I'm curious what the board's take is on how regularly motor oil must be changed. I have been advised by the Toyota guys that since 2013 or so they recommend oil changes every 10,000 miles (this is in a Highlander with synthetic oil). This seems like a long time and lots of miles between oil changes.

I have a 2009 Chevrolet 1500 and initially was going to use the oil change scale (percentage, or whatever) to determine when to get oil changes. First one was at 9,000 miles and the oil change folks told me this was too long to wait for an oil change, no matter whether the oil was synthetic or not. They told me if I went with a synthetic oil I could stretch the interval out to five or six thousand miles. I have since changed the oil every 6,000 miles and am now at 222,000 miles with no issues at all.

We just got a 2024 Ford Explorer so I am considering this question again. What is the automotive board's thoughts about this question and recommendation? Thanks.

2019 F150 2.7 every 5k full synthetic oil either Mobil 1 or Castrol Edge what ever is on sale at Wal Mart. Right now it has Valvoline restore and protect.

I've been doing full synthetic on my 4Runner every 8-10k miles with no issues.

5,000 recommended - I do 4,000
7,500 recommended - I do 6,000
10,000 recommended - I do 7,500.

10k is a long time to go without rotating tires too so 7.5 is a good compromise

I used to say 5000 conventional and 7500 with synthetic. And either the full 7500 or split the difference with the synthetic blend. Most newer cars have the built in indicator that the manual says to go by since it measures idle time in addition to mileage, but my F150 kept going well over 7500 and still had something like 30% oil life, so I kept with my rule of thumb above.

Now that I drive something that recommends 5W-20, I think I'm going to go with the 5K interval (or at least 6K) even though it is synthetic. So I think you need to factor the weight of the oil your OEM recommends and make an intelligent interval decision. This stuff gets recycled now -- I don't know if it is 100% or not -- so there really isn't much of a downside to changing it more often.

I've heard of Camrys that went 70K without a change. Obviously not recommended and definitely not a challenge. I'm sure older 350s and 5.3s might be able to do at least half that, but I'd fear possible higher temps in the larger displacements. At no time should anyone go over 10K OR a calendar year.

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advised by the Toyota guys that since 2013 or so they recommend oil changes every 10,000 miles

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I don't know what the deal now is, but a decade ago, it depended on the engine/model and the recommended oil. I had a 2013 4Runner that did full synthetic with a 10K interval. Traded it for a 2014 Tacoma that did a blend with a 5K interval. Ostensibly same engine. I don't recall what the Avalons/V6 Camrys were recommending/filling at the time even though I looked.

Change every 5-6k. No issues on my 12 F150 with 251k on the clock

I have always done 7500 on my '07 Accord (5W20) and am at 296k with full syn. Pay attention to your filter too. After doing a bunch of research I went with Purolator Pure 1 (their upgraded filter). Filters have recommended max mileage ratings as well. Mobil1, K&N, etc. will say their filters are good for 10k or even 20k. So if you go long, make sure you spend the extra few bucks for a better filter too.

You don't chafe your filter with every oil change?

I have three Toyotas and a Lexus. Every 5000 with synthetic oil is my rule.

5-6k whenever my schedule allows. full ford household.

i think manual intervals say not to exceed 10k but follow the oil life indicator (which is comes out to like 7.5-10k if i had to guess). But every ford tech i've talked to say 5-6k on ecoboost is way better.

Seems almost like a chicken and egg question.

Manufacturers want you to go longer in between changes.

OIl and filter pimps want you to change more often.

I know the tech has changed in all the different components, but I am sure most on here remeber when it was drilled into my head to change every 3000, not a mile more.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I'm a 5000 mile / or once a year guy.

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I have a life goal of having a car I only put 5000 miles a year on.

JAW3336 said:

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Seems almost like a chicken and egg question.

Manufacturers want you to go longer in between changes.

OIl and filter pimps want you to change more often.

I know the tech has changed in all the different components, but I am sure most on here remeber when it was drilled into my head to change every 3000, not a mile more.

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Add, cycles matter. If people drove their car 30+ minutes to warm the oil/seals up first a longer milage would make more sense. The Germans also are notorious at this point for thin cylinder sleeves/long oil change intervals that combine to make 200K engines 'unlikely.'

I think 3K with modern oil is a bit absurd, but whatever, if driving 5 miles to/from work it could make sense. The compression ratio's/high strung nature of many turbo 2.0 liter engines etc. these days also necessitate more frequency. 250+ HP 4-cylinder modern engines I'd want to stick with 3-5K intervals for the most part.

Tailgate88 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I'm a 5000 mile / or once a year guy.

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I have a life goal of having a car I only put 5000 miles a year on.

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67K last year.

I watch a guy on YouTube called the motor oil geek. Great and informative watch on all things oil. In summary, it depends. Application dictates chemistry. Where you live, how you drive, short trips, long trips, vehicle type are all variables. Truth is you don't really know unless you get a used oil analysis. It's not necessary but it can tell you your wear metal and other pattern/trends and give you better indication of how often you need to change your oil.

If you don't want to go through the hassle then change every 3k miles or every six months if you mainly do short trips. Mainly freeway driving then 3-5k miles, go 3 if turbo engine or 5 if non turbo.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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Tailgate88 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I'm a 5000 mile / or once a year guy.

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I have a life goal of having a car I only put 5000 miles a year on.

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67K last year.

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DId you mean to say 5000 miles or once a month?

j/k I know you know what you're doing

My wife drives a Highlander. It has a lifetime powertrain warranty. The dealership we bought it from does all of the service work on it. They change the oil every 10k.

I drive a 2010 F250 diesel. Owners manual says every 10k but I usually go every 5k. It currently has 263k miles on it. It has never been in a shop for repairs. What is has needed, I have been able to do myself.

Tailgate88 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I'm a 5000 mile / or once a year guy.

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I have a life goal of having a car I only put 5000 miles a year on.

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Pretty easy to do. Just get a couple more cars and rotate them around. That's why I do, and now I can make you feel bad about yourself.


On topic, I believe that BMWs used to (maybe still do) recommend 15k miles for changes. Since I average 3k a year the last 14 years, I do it yearly. 15k seems a bit crazy regardless.

2000 Tundra with 294K miles. I bought it from my dad at 189K miles.

He ran Mobil 1 in it from the first oil change. Same as he did on his T-100 before that which had 250K miles on it, and 300K on his little Toyota truck before the T-100 became available in 1993.

Owner's manual says every 7,500 on the Tundra for oil and filter change. It gets that or a little less depending on my availability. I do it myself.

Our Accord is being driven by son. It takes 0w-20 so it's getting the Mobil 1 brand of that. It's got 170K on it and we change it when the maintenance minder tells us.

Same thing we did on the Oddysey that we got 242K out of, but used Mobil 1 5w-30.

You've barely got me beat, I have 289k on my 01 Sequoia!

5k intervals on everything I own. It's cheap and I enjoy to handle this task as it allows me to take a close look at my vehicles on a regular basis.

5k intervals on all of my vehicles with Kirkland synthetic

5k on my 2010 Tacoma, 5-30 full synthetic.
10k on the 2017 Prius, 0-20 full synthetic.
3-4k on the KLR 650 motorcycle, 10-40 full synthetic

Tailgate88 said:

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You've barely got me beat, I have 289k on my 01 Sequoia!

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But I'm a poor without a vanity plate.

maroon barchetta said:

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Tailgate88 said:

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You've barely got me beat, I have 289k on my 01 Sequoia!

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But I'm a poor without a vanity plate.

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I let my vanity plate go a couple years ago! Still have plenty hanging in the garage though. Decided the $200/year could be spent better especially with two kids in college (at the time). Maybe I'll get it again someday if I ever get a new(er) car.

I've considered it but I would probably get pulled over a lot.

Tailgate88 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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Tailgate88 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I'm a 5000 mile / or once a year guy.

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I have a life goal of having a car I only put 5000 miles a year on.

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67K last year.

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DId you mean to say 5000 miles or once a month?

j/k I know you know what you're doing

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Fortunately a large potion of those miles are electric. So no oil changes needed.

Every 5k miles

First of the month every month. Usually 5K at that point. Costco synthetic and Wally World filter.

I can give you one data point. Porsche Cayenne. Mechanic tells me every 10,000 miles is fine. Said he has split the engines open and they look brand new inside. Use Motul in it.

If engine sees a lot of heavy acceleration cycles repeatedly, lots of stop and go driving, lots of short trips, then change oil before oem recommendations. Usually about 1/2 the oem cycle if the above use case is severe .

Outside of that, 5000 is a good ' do not exceed' number.

I'll also plug getting some oil analysis done.

5k miles.

Mobil 1 full synthetic 20k mile oil.

Only $2 more at walkyword. Usually about the same price. High-quality or oem filter.

Never had any engine issues on any of my vehicles.