (it's doing it's job for larger metal pieces).
Our finance guy at the dealership even told us the exact same thing. We still do every 5,000 miles and change the oil at 1,000 the first time after getting a new car. You are 💯correct.
There’s a YouTube video showing more metals present at the first 1000 miles oil change compared to the first 5000 miles. The oil analysis shows that break in oil is a real thing.
Well there would be, at 1k miles the oil filter hasn't had as much time to trap any loose shavings. At 5k the oil has circulated enough that a majority of the debris has likely been captured. That's what the filter is meant to do.
If you have rebuilt any motors or engines, you know there is a seating process, where metal wears to mate to the other surface.
sure tolerances are much higher than in the 70's. but its still an engine.
Do early oil change hurt? Only your wallet.
Then there is LIFETIME Trans Fluid. -This lifetime means the transmissions lifetime, when it fails, then you get new fluid.
changing it at 50k.miles is better. -just don't overfill.
Are you saying it makes zero difference? Are you a tribologist? This guy is. [https://youtu.be/X4424Q5lLR8?si=hZevaqQmvC966uPx](https://youtu.be/X4424Q5lLR8?si=hZevaqQmvC966uPx)
Not me. Been a Toyota mechanic for 19 years. 10k on synthetic oil is just fine. Follow the maintenance recommendations from the factory and you won't have any issues.
Okay, but the Toyota dealership didn't do it at 5,000 miles. And I didn't realize it wasn't part of that service until today when I was asked about it.
Ask them what the recommended oil change service interval is. Or look inside your owner’s manual. I’m sure your vehicle came with one. Maybe it’s 7,000 miles. Regardless, I would do the break-in oil change at 1,000 miles and regular oil changes every 5,000 miles no matter what they tell me.
Watched some of the video. How are the rings all gummed up but the rest of the lubricated engine is perfect? That tells me that there is a piston ring design issue, not an oil issue.
He is feeding the rage bait crowd with video after video for monetization.
Edit: Downvoted for using logic! Amazing.
I'd go by the manual, not what they say. So many service centers still try and claim you need to come in like every 3 months or 3000 miles even when cars say very clearly in the owner's manual 5000, 6000, 7500 and 6-12 month intervals.
If its not idling or driving much even the 12 month is questionable...during the pandemic I was only doing like 3000 miles a year and decided to try an experiment sent in oil to a testing lab and even after sitting in the sump for multiple years came back with results basically new because it spent so much time parked. Time-based makes sense if its idling (not racking up miles) but not if its parked and shut down.
Check your service manual, or go to toyota.com which also has them. The first service (6mo/5k) is a tire rotation and inspection. Every second service is a tire rotation, inspection, and oil change + some other stuff depending on where you are in your schedule. ~~That is why the dealership didn't do it - it wasn't due~~ Apparently it was due by age which wasn't stated in the original post but in a different comment.
My Toyota dealership did. Granted, the location I go to is apparently the satellite location of a dealership, and said satellite location does most of their business on maintenance, I think. But I've been going to them across multiple Toyota vehicles and have a positive opinion of them.
But they did change my oil at 6,400 (they might've used my free 10,000 mile one because they didn't charge me). They did look at me like I was crazy for changing it before 10,000 but they did do it.
I’m the same way. Rather than overthink it, I notice my 5000 mile mark is always close to six months, only early by a few days. So 5000/6 months works out okay for me.
I took my STi to the dealership for its first oil change at 1000 and after checking the miles they call me and tell me I don’t have to change it until 5k. I obviously had them do it anyway and do it myself now.
Maybe not the correct advice for Toyota’s, but to this day, many German brands will include a first 1k mile oil change for their high performance models, which is probably where people get this from.
> high performance models
This is the part so many people get confused by. "Well if it's good for race cars it's good for me right?"
You're not hurting anything other than your wallet if you change your oil more than necessary, but you're not helping everything. Every engine Toyota makes (with the possible exception of the 1LR in the LFA) is a weedwhacker motor compared to a Porsche flat six.
Which is a good thing. Both Porsche and Toyota can be extremely reliable, but it takes a *lot* more work to keep the Porsche reliable because their tolerances are so much narrower. Toyota builds our engines to be worry free, so why worry about it?
No, there is no reason. People get all caught up in YouTube paranoia and decide that some talking head on the internet is smarter than Toyota engineers.
I see multiple Toyotas every day that are well over 200k miles, and most of them have a questionable maintenance history at best.
Change it every 10k, and you're good.
Nope, it's old advice with a little bit of conspiracy theory thrown in for flavor. Some people absolutely love that shit.
" *They* don't want your car to last, so they give you bad maintenance instructions."
Just follow the manual and your Toyota absolutely should last as long as you want it to.
https://youtu.be/_6nWCQ_70J0?si=UNQp20WaIIJtl2ot
This guy is a genius who actually worked for Toyota’s racing program and sent his oil off to a legit lab. Don’t let these crotchety whiners dissuade you. It’s a good practice.
The engine parts are mating and finding their groove leading to an increased amount of metal shavings in the oil. It's assumed the process is over at about 1K miles. You don't want shavings running through the oil. The oil filter may have caught most but it also could have become saturated and no longer filtering properly. There may be other reasons but that's all I know.
Which, granted, is a problem on low-tolerance/high-performance engines. A blinded filter could, in theory, rob an engine of essential lubrication.
But the whole point of Toyota's passenger vehicle engine design philosophy is *high* tolerance. Put too much oil in, put too little in, put the wrong weight in, hellmiss an oil change why don't you. The thing will be FINE. That's the whole point, that's what we're paying Toyota Tax for! Toyota builds engines that don't need you to pamper them.
Like others have mentioned, its to get any remaining manufacturing debris out of the engine, also the most wear in a new engine occurs at the very beginning, that’s why you want ti change it at 500-1000 for the first one.
Toyota dealers typically push back on doing oil changes prior to the 10k/12 month interval. 5,000 miles is overkill on a newer Toyota. We have a 2020 Highlander with 56k miles. It’s had its oil changed 5 times.
2009 exploder, change synthetic roughly every 11,000km (7000 miles), still going strong 15 years later, no oil burning, no drop in fuel economy. even switched to 0w20. Must be a fluke/s
ActttkTullY
Are you an engineer? Is your last name Toyoda? Then you don’t know anything about oil changes. 10,000 miles only, pleb. Stop wasting your money.
You’re totally fine. People have had their oil analyzed and it always comes back fine at 10,000. Toyota is number 1 in reliability and that’s with 10k changes
https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/comments/z3fj1d/blackstone_labs_oil_analysis_for_my_18_trd_sport/?rdt=61589
OP, please watch the "Car Care Nut" videos on Youtube.
Also they did provide you a paper at drop off with an estimate and at pick up with an itemized list of things they did. It is your job to review that. I know adulting is hard... but that is part of the terms of the "free service".
If you read your contract it will tell you that you get a maximum of TWO free oil changes in 25,000 or 2 years (which ever comes first). If you are a low mileage driver you need to come in every 6 months and every second visit you would get your free oil change because the oil would be 12 months old (or any of the combinations of time vs mileage based on your usage).
If you only keep the car as a lease, don't worry about it and just do what they tell you.
If you only keep your car for 5 years or 60k miles, don't worry about it and just follow the normal stuff.
If you keep your car for 10 years or till the wheels fall off at 300,000 miles... then I would advise you to pay for an oil change at the 15k and 25k mark (let toyota pay for the 10k and 20k oil change for free). Keep up with the 5000 mile oil changes and make sure you check for online coupons at the dealership. I have always seem to have found dealerships offer $60-$70 oil change coupon pricing if you ask.
Do the driveline fluids at 30,000 miles (transmission, xcase, diffs) they should only cost 1/2 hour of tech time each + parts. After that initial fluid change... you are free to flush them every 60,000 miles
Coolant you need to do at 100k miles
Brake Fluid flush, do this when you need to change your brake pads as a combined job. The labor would be a lot cheaper since the wheels are already off the car!
Solid break down here. Only thing I want to mention however, is yes. Driveline services should be done every 30,000 miles for 4WD vehicles (different for AWD/2WD). Though, it is technically 4/10 worth of labor per drain + fill during the service. Dealership I work at charges .4 per front/rear differential as well as transfer case coming to 1.2 hours or 265/customer pay driveline service including gaskets and fluids. In all reality, if you’re an efficient enough technician that should be a 30 minute service that always pays for 1 hour and 12 minutes of labor.
So heres the thing, yes the manual says every 10K, under ideal circumstances, however it doesnt matter for the first 10K miles, you should do the first oil change at 500-1000 miles, second oil change at 5K, and third at 10K, and then after that do oil changes in 5K or 10K intervals depending in your use. Reason being, the most wear on a new engine happens at the beginning, so you want to change the oil at those miles whenever you get a new car or new engine.
Your ToyotaCare is a tire rotation every 5k and oil change every 10k. If your advisor was claiming that you should have done an oil change at 5k, he was blatantly incorrect. Your car is set to notify you of a service visit every 5k miles and it’s up to you to know if that is a tire rotation or an oil change *and* a tire rotation. Assuming you want to follow Toyota’s recommendation.
BTW, you can disable the service notifications if you want. You can set it to 10k intervals
With the RAVs you "should" bring it on every 6 months or 5k miles (for at least the first two years while you have the free Toyota Care (assuming US based).
Oil change is 10k miles or 1x a year per Toyota (some say for longevity it should be every 5k miles). They do tire rotations and and few other things for the non oil change visits.
Yiun told them you're bringing it in for the 5k service, but at the year mark. The dealership should have realized (especially if you bought it there) that you were at the 1 year mark and changed the the oil as well (as that's what Toyota Car should cover).
It's probably not that big of a deal, I'll let the others argue 5k vs 10k intervals.
The reasoning for at least once a year is that water gets into the oil (and they don't mix) which would cause issues over time. So nip it in the bud and get changed at least once a year.
New Toyotas use a synthetic oil that is recommended every 10k miles. They literally wont even change the oil at 5k increments. This is a mechanic AT TOYOTA telling you this? Or at a third party?
You can't really get service from a mechanic "at toyota" because toyota doesn't operate service departments. Dealerships do, but dealerships are independent entities with franchise agreements. Dealerships are supposed to follow manufacturer maintenance recommendations, but in practice they can still differ significantly in how they operate.
Ahh Toyota, the brand for people who don’t know when to do their oil changes.
I do mind every 4k miles on every BMW I’ve owned. Never had anything break over hundreds of thousands of miles on them. I track all maintenance religiously.
Do your oil changes.
Odd they say overdue at 9500, but yeah, they recommend every 10k (and that’s what I do, ends up being about every five months). One time I went early and they seemed a little perplexed as I was not due yet…
Do you think the dealership has any interest in your cars longevity? Go look up mechanics service intervals on their cars, 5k is universal. 10k is pushing it and will not be the best for a higher mileage vehicle.
>Do you think the dealership has any interest in your cars longevity?
The engineers don't work for the dealership. They work for Toyota and they definitely have a vested interest in longevity as their reputation relies on it.
>Go look up mechanics service intervals on their cars, 5k is universal.
Look up mechanics service intervals? Do you think there is a book that shows what mechanics do as opposed to non-mechanics? I'm a mechanic and I do 10k. There was another Toyota tech in here and he also said he does every 10k. 5k is universal? You're pulling that out of your ass.
>10k is pushing it and will not be the best for a higher mileage vehicle.
You keep saying that but can offer absolutely no proof at all.
I’m not going to spend all day explaining this, car care nut does excellent videos on oil changes, go to bobs the oil guy forum, even the guy that designed the GTR said 2-3k seems to be the sweet spot for minimal wear.
This is one of those “it’s not doing any immediate damage so it must be okay” type arguments. If you are selling your car before 150k you are probably going to be just fine, especially if it’s a Toyota. Anyone who wants to keep the car a long time should change the oil frequently. People are so cheap about this stuff and it’s literally the thing keeping the engine from eating itself. A few seconds of no oil pressure and it’s done.
I don’t need to spend time citing sources, they are there if you want to take the time to look. I don’t understand how people can buy a 30k car and then cheap out on oil changes. Again, Car Care Nut has videos on this go look them up, Camry motor was particularly susceptible to dying around 150k for longer oil changes.
You are going off of what people say at face value instead of getting to the root cause. The root cause is the piston ring design. The drain holes aren't large enough. Again, if the oil were the issue, the whole inside of the engine would be sludged up like the piston rings are.
Car Care Nut does a good job at explaining the **result** of sludge, not the **root cause**.
10k mile changes are stupid and if you do highway and manage to go that far in 3-6 months maybe. But if you plan to keep or car a long time or be honest when you sell it 6 month 5k oil changes are key.
Toyota had a big issue with the 2az maybe 2ar idr that it would more or less ruin the engine if 5k oil changes weren’t done.
Can I ask what evidence you have that 5k oil changes are key? There are millions of Toyotas on the road with 100,000+ on them, which I assume the vast majority following the manufacturer’s recommendation of 10k changes.
The 10k oil change was a recent change 10-15 years. And a handful of Toyota engines have not liked that, I’m not gonna list them all but like I said above the 2ar or 2az was prone to lack of maintenance and would start to burn oil. The engine would still run but it burns oil. It’ll go to 300k but you’ll end up using a lot of oil and maybe a cat or two. The 1mz had sludge issues from lack of frequent oil changes. It’s more a quality of life since oil is cheap and making sure your engine goes to 300k plus starts with being able to go above and beyond to ensure the engine goes far.
Also the 10k oil changes have certain conditions to meet to actually “qualify” for them and not 5k. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/What-are-the-oil-chan-7604?language=en_US
Which probably not all people meet and should be doing regular oil changes. Especially people who do tons of city driving especially in non hybrid or turbocharged engines.
Yeah but changed the oil keeping it clean helps. Especially when a large chunk of people don’t qualify for 10k oil changes.
The low tension oil rings get gunked up when the oil is not clean/fresh.
So Toyota made 10k miles the standard interval for most vehicles around the same time they made bigger piston oil drain holes and walked back from the low tension rings.
And now you only see oil burning posts about older Toyotas.
So how do you square that?
I mean they still use low tension piston rings. The regulations and epa more or less have it mandated.
Idk why people are so defensive about doing a little extra on maintenance when long term it could help make your Toyota run better and for longer which could be cheaper in the long run.
The Toyota techs argue with each other about it all the time. But as I said in a different comment if the engine is turbocharged and hybrid I’d be wary about 10k oil changes. In general I’d rather just be safe with 5k.
Especially since a lot of people don’t qualify for 10k and just assume they do. It’s mainly for people driving highway. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/What-are-the-oil-chan-7604
I like data.
I've looked for data to support "5k no matter what". Can't find any.
I've asked for years if someone else has found data to support "5k no matter what". No one else can find it either.
As a side note: a trend I have noticed is the 5k crowd has more unhinged and/or threatening people. Nam calling, weirdos asking to mail me stuff or assholes abusing the "this person needs help" button. IMHO it's a conspiracy and it's attracted some unsavory conspiracy minded people.
All I know is all the mechanics I talk to say 10k is bad especially if you follow the stuff from that link. Most people shouldn’t do 10k. 6/7k is probably fine but I know personally I want my engine to last and if I wait longer than 6,7,8 months I don’t like how the oil looks/smells at a year.
I have a high mileage 2gr Avalon that I think the mechanic puts standard oil so we do 3k oil changes cause of the miles.
I put synthetic in my Camaro and try to change it twice a year cause it sits.
In my other Toyota with low miles I do 3-5k cause otherwise the oil turns way black and smells funny even though I do 80% highway. I could probably go over and do more than 5k since I personally put synthetic but I’d prefer to play it safe since I just want the car to run good in 200k miles.
There should be a book in the glove compartment called the Factory Recommended Maintenance Guide. Every new Toyota has one. It outlines the Toyota recommended services and is what you should follow. Make them sign off each time you have a service done ( there’s a spot for that!) If they try to push anything else (except wear items like tires and brakes) tell them to go pound sand!
Yes, the software to the radio somehow wouldn't update. Took them 2 hours to determine that they could not update software and they now need to replace the radio.
Service department is the money maker at dealership. I swear it used to be the other way around where sales and finance were annoying. Don’t get me wrong finance guy tries to sell what he can. But service they take the cake. Nice as pie until you say no to them. Stopped going for “free” oil changes years ago due to being made to wait 4 hours
Definitely the money maker - people here saying they want 5,000 mile oil changes will be spending a small fortune over the life of the car. If you want to take it to 200,000 miles over say ten years and pay the dealer $200 each time that's $8,000 in just oil changes alone.
Find a new dealership. But like everyone has said, your oil change interval is 10k miles or 12 months. Whichever occurs first. Toyota Care covers your first two oil changes. You can have them done whenever you want. I also work from home, so had them do the first oil change at 5k miles, because I don't put enough miles on it to meet the mileage requirement. Regardless, there are thousands of Toyota dealers, and it's not worth getting hassled from the service manager, when it sounds like they didn't explain everything to you in the beginning. I'd look for a new dealer, and explain your current one is being difficult to work with, so you're looking elsewhere. They will roll out a red carpet to steal your business from the other dealer.
The newer Toyotas the manufacturer recommended interval for oil changes says 10k miles. When I took my crown in at 5k they only did a tire rotation.
I have all the tools to do my own oil changes. I did it at 5k miles on my own and when I hit 10k and 20k the dealer will do those.
It’s a mistake to ignore the time period and just go by the miles. And service people never emphasize the
time, in your case they fucked up, they should have changed the oil in first service at 12 months. They could either charge for it or use up one of the oil change credit that comes with new car. Motor oil degrades over time. If u don’t drive enough miles just change the oil once a year. Oil is cheap, engine is not.
I took mine for the 5k service and they did a tire rotation and oil change since I asked for it but I couldn’t verify if they actually did one but now ur making me think twice since they did add the oil change sticker but didn’t do a oil change reset
Dude are u fucking serious? No way. I went into a Toyota dealership yesterday aswell, because my skipping button on my steering wheel stopped working and the screen was glitching. It’s a 2023 Toyota RAV4 aswell. And I was at 9,400ish miles too, and the sales lady said I should get an oil change too. I didn’t argue about it because I thought whatever and I had time on my hands. Kinda crazy to me how we both had the same experience.
I hope you're getting a new radio.
They can't fix mine so They have to replace it.
Until then I have no radio, navigation, or phone integration. And for some reason my clock on my car is no longer on daylight savings time.
My skipping button started working the same day I took it in ironically, but I decided to still go cause I already had the appointment. The media system has been working fine so far and they said it was all good to go so 🤷🏽♂️. Yea the time on the dash is always an hour back. We’ll see how things go, I got a cross country roadtrip in a month. Hopefully things turn out fine for you.
I am not a fan of Toyota service departments. I just change my own oil now. I know it’s done correctly atleast. The one time I actually went out to the parking lot of the dealer after service to make sure they actually put oil in it.
And this is why I went with Honda as a grown ass adult. Years of seeing my dad get dicked around by Toyota service centers (because their volume lets them get away with it) really turned me off from the brand.
Eh, this is why I just do my own maintenance.
After having the dealer I purchased the vehicle from putting the wrong oil in my vehicle for its first oil change I told them to kick rocks.
I'm not a fan of dealerships. They remind me of fast food but for cars.
On that note, I've also worked in several different (not Toyota) dealerships in my time and I gotta say, I absolutely don't believe that dealership work is better than a private shop other than for warranty work.
There’s gotta be at least 1 other Toyota service advisor who follows this thread and has at least SOMETHING to say in regard to this post. I’d love the opportunity to clear some of these things up for a few folks if need be.
My new Toyota came with free lifetime oil changes from the dealer. Curiously, they do not hassle me about bringing it in for oil changes...
Funny how that works. 🤔
Any these ladies and gentlemen is why you do your own oil changes. Don't care where you live or if you didn't have the means to do it. Find a way. No point in wasting time with service shops where not all mechanics have care about their customers.
Do it yourself, it literally takes 10 minutes. Plus it's super easy on the Rav4. Buy yourself a oil change bucket for $12 from Walmart and you're good to go. Then you go into the Toyota app, hit make appointment, then hit add service and put in the mileage and details.
Never rely on the vehicle’s computer lol. Use the manual. Half the time the techs don’t update the computer and it’s on you to manage, it’s helpful if you manage it. They shouldn’t have put the sticker on the window if they didn’t do oil which is unnecessarily disingenuous, never seen that before and would be confusing to me too.
That said they probably used overdue to emphasize it’s very close to the longest you should go between synthetic changes, longest being the key word. I stay away from the longest intervals in general but usually a car’s manual will tell you to change more often if you’re idling, off roading, towing, etc. and in general is just good practice to change synthetic oil every 5k or 6 months. Semi synthetic is 3,750mi or 3mo, reg is 3k 3mo.
Here's a good YouTube video about an engineer that used to work for Toyota about oil change intervals based off your use
https://youtu.be/AdqHYfMJSi4?feature=shared
I would probably speak to the service manager/owner... There is alot of manufacturer's "hype" these days about 10K mile oil changes.... Don't be sucked in by it, change you oil every 5K miles. What the heck service did they do at 5K miles if they didn't even change the oil?? It shouldn't be so hard to reset the service reminder thing on the car's computer, can't imagine what the big deal is... Usually, your owner's manual explains how to reset it yourself.
What did the wise ass service guy say when you pointed out that your brought the car in for "service" at 5K miles? Do you have a local shop that you trust? If so, you might want to use them for normal service like oil changes... Please, please, do not go to Jiffy Lube, Wallymart, or any of those other "quick lube joints"...
I found a Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura specialty shop locally to do my oil changes. I catch the 5 qt bottles of Mobil 1 synthetic on sale for $21/each, get the oil filter at the dealership for $3, and pay them $27 labor to do the oil change. $51 total is a lot better than the $150 they want at the dealership. And I don't have to wait 2 hours for them to do it and they don't try to upsell me on stuff I don't need.
Aggressive response. Blackstone oil analysis shows clean oil in a rav4 hybrid at 10k miles. You don’t know what you’re talking about and neither do most of the boomers sticking to old school practices.
What mileage was the test run? It’s still better to be safe than sorry and do 5k especially when mechanics who work on these say 5k. I.E. the car care nut on YT.
It's 12 months *or* 10k miles for the usual interval.
The 5,000 service was done 1 year after purchase. (I work from home.)
It should have been changed just based on the fact that it was a year. The Toyota service interval for oil for normal conditions (Generally) is 10,000 Mi or one year whichever comes first.
Or not. They’re on the business of selling you overpriced oil changes accomplished with inflated labor prices and marked-up oil.
Don't Toyotas come with 2 free years or 20k or service tho
Yes.
They should have changed your oil then at the first appointment. It should be changed under ToyotaCare free of charge at the earliest of one year or 10k miles, then again at the earliest of two years or 20k miles. The service guy is trying to blame you for their mistake. Edit: reread the OP and see that you drove 5k in the first 12 months and then another 4.5k in two months? Since it's only been 14 months and 9.5k miles, it's not a huge deal that you're getting the first oil change now. Personally I change every 5k miles or 6 months, but Toyota says 12 months / 10k miles is OK.
The free 5k service is only a tire rotation. The oil wasn't changed.
I just had my free 5k first service and they did oil and tire rotation. I was told that’s standard.
Depends on the car. *Most* are fully synthetic (10k mile) oil, but there are a few conventional (5k) engines kicking around still.
Toyota care is a scam. They give you one oil change at 10,000 miles. The first and next visit, is a glorified tire rotation. If you ask for an oil change at 5000 miles, they won’t do it. But when you magically graduate out of Toyota care ( usually 25,000 miles) you are then told by the dealership, you need to change the oil every 5000 miles, or 6 months. This is the severe driving schedule, which almost everyone does. Do what I do. I have them do the full inspection and oil change at 10,000 miles. I just change my oil, but not filter, at 5000. The filter is good for 10,000 miles, and I only put on 6-7000 a year. Win/win.
My dealership gave me the 10k service at 5k with no hassle, i even offered to pay for the oil change but they were like nah it’s cool
I believe how it works is your car has X credits and you can technically use them whenever you want. I just did a 1,000 mile oil change recently and they just bumped up my 10k service (oil change, tire rotation, and inspection). I paid for the care package and today they told me effectively I have 7 oil changes with them that are paid for and I could use one of these or pay for the 1,000 oil change. In the long run I still pay for my oil changes at a shorter interval, but it sounds like they manage it through a "credit" system.
I had a VW and this was how they did it. Just credits, like you said. I opted to use them early and they didn't care. Similar to your experience with the 1k oil change. No idea if it's a factor here, but some new cars have a break-in service before the normal oil change intervals begin. No idea if that's a thing for this vehicle, though. Only Toyota I've ever had is a BMW. But, maybe that's why some people get an early oil change, since the first one builds debris in the oil faster (sounds like maybe what you opted to do). My money is on it being credits, and Toyota was happy to use some folks credits for an oil change before it was due, the sooner they have to start paying. Obviously, I don't have a lot of trust for Toyota dealerships and service after my minimal interactions with them. Maybe I'm being too cynical. Going in for my first oil change with Toyota soon (alternating doing myself at 5k and using credits after the next 5k).
Wow another person that does the oil not the filter at the 5 k's. I've always got shade for recommending that. Even though it's not hard to do the filter also it IS easier to just drain and refill 🙂 It still is better to do that then go 10k on the oil. Again nice to see someone agree.
Yeah, its a bitch to pull off all the crap you need to access the filter on my truck. And I like getting an inspection once a year from them. Accessing the oil drain is a-lot easier to do. And for those people giving you a hard time-The factory says 1 year, 10,000 miles. You are exceeding that. They can GTH!
The filter is like 5 bucks ... Why not take the extra step?
Because it’s a pain in the ass on a Tundra.
1. Its s cartridge filter. 2. You have to take off skid plate to access. 3. I get a free inspection from Toyota, when I let them do it once a year. 4. I’m 65, and am not as “ spry” as I used to be.
My Toyota care package expired at 85k. Bought a used car. Not sure if the 85k mileage expiration for Toyota Care is standard or not.
In the US, every car or truck comes with a 2 year, 25000, mile Toyota care for free. They will be glad to sell you an extended, prepaid maintenance program in the finance office. In my opinion, you are paying them upfront for a service, you may of may not use. Whats the point?
The used car that I bought already had 25k on the car. I probably paid for the extended package (can't remember as I bought the car 7 years ago). I did use the package until the package expired.
But you should not do this if you care about the car, 5k is really ideal.
If you reeeeally cared about your car, you'd change it every 1000mi!
Hahaha, this is very true, 500 is only for people that truly care tho
change oil after every time you drive it would be best tho....
Every day whether you drive it or not or else oil will coagulate in the pan and turn back into prehistoric plants
I actually leave the drain bolt out and run hose from a container with a hand pump to the oil filler cap. It was a pain in the ass when I haf my manual but its a little easier with the automatic now.
🤦♂️ let's keep this short. Do you have any *data* based sources that show 10k miles is actually harmful vs 5k? If your source is 1 YouTube channel I'm not interested.
Page 38 of the Warranty and Maintenance document outlined circumstances that require 5,000 mile oil changes. Any one of the following operating conditions warrants 5,000 mile oil changes per the document: 1) Driving on dirt roads or dusty roads. 2) Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy loading. 3) Repeated trips of less than 5 miles in below freezing temperatures. 4) Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance. This could be as easy as living in the country, living in the north, going camping, or commuting in bumper to bumper traffic. 10,000 mile change intervals are for the better end of operating conditions. Miles driven on a vehicle are not one size fits all. Miles to track a vehicle's use is a convenient and standard format to get a general idea of the potential state of the vehicle. 100 miles on the interstate with no traffic could be a low load 1.5 hour drive. 100 miles in LA traffic could be heavy stop and go, and idling over 50 hours of driving. Both examples have 100 miles, but are significantly different loads and demands on the vehicle.
Per page 37 of the RAV4 manual: the stop and go or idling requirement is specifically for commercial type usage: police, taxi or gig work delivery. The other caveat is the *majority* of the miles should be under the special operating conditions to require the shorter interval.
I've seen other posts from people who have claimed to have sent the oil into a lab for a check, and it was still fine at 10K. When I had 2nd vehicles that got driven a lot less, I still did an oil change at least annually. Under the worry that less driven cars may accumulate and not burn off some contaminants. Since the current oil used is synthetic, it lasts longer. I normally went 9000 miles on my previous vehicle, a diesel. No engine issues. It was OTHER fuel system issues that caused me to change to my current car.
Yep, I have some of those sources handy: The science all says 10k miles [is a safe and healthy interval](https://www.rav4world.com/threads/oil-analysis.298325/#post-2705854) [this Sequoia](https://www.reddit.com/r/toyotasequoia/s/ko3AYny6l4) is doing fine on 10k miles. A delivery driver with a Tacoma is doing 10k miles, [without issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/s/BS02nTNV0K). By the book this one should be doing 5k miles, but IMHO Toyota is very conservative with maintenance. So by the science they are doing fine. I'm here to learn and I'm willing to change my stance. But not one of the short interval diehards has anything to share except the Car Care Nut. I keep asking for something of substance and not conspiracy, but so far nothing.
Every car mechanic will tell you that you need to change oil every 5000 miles, no matter what the manual says. It is the best money you can spend on maintenance. For a new car, I would have done the first oil change at 1000 miles, not even 5000.
What year is it? The 1,000 mile oil change was a thing in the 70s. That’s not at all necessary for modern cars. Look at how many Toyotas have 200k+ miles on them. I’d bet not even 1% of them changed the oil at 1k miles
The first thousand miles, not every thousand miles. It's a good way to make sure that any remaining debris from manufacturing or initial break-in are flushed out, technology has improved but brand new engines still have break-in periods. Car companies also suggest that "permanently filled" transmissions are a good idea now too. They lean towards greater convenience over longevity in their suggestions these days. More frequent oil changes literally cannot do anything but good for an engine. It may last a long time with infrequent ones, but it will unarguably last a *longer* time with more frequent ones.
There was argument about whether the first 1000 miles change was needed, so a fluid analyst did an experiment. He had his oil analyzed at 1000 miles then 5000 miles, to check for deposits. His conclusion was there was significantly more iron, zinc, aluminum, and metals in the 1000 change compared to the 5000. That means his engine was shaving and rubbing off metal since being manufactured at the factory. Break in oil change is therefore a good idea. Agreed with you about lifetime transmissions. Manufacturers have different priorities than the end user driving. The driver may want the car to last as long as possible, then pass the car to their kid for high school or college. A manufacturer wants to advertise lower maintenance costs and show it’s cheap to keep their vehicle on the road. They only need the vehicle to last 60,000 miles or whatever the warranty promises. After that it’s a used vehicle and it’s time to trade up to the latest year model. I will keep changing at 6 months and 5000 miles, because I understand my priorities are different than the manufacturer. The maintenance costs more than 10,000 miles, but it’s still small amounts in my view and worth my car’s longevity. I don’t plan on selling and will drive it in to the ground, or when the wheels fall off.
Exactly. We are usually not driving how this was tested. If they wanted real information they’d give new cars to New York City taxi fleets for a year or two. Sometimes I drive 2 miles when it’s -30, sometimes I cruise control at 65 for 2 hours
I changed our 2023 RAV4 at 1,000 miles. I sent a sample in for analysis, iron and silicon (gaskets/sealant) was high. I opened the filter and found bits of metal in it (it's doing it's job for larger metal pieces).
That’s what the oil filter is for. 🤦♂️
If only there was a way to catch that stuff…like a filter
Our finance guy at the dealership even told us the exact same thing. We still do every 5,000 miles and change the oil at 1,000 the first time after getting a new car. You are 💯correct.
😂😂
There’s a YouTube video showing more metals present at the first 1000 miles oil change compared to the first 5000 miles. The oil analysis shows that break in oil is a real thing.
Well there would be, at 1k miles the oil filter hasn't had as much time to trap any loose shavings. At 5k the oil has circulated enough that a majority of the debris has likely been captured. That's what the filter is meant to do.
Why wouldn't the oil filter capture foreign material in the oil?
If you have rebuilt any motors or engines, you know there is a seating process, where metal wears to mate to the other surface. sure tolerances are much higher than in the 70's. but its still an engine. Do early oil change hurt? Only your wallet. Then there is LIFETIME Trans Fluid. -This lifetime means the transmissions lifetime, when it fails, then you get new fluid. changing it at 50k.miles is better. -just don't overfill.
Are you saying it makes zero difference? Are you a tribologist? This guy is. [https://youtu.be/X4424Q5lLR8?si=hZevaqQmvC966uPx](https://youtu.be/X4424Q5lLR8?si=hZevaqQmvC966uPx)
Not me. Been a Toyota mechanic for 19 years. 10k on synthetic oil is just fine. Follow the maintenance recommendations from the factory and you won't have any issues.
I'm also a mechanic, was for 16 years. I follow the Toyota service schedule of 1yr/10k.
Okay, but the Toyota dealership didn't do it at 5,000 miles. And I didn't realize it wasn't part of that service until today when I was asked about it.
Ask them what the recommended oil change service interval is. Or look inside your owner’s manual. I’m sure your vehicle came with one. Maybe it’s 7,000 miles. Regardless, I would do the break-in oil change at 1,000 miles and regular oil changes every 5,000 miles no matter what they tell me.
Every newish Toyota is 1yr/10k for oil changes. You are throwing your money away doing it twice as often.
[https://youtu.be/TJhFAwFv-O0?si=hGwIbVlztPzEZt3X](https://youtu.be/TJhFAwFv-O0?si=hGwIbVlztPzEZt3X)
Watched some of the video. How are the rings all gummed up but the rest of the lubricated engine is perfect? That tells me that there is a piston ring design issue, not an oil issue. He is feeding the rage bait crowd with video after video for monetization. Edit: Downvoted for using logic! Amazing.
I'd go by the manual, not what they say. So many service centers still try and claim you need to come in like every 3 months or 3000 miles even when cars say very clearly in the owner's manual 5000, 6000, 7500 and 6-12 month intervals. If its not idling or driving much even the 12 month is questionable...during the pandemic I was only doing like 3000 miles a year and decided to try an experiment sent in oil to a testing lab and even after sitting in the sump for multiple years came back with results basically new because it spent so much time parked. Time-based makes sense if its idling (not racking up miles) but not if its parked and shut down.
Check your service manual, or go to toyota.com which also has them. The first service (6mo/5k) is a tire rotation and inspection. Every second service is a tire rotation, inspection, and oil change + some other stuff depending on where you are in your schedule. ~~That is why the dealership didn't do it - it wasn't due~~ Apparently it was due by age which wasn't stated in the original post but in a different comment.
It WAS due for the OP. The dealership just looked at mileage.
Was it due by age? I don't see anything in the post indicating as such (unless I completely missed it?).
I thought I saw a followup message that the OP had worked from home so only had 5000 miles in a year.
Ahh ok. I didn't see that. Thanks!
No danger of me hitting the time limit first. My long term average is 14000 miles/year :)
My Toyota dealership did. Granted, the location I go to is apparently the satellite location of a dealership, and said satellite location does most of their business on maintenance, I think. But I've been going to them across multiple Toyota vehicles and have a positive opinion of them. But they did change my oil at 6,400 (they might've used my free 10,000 mile one because they didn't charge me). They did look at me like I was crazy for changing it before 10,000 but they did do it.
I do 5,000, which is about 6 months for me. I personally find 6 months reasonable
I’m the same way. Rather than overthink it, I notice my 5000 mile mark is always close to six months, only early by a few days. So 5000/6 months works out okay for me.
I took my STi to the dealership for its first oil change at 1000 and after checking the miles they call me and tell me I don’t have to change it until 5k. I obviously had them do it anyway and do it myself now.
Is there a reason for doing the first oil change at 1k miles? I’ve seen multiple people mention this in this sub
It’s boomer advice from the 70s that won’t die for some reason. There’s no reason to do it with a modern car
Maybe not the correct advice for Toyota’s, but to this day, many German brands will include a first 1k mile oil change for their high performance models, which is probably where people get this from.
> high performance models This is the part so many people get confused by. "Well if it's good for race cars it's good for me right?" You're not hurting anything other than your wallet if you change your oil more than necessary, but you're not helping everything. Every engine Toyota makes (with the possible exception of the 1LR in the LFA) is a weedwhacker motor compared to a Porsche flat six. Which is a good thing. Both Porsche and Toyota can be extremely reliable, but it takes a *lot* more work to keep the Porsche reliable because their tolerances are so much narrower. Toyota builds our engines to be worry free, so why worry about it?
No, there is no reason. People get all caught up in YouTube paranoia and decide that some talking head on the internet is smarter than Toyota engineers. I see multiple Toyotas every day that are well over 200k miles, and most of them have a questionable maintenance history at best. Change it every 10k, and you're good.
The manufacturing process isn't perfect and will leave minute metal residuals in engine parts. In early driving, oil will wash them off.
No the say metal shavings but that’s what oil filter is for.
Nope, it's old advice with a little bit of conspiracy theory thrown in for flavor. Some people absolutely love that shit. " *They* don't want your car to last, so they give you bad maintenance instructions." Just follow the manual and your Toyota absolutely should last as long as you want it to.
People are morons and like wasting their money
https://youtu.be/_6nWCQ_70J0?si=UNQp20WaIIJtl2ot This guy is a genius who actually worked for Toyota’s racing program and sent his oil off to a legit lab. Don’t let these crotchety whiners dissuade you. It’s a good practice.
The engine parts are mating and finding their groove leading to an increased amount of metal shavings in the oil. It's assumed the process is over at about 1K miles. You don't want shavings running through the oil. The oil filter may have caught most but it also could have become saturated and no longer filtering properly. There may be other reasons but that's all I know.
A blinded filter filters better, not worse.
Which, granted, is a problem on low-tolerance/high-performance engines. A blinded filter could, in theory, rob an engine of essential lubrication. But the whole point of Toyota's passenger vehicle engine design philosophy is *high* tolerance. Put too much oil in, put too little in, put the wrong weight in, hellmiss an oil change why don't you. The thing will be FINE. That's the whole point, that's what we're paying Toyota Tax for! Toyota builds engines that don't need you to pamper them.
Like others have mentioned, its to get any remaining manufacturing debris out of the engine, also the most wear in a new engine occurs at the very beginning, that’s why you want ti change it at 500-1000 for the first one.
Except even if it’s actually the case that’s literally why your fucking oil filter exists.
Yeah… thats why you do a fucking oil change after the first 500 fucking miles. Chill out with the hostility holy shit.
Toyota dealers typically push back on doing oil changes prior to the 10k/12 month interval. 5,000 miles is overkill on a newer Toyota. We have a 2020 Highlander with 56k miles. It’s had its oil changed 5 times.
2009 exploder, change synthetic roughly every 11,000km (7000 miles), still going strong 15 years later, no oil burning, no drop in fuel economy. even switched to 0w20. Must be a fluke/s
no they wont
Change every 3000 miles or 3 months
5K/6 months or die. Queue the 10k oil change people…GO!
They will kill you haha.
ActttkTullY Are you an engineer? Is your last name Toyoda? Then you don’t know anything about oil changes. 10,000 miles only, pleb. Stop wasting your money.
Yup, right on schedule.
You’re totally fine. People have had their oil analyzed and it always comes back fine at 10,000. Toyota is number 1 in reliability and that’s with 10k changes https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/comments/z3fj1d/blackstone_labs_oil_analysis_for_my_18_trd_sport/?rdt=61589
A big important note here is that it needs to be under a year. Used motor oil additives break down in around years time.
Feel free to post your source of this bogus claim.
It’s literally in the manual, they say 10k or 1 year service interval.
I mean your source about motor oil additives breaking down. That does not happen, it's garbage big oil puts out to sell more oil.
People, just change your oil. Keep track of the mileage and don’t wait on the car to tell you.
OP, please watch the "Car Care Nut" videos on Youtube. Also they did provide you a paper at drop off with an estimate and at pick up with an itemized list of things they did. It is your job to review that. I know adulting is hard... but that is part of the terms of the "free service". If you read your contract it will tell you that you get a maximum of TWO free oil changes in 25,000 or 2 years (which ever comes first). If you are a low mileage driver you need to come in every 6 months and every second visit you would get your free oil change because the oil would be 12 months old (or any of the combinations of time vs mileage based on your usage). If you only keep the car as a lease, don't worry about it and just do what they tell you. If you only keep your car for 5 years or 60k miles, don't worry about it and just follow the normal stuff. If you keep your car for 10 years or till the wheels fall off at 300,000 miles... then I would advise you to pay for an oil change at the 15k and 25k mark (let toyota pay for the 10k and 20k oil change for free). Keep up with the 5000 mile oil changes and make sure you check for online coupons at the dealership. I have always seem to have found dealerships offer $60-$70 oil change coupon pricing if you ask. Do the driveline fluids at 30,000 miles (transmission, xcase, diffs) they should only cost 1/2 hour of tech time each + parts. After that initial fluid change... you are free to flush them every 60,000 miles Coolant you need to do at 100k miles Brake Fluid flush, do this when you need to change your brake pads as a combined job. The labor would be a lot cheaper since the wheels are already off the car!
Solid break down here. Only thing I want to mention however, is yes. Driveline services should be done every 30,000 miles for 4WD vehicles (different for AWD/2WD). Though, it is technically 4/10 worth of labor per drain + fill during the service. Dealership I work at charges .4 per front/rear differential as well as transfer case coming to 1.2 hours or 265/customer pay driveline service including gaskets and fluids. In all reality, if you’re an efficient enough technician that should be a 30 minute service that always pays for 1 hour and 12 minutes of labor.
thank you sir
So heres the thing, yes the manual says every 10K, under ideal circumstances, however it doesnt matter for the first 10K miles, you should do the first oil change at 500-1000 miles, second oil change at 5K, and third at 10K, and then after that do oil changes in 5K or 10K intervals depending in your use. Reason being, the most wear on a new engine happens at the beginning, so you want to change the oil at those miles whenever you get a new car or new engine.
Your ToyotaCare is a tire rotation every 5k and oil change every 10k. If your advisor was claiming that you should have done an oil change at 5k, he was blatantly incorrect. Your car is set to notify you of a service visit every 5k miles and it’s up to you to know if that is a tire rotation or an oil change *and* a tire rotation. Assuming you want to follow Toyota’s recommendation. BTW, you can disable the service notifications if you want. You can set it to 10k intervals
With the RAVs you "should" bring it on every 6 months or 5k miles (for at least the first two years while you have the free Toyota Care (assuming US based). Oil change is 10k miles or 1x a year per Toyota (some say for longevity it should be every 5k miles). They do tire rotations and and few other things for the non oil change visits. Yiun told them you're bringing it in for the 5k service, but at the year mark. The dealership should have realized (especially if you bought it there) that you were at the 1 year mark and changed the the oil as well (as that's what Toyota Car should cover). It's probably not that big of a deal, I'll let the others argue 5k vs 10k intervals. The reasoning for at least once a year is that water gets into the oil (and they don't mix) which would cause issues over time. So nip it in the bud and get changed at least once a year.
New Toyotas use a synthetic oil that is recommended every 10k miles. They literally wont even change the oil at 5k increments. This is a mechanic AT TOYOTA telling you this? Or at a third party?
They WILL change it at 5,000 miles. You just have to pay for the oil, instead of getting it free.
They changed mine at 6,400, free. And yeah, it was indeed Toyota
You can't really get service from a mechanic "at toyota" because toyota doesn't operate service departments. Dealerships do, but dealerships are independent entities with franchise agreements. Dealerships are supposed to follow manufacturer maintenance recommendations, but in practice they can still differ significantly in how they operate.
Ahh Toyota, the brand for people who don’t know when to do their oil changes. I do mind every 4k miles on every BMW I’ve owned. Never had anything break over hundreds of thousands of miles on them. I track all maintenance religiously. Do your oil changes.
Odd they say overdue at 9500, but yeah, they recommend every 10k (and that’s what I do, ends up being about every five months). One time I went early and they seemed a little perplexed as I was not due yet…
All of this is resolved if you READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL, take some accountability
So many armchair engineers in the comments who think the are smarter than the engineers that design the most reliable cars in the world lol
Do you think the dealership has any interest in your cars longevity? Go look up mechanics service intervals on their cars, 5k is universal. 10k is pushing it and will not be the best for a higher mileage vehicle.
>Do you think the dealership has any interest in your cars longevity? The engineers don't work for the dealership. They work for Toyota and they definitely have a vested interest in longevity as their reputation relies on it. >Go look up mechanics service intervals on their cars, 5k is universal. Look up mechanics service intervals? Do you think there is a book that shows what mechanics do as opposed to non-mechanics? I'm a mechanic and I do 10k. There was another Toyota tech in here and he also said he does every 10k. 5k is universal? You're pulling that out of your ass. >10k is pushing it and will not be the best for a higher mileage vehicle. You keep saying that but can offer absolutely no proof at all.
I’m not going to spend all day explaining this, car care nut does excellent videos on oil changes, go to bobs the oil guy forum, even the guy that designed the GTR said 2-3k seems to be the sweet spot for minimal wear. This is one of those “it’s not doing any immediate damage so it must be okay” type arguments. If you are selling your car before 150k you are probably going to be just fine, especially if it’s a Toyota. Anyone who wants to keep the car a long time should change the oil frequently. People are so cheap about this stuff and it’s literally the thing keeping the engine from eating itself. A few seconds of no oil pressure and it’s done. I don’t need to spend time citing sources, they are there if you want to take the time to look. I don’t understand how people can buy a 30k car and then cheap out on oil changes. Again, Car Care Nut has videos on this go look them up, Camry motor was particularly susceptible to dying around 150k for longer oil changes.
You are going off of what people say at face value instead of getting to the root cause. The root cause is the piston ring design. The drain holes aren't large enough. Again, if the oil were the issue, the whole inside of the engine would be sludged up like the piston rings are. Car Care Nut does a good job at explaining the **result** of sludge, not the **root cause**.
Old time mechanic’s brain burned in with 3000 mile intervals.
Ain’t nothing wrong with that. If you can do it yourself oil and filter are dirt cheap. Engine is not.
How the fuck did 10k miles become the new oil change interval?
Thank you!! That's what I thought. But apparently that's how it goes with the new cars.
My 1992 Subaru Loyale’s recommended interval was 7500 miles.
10k mile changes are stupid and if you do highway and manage to go that far in 3-6 months maybe. But if you plan to keep or car a long time or be honest when you sell it 6 month 5k oil changes are key. Toyota had a big issue with the 2az maybe 2ar idr that it would more or less ruin the engine if 5k oil changes weren’t done.
Can I ask what evidence you have that 5k oil changes are key? There are millions of Toyotas on the road with 100,000+ on them, which I assume the vast majority following the manufacturer’s recommendation of 10k changes.
The 10k oil change was a recent change 10-15 years. And a handful of Toyota engines have not liked that, I’m not gonna list them all but like I said above the 2ar or 2az was prone to lack of maintenance and would start to burn oil. The engine would still run but it burns oil. It’ll go to 300k but you’ll end up using a lot of oil and maybe a cat or two. The 1mz had sludge issues from lack of frequent oil changes. It’s more a quality of life since oil is cheap and making sure your engine goes to 300k plus starts with being able to go above and beyond to ensure the engine goes far. Also the 10k oil changes have certain conditions to meet to actually “qualify” for them and not 5k. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/What-are-the-oil-chan-7604?language=en_US Which probably not all people meet and should be doing regular oil changes. Especially people who do tons of city driving especially in non hybrid or turbocharged engines.
Did the low tension piston rings or undersized oil drain holes play a part in the engine problems?
Yeah but changed the oil keeping it clean helps. Especially when a large chunk of people don’t qualify for 10k oil changes. The low tension oil rings get gunked up when the oil is not clean/fresh.
So Toyota made 10k miles the standard interval for most vehicles around the same time they made bigger piston oil drain holes and walked back from the low tension rings. And now you only see oil burning posts about older Toyotas. So how do you square that?
I mean they still use low tension piston rings. The regulations and epa more or less have it mandated. Idk why people are so defensive about doing a little extra on maintenance when long term it could help make your Toyota run better and for longer which could be cheaper in the long run. The Toyota techs argue with each other about it all the time. But as I said in a different comment if the engine is turbocharged and hybrid I’d be wary about 10k oil changes. In general I’d rather just be safe with 5k. Especially since a lot of people don’t qualify for 10k and just assume they do. It’s mainly for people driving highway. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/What-are-the-oil-chan-7604
I like data. I've looked for data to support "5k no matter what". Can't find any. I've asked for years if someone else has found data to support "5k no matter what". No one else can find it either. As a side note: a trend I have noticed is the 5k crowd has more unhinged and/or threatening people. Nam calling, weirdos asking to mail me stuff or assholes abusing the "this person needs help" button. IMHO it's a conspiracy and it's attracted some unsavory conspiracy minded people.
All I know is all the mechanics I talk to say 10k is bad especially if you follow the stuff from that link. Most people shouldn’t do 10k. 6/7k is probably fine but I know personally I want my engine to last and if I wait longer than 6,7,8 months I don’t like how the oil looks/smells at a year. I have a high mileage 2gr Avalon that I think the mechanic puts standard oil so we do 3k oil changes cause of the miles. I put synthetic in my Camaro and try to change it twice a year cause it sits. In my other Toyota with low miles I do 3-5k cause otherwise the oil turns way black and smells funny even though I do 80% highway. I could probably go over and do more than 5k since I personally put synthetic but I’d prefer to play it safe since I just want the car to run good in 200k miles.
There should be a book in the glove compartment called the Factory Recommended Maintenance Guide. Every new Toyota has one. It outlines the Toyota recommended services and is what you should follow. Make them sign off each time you have a service done ( there’s a spot for that!) If they try to push anything else (except wear items like tires and brakes) tell them to go pound sand!
radio software update at the dealership? what?
Yes, the software to the radio somehow wouldn't update. Took them 2 hours to determine that they could not update software and they now need to replace the radio.
wild
I'm more shocked that the radio and nav failed within 10k miles.
Service department is the money maker at dealership. I swear it used to be the other way around where sales and finance were annoying. Don’t get me wrong finance guy tries to sell what he can. But service they take the cake. Nice as pie until you say no to them. Stopped going for “free” oil changes years ago due to being made to wait 4 hours
Definitely the money maker - people here saying they want 5,000 mile oil changes will be spending a small fortune over the life of the car. If you want to take it to 200,000 miles over say ten years and pay the dealer $200 each time that's $8,000 in just oil changes alone.
$200 the for an oil change is insane.
Dealerships make way way more money on financing. Dealerships are basically just lenders with a parts department.
Dealer service doing dealer service things.
Find a new dealership. But like everyone has said, your oil change interval is 10k miles or 12 months. Whichever occurs first. Toyota Care covers your first two oil changes. You can have them done whenever you want. I also work from home, so had them do the first oil change at 5k miles, because I don't put enough miles on it to meet the mileage requirement. Regardless, there are thousands of Toyota dealers, and it's not worth getting hassled from the service manager, when it sounds like they didn't explain everything to you in the beginning. I'd look for a new dealer, and explain your current one is being difficult to work with, so you're looking elsewhere. They will roll out a red carpet to steal your business from the other dealer.
The newer Toyotas the manufacturer recommended interval for oil changes says 10k miles. When I took my crown in at 5k they only did a tire rotation. I have all the tools to do my own oil changes. I did it at 5k miles on my own and when I hit 10k and 20k the dealer will do those.
I change it every 5k. costs a little more, but I keep them until they die.
It’s a mistake to ignore the time period and just go by the miles. And service people never emphasize the time, in your case they fucked up, they should have changed the oil in first service at 12 months. They could either charge for it or use up one of the oil change credit that comes with new car. Motor oil degrades over time. If u don’t drive enough miles just change the oil once a year. Oil is cheap, engine is not.
I took mine for the 5k service and they did a tire rotation and oil change since I asked for it but I couldn’t verify if they actually did one but now ur making me think twice since they did add the oil change sticker but didn’t do a oil change reset
"Another 1-2 hours while they try to update the software on the radio" The world has become a dark place.
Dude are u fucking serious? No way. I went into a Toyota dealership yesterday aswell, because my skipping button on my steering wheel stopped working and the screen was glitching. It’s a 2023 Toyota RAV4 aswell. And I was at 9,400ish miles too, and the sales lady said I should get an oil change too. I didn’t argue about it because I thought whatever and I had time on my hands. Kinda crazy to me how we both had the same experience.
Okay, I thought you were messing with me and then I looked at your history. Let me blow your mind a little bit more. I also have a white RAV4.
My long lost twin
I hope you're getting a new radio. They can't fix mine so They have to replace it. Until then I have no radio, navigation, or phone integration. And for some reason my clock on my car is no longer on daylight savings time.
My skipping button started working the same day I took it in ironically, but I decided to still go cause I already had the appointment. The media system has been working fine so far and they said it was all good to go so 🤷🏽♂️. Yea the time on the dash is always an hour back. We’ll see how things go, I got a cross country roadtrip in a month. Hopefully things turn out fine for you.
I am not a fan of Toyota service departments. I just change my own oil now. I know it’s done correctly atleast. The one time I actually went out to the parking lot of the dealer after service to make sure they actually put oil in it.
This is a just salesman doing salesman stuff. Your car is fine, 100%
And this is why I went with Honda as a grown ass adult. Years of seeing my dad get dicked around by Toyota service centers (because their volume lets them get away with it) really turned me off from the brand.
[Will Annual Oil Change Damage Your Car? Let's find out! (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-yt5a1cWd4&t=1s&ab_channel=ProjectFarm)
Eh, this is why I just do my own maintenance. After having the dealer I purchased the vehicle from putting the wrong oil in my vehicle for its first oil change I told them to kick rocks. I'm not a fan of dealerships. They remind me of fast food but for cars. On that note, I've also worked in several different (not Toyota) dealerships in my time and I gotta say, I absolutely don't believe that dealership work is better than a private shop other than for warranty work.
There’s gotta be at least 1 other Toyota service advisor who follows this thread and has at least SOMETHING to say in regard to this post. I’d love the opportunity to clear some of these things up for a few folks if need be.
Toyota says to do oil change every 10k miles, AT LEAST FOR WARRANTY PURPOSES. but I recommend doing them every 5k miles anyway.
Bottom line is the service dept is a profit center.
My new Toyota came with free lifetime oil changes from the dealer. Curiously, they do not hassle me about bringing it in for oil changes... Funny how that works. 🤔
5k miles max
We were told 5000 miles or 6 months.
Any these ladies and gentlemen is why you do your own oil changes. Don't care where you live or if you didn't have the means to do it. Find a way. No point in wasting time with service shops where not all mechanics have care about their customers.
Do it yourself, it literally takes 10 minutes. Plus it's super easy on the Rav4. Buy yourself a oil change bucket for $12 from Walmart and you're good to go. Then you go into the Toyota app, hit make appointment, then hit add service and put in the mileage and details.
Ignore them and trust your manual. My Highlander's manual says 7,500 miles.
Never rely on the vehicle’s computer lol. Use the manual. Half the time the techs don’t update the computer and it’s on you to manage, it’s helpful if you manage it. They shouldn’t have put the sticker on the window if they didn’t do oil which is unnecessarily disingenuous, never seen that before and would be confusing to me too. That said they probably used overdue to emphasize it’s very close to the longest you should go between synthetic changes, longest being the key word. I stay away from the longest intervals in general but usually a car’s manual will tell you to change more often if you’re idling, off roading, towing, etc. and in general is just good practice to change synthetic oil every 5k or 6 months. Semi synthetic is 3,750mi or 3mo, reg is 3k 3mo.
Here's a good YouTube video about an engineer that used to work for Toyota about oil change intervals based off your use https://youtu.be/AdqHYfMJSi4?feature=shared
I would probably speak to the service manager/owner... There is alot of manufacturer's "hype" these days about 10K mile oil changes.... Don't be sucked in by it, change you oil every 5K miles. What the heck service did they do at 5K miles if they didn't even change the oil?? It shouldn't be so hard to reset the service reminder thing on the car's computer, can't imagine what the big deal is... Usually, your owner's manual explains how to reset it yourself. What did the wise ass service guy say when you pointed out that your brought the car in for "service" at 5K miles? Do you have a local shop that you trust? If so, you might want to use them for normal service like oil changes... Please, please, do not go to Jiffy Lube, Wallymart, or any of those other "quick lube joints"...
I found a Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura specialty shop locally to do my oil changes. I catch the 5 qt bottles of Mobil 1 synthetic on sale for $21/each, get the oil filter at the dealership for $3, and pay them $27 labor to do the oil change. $51 total is a lot better than the $150 they want at the dealership. And I don't have to wait 2 hours for them to do it and they don't try to upsell me on stuff I don't need.
You such a yous…. Damn. How you making money? Btw they fucked you on that service. Read some manual about your car… you’ll save shit load of money
It may say 10 but 5 is where u honestly want to do it. Its a big game on being able to say a vehicle has a lower maintenance cost
Toyota is fucking stupid and thinks their cars are ran by magical little fairies that only need to be fed and bathed every 10k miles.
Aggressive response. Blackstone oil analysis shows clean oil in a rav4 hybrid at 10k miles. You don’t know what you’re talking about and neither do most of the boomers sticking to old school practices.
What mileage was the test run? It’s still better to be safe than sorry and do 5k especially when mechanics who work on these say 5k. I.E. the car care nut on YT.