12k OCI on 2007 Camry V6?

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Gannet167

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I'm looking a at 2007 Camry V6. The current owner has done a very good job overall of maintaining it, and proudly told me that because they use synthetic oil, they only change it once a year.

Looking through the service records, this resulted on 10 to 12k mile OCI. Amsoil was one of the brands used on at least one occasion, suggesting the owner is somewhat aware of and willing to research and buy good oil.

Personally, without UOA's to back it up, 12k is a little too high. The car has 87 k miles now and runs well. I'd like to drive it for 250k and with this car, its not unreasonable if maintained well. Have these long OCI's been detrimental?

Thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: Gannet167
I'm looking a at 2007 Camry V6. The current owner has done a very good job overall of maintaining it, and proudly told me that because they use synthetic oil, they only change it once a year.

Oxymoron?
lol.gif
 
My guess is the engine is fine.
I would ask the owner how much oil it burns. How much did he have to add over the 12k OCI? If he says "none" I would be a bit skeptical... ask how often he checks it.
Running a synthetic such as Amsoil/Redline/or even M1 *should* be fine for 12k but not if it was 2 quarts low by 12k.
I'd also ask if he does alot of short trips or what is the normal drive for the car. If was all short trips 12k would be too much. Whats it look like in the fill hole?
 
I maintain my sister in law's 97 Avalon, has the 3.0 sludger motor. I have her run 10k OCI with M1 5w30 and a Wix 51516 filter. The filters I cut open are in good shape, no problems with the oil, and she loses 1 quart around the time I do the oil change.
It's had M1 since 17k when she bought it from a little old lady who couldn't drive anymore. It's now up around 130k.
No sludge buildup, engine runs very strong and I've only had to replace the EGR position sensor and an oxygen sensor.. and brakes.
(and timing belt)

I'm gonna keep my practice of 10k oil changes going. the car literally does 2k a month, she runs all over the place for church stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: J. A. Rizzo
If the 12K change interval is too long, what would the effects be?


Look at the oil, is it thick and dirty? I dont think itd be too big a deal, still low miles. You can probably give runs of pennzoil ultra/m1 and clean it out with 5-7k runs
 
Interesting that owners like to extoll extended OCIs but as buyers they are wary....ought to say something to everyone considering extended OCIs...
 
The oil has almost 10k on it and it was actually fairly clean. I dont believe the color really means anything about the oil's lubricating properties, but does show clean combustion. I would call it the color of dark amber maple syrup, not even "black" - about what my current car's oil looks like at 3k miles.

I believe it also takes 6.5 quarts.

No sludge or residue out of the ordinary under the oil filler cap or as far as I could see inside the engine, for this mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: J. A. Rizzo
If the 12K change interval is too long, what would the effects be?


Worn engine tolerances. Oil consumption. Loss of compression. These issues will show up when an engine gets out past 150k. I have 2 of the 2GR-FE Toyota V6 engines and had one that I traded. All got synthetic oil changes at 5000 their entire life. At 200,000 miles they were still running like new and did not consume more than 1/2 quart of oil in 5000 miles. Factory OCIs pay off after 100k IMO. I would look for a Camry that has been maintained by the book or get a CPO. Oil changes are the #1 thing I look for in maintenance for a used car.
 
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Interesting that owners like to extoll extended OCIs but as buyers they are wary....ought to say something to everyone considering extended OCIs...


Exactly. Pay me now or pay me later.
 
I would be hesitant to buy a car that had 12K /annual oil changes unless I knew that it was all highway miles (which is unlikely on a 12K a year motor).
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I would be hesitant to buy a car that had 12K /annual oil changes unless I knew that it was all highway miles (which is unlikely on a 12K a year motor).


+1 It's not like there are no other Camrys out there.
 
6.5 quarts - synthetic oil - 12k should be a breeze. Any owner who's going out of his way to buy Amsoil has probably stayed on top of the oil level and kept the rest of the car nice as well. It's the guy that only has time to go to Jiffy Lube that I'd be worried about.
 
Originally Posted By: JethroBodine
I have 2 of the 2GR-FE Toyota V6 engines and had one that I traded. All got synthetic oil changes at 5000 their entire life. At 200,000 miles they were still running like new and did not consume more than 1/2 quart of oil in 5000 miles. Factory OCIs pay off after 100k IMO.


I also know of many other Toyota V6 engines that got whatever maintenance the owner felt like or remembered to do that went for 250k+ miles without any issues at all. One owner in particular brought in her car with 250k miles and wanted it checked out to decide whether she should buy a new one. Most of the parts were indistinguishable from new parts. With a synthetic oil change, I would not be worried at all about 12k intervals. If the car is a good buy, I would buy it with confidence as long as there is some evidence of those synthetic changes. Then I would go on a regular OCI schedule with conventional in whatever grade the manual calls for, and I would rely on my experience with other Toyotas that says the oil changes have very little to do with the lifetime of the car as long as they're reasonable.
 
Originally Posted By: J. A. Rizzo
I would rely on my experience with other Toyotas that says the oil changes have very little to do with the lifetime of the car as long as they're reasonable.


Ok, define "reasonable" The car was run more than 240% of the manufacturers recommended oil change interval. What is the margin of error? The guy is asking for information regarding a purchase and you tell him about some old lady who didn't maintain her car and then extrapolate that to be statistically representative of all Toyota engines?
 
Originally Posted By: JethroBodine
Ok, define "reasonable" The car was run more than 240% of the manufacturers recommended oil change interval. What is the margin of error? The guy is asking for information regarding a purchase and you tell him about some old lady who didn't maintain her car and then extrapolate that to be statistically representative of all Toyota engines?


Synthetics hold up better to abuse than conventionals do. If it was a conventional product used, I'd be wary once OCIs got to about 50% over the recommended OCI, but a quality synthetic will hold up and do its job just fine much longer than that. That said, 12k is about the limit of what I'd be comfortable with on a 5k conventional recommendation, but I'd still call it reasonable. This person obviously researched things and made an educated decision about their choices. It seems likely that such a cost-conscious, maintenance-aware owner knew what they were doing and I don't see any reason not to trust their judgment.
 
I don't see a problem, most Toyota owners only change the oil every 7k-10k with cheap quick lube specials. At least this guy ran a quality oil.
 
Heck, In 2010(i think) Toyota started going to 10K oci's. Buy the car and ejoy it, should run for a long time with regular maintenance.
 
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