00 Camry OCI advice? Drive <100miles/wk

[insomnia]

00 Camry (5s-fe) currently ~131,500miles. Using Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic Blend 5w30 with Pure1 filter. No leaks/consumption.

Recently, I've moved closer to work, ~5miles away. Everyday, I'll just drive 10miles total @30mph where my car never reach operating temperature. On weekends, I'll go see my folks ~20 miles away. Though, I only get on the highway for 10 mins.

So how often should I change my oil for a mild sludger like my camry? Every 6 months or 3000miles because of my driving habit?

 

[electrolover]

if it were me i would do 3 month/3k. a jug of maxlife and filter will run 20 bucks at most, a small price to pay to protect your investment.

note: mmo in the crankcase once a year would not hurt

 

[sangyup81]

5000 for MaxLife Blend, 3000 for anything cheaper

 

[dtt004]

Originally Posted By: electrolover
if it were me i would do 3 month/3k. a jug of maxlife and filter will run 20 bucks at most, a small price to pay to protect your investment.

note: mmo in the crankcase once a year would not hurt


Based off his approximations, he is running roughly 1200 miles every 6 months. 3000 would translate into a year or something.

The oil is up to the task. You may want to get it analyzed for fuel dilution. That is my main concern with the proposed driving habits and conditions.

Then, you can make a better decision after the analyzing. You never know! You may be able to keep on regular oil change intervals after seeing the results.

 

[spasm3]

I would change it every 3 months just because of the fuel dilution. I do the same in my sons saturn. Dino makes financial sense here. If you like maxlife it would work fine, as would Pennzoil conventional.

 

[insomnia]

Originally Posted By: dtt004

Based off his approximations, he is running roughly 1200 miles every 6 months. 3000 would translate into a year or something.

The oil is up to the task. You may want to get it analyzed for fuel dilution. That is my main concern with the proposed driving habits and conditions.

Then, you can make a better decision after the analyzing. You never know! You may be able to keep on regular oil change intervals after seeing the results.


I drove ~400miles this pass month.
(10miles*5workday)+(20miles one-way*2)= 90miles/wk or 360miles/mth or 2340miles/6mths or 4680miles/yr.

So, is 3000miles (8mths) oil change a stretch?

 

[insomnia]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would change it every 3 months just because of the fuel dilution. I do the same in my sons saturn. Dino makes financial sense here. If you like maxlife it would work fine, as would Pennzoil conventional.


Sorry for the stupid question, but what fuel dilution and why is it bad?

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: insomnia
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would change it every 3 months just because of the fuel dilution. I do the same in my sons saturn. Dino makes financial sense here. If you like maxlife it would work fine, as would Pennzoil conventional.


Sorry for the stupid question, but what fuel dilution and why is it bad?


There's a good chance that since your car rarely gets up to full temp with your short trips that the residual fuel from that will dilute your oil and take it out of grade. Short trip cars need to change the oil more often than those rigs that get up to full temp on a daily basis.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: insomnia
Originally Posted By: dtt004

Based off his approximations, he is running roughly 1200 miles every 6 months. 3000 would translate into a year or something.

The oil is up to the task. You may want to get it analyzed for fuel dilution. That is my main concern with the proposed driving habits and conditions.

Then, you can make a better decision after the analyzing. You never know! You may be able to keep on regular oil change intervals after seeing the results.


I drove ~400miles this pass month.
(10miles*5workday)+(20miles one-way*2)= 90miles/wk or 360miles/mth or 2340miles/6mths or 4680miles/yr.

So, is 3000miles (8mths) oil change a stretch?


kinda, and with it being a sludge prone car i would not take any chances. even a used oil analysis wont show sludge formation. is $80 a year too much for piece of mind?

 

[chad8]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
Originally Posted By: insomnia
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would change it every 3 months just because of the fuel dilution. I do the same in my sons saturn. Dino makes financial sense here. If you like maxlife it would work fine, as would Pennzoil conventional.


Sorry for the stupid question, but what fuel dilution and why is it bad?


There's a good chance that since your car rarely gets up to full temp with your short trips that the residual fuel from that will dilute your oil and take it out of grade. Short trip cars need to change the oil more often than those rigs that get up to full temp on a daily basis.


This is totally wrong. Your car will get to operating temps at 5-10 miles a day and not dilute the fuel. . With your car there is no danger of sludge if you change the oil 3-5000 miles using maxlife. Toyota has proven this over millions of miles. I have owned 8 of them and kept up with the sludge motor claims.All I have seen as well as my best friend who works at a toyota dealership are due to lack of oil changes. Several of mine had the same motor. One year is fine, especially with weekday and weekend usage. If the car sat for long periods then you might be more concerned.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: chad8
This is totally wrong. Your car will get to operating temps at 5-10 miles a day and not dilute the fuel.

Especially in Texas. Everybody else needs to not make blanket statements as if the OP lived in their climate.

I also support the yearly OCI with 5w30 Maxlife and a quality filter. Send off a sample after 9 months if you're worried; otherwise keep on truckin' for a full year.

 

[electrolover]

i do live in texas and im saying unless its the middle of summer you aint getting your oil up to temp in 5 miles or so. it just aint happening

 

[sangyup81]

Doesn't anyone here know that the 5S-FE sludge is caused by heat issues due to the lack of the oil cooler that previous 5S-FE engines came with? How can you say he'll have the Toyota specific sludge issues while talking about his oil not getting up to temperature?

5000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first