'17 Toyota Highlander V6 3.5L 2GR-FKS - SuperTech Advanced Full Synth 0W-20 10,368 miles

Varnish is "meaningless" was probably too harsh. I should have said "it depends" that's ambiguous and more pleasing.

Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it true.
Right, just like a sample size of one doesn't make a sufficient rebuttal. This again comes back to "it depends", @The Critic cited a generalization of multiple examples, of vehicles he's worked on, and, while also anecdotal, certainly deserves the same degree of consideration as what you've presented.
Sorry that my vehicles and thousands of others here on BITOG are throwing a monkey wrench into the "5k or less oci or else" theory that "The Critic" and others are trying to sell.
Hyperbole isn't warranted. There are not thousands of vehicles on this site running drain intervals longer than 5K and posting up evidence. And there most certainly isn't a pool of people tearing high mileage engines down to check for things like ring coking for example.
I check/test things for myself and get the firsthand evidence. When my evidence is to the the contrary, then comments like "The Critics" lead me to provide my experience so folks might do a little critical thinking.
Again, a sample size of one, and, I'm quite certain you haven't pulled your rotating assembly apart, removed the pistons, and inspected the ring land areas. This is, at best, anecdotal evidence that this particular engine is reasonably tolerant of varnish accumulation.

I'm not a proponent of 5K intervals and personally run longer than that, historically using Mobil 1, which has kept those engines free from varnish. I've seen first-hand the result of lower quality oils changed at "reasonable" intervals (less than 5,000 miles) in several engines, that, upon tear-down, had significant sticking happening in the rings and stuck oil control rings. I've also personally offered up evidence of an engine maintained that way, and then run on Mobil 1 at longer intervals, liberating significant carbonaceous material from the ring land area, similar to what @wwillson is currently experiencing with his Durango, despite it giving no indication that this build-up was present (neither did my application).

A quality oil doesn't require 5K or less intervals to keep things clean and free of varnish. Varnish is a symptom of a lubricant being unable to hold contaminants in suspension and them plating out; it's indicative of the lubricant's detergent and dispersant system being overwhelmed. It is a symptom of the lubricant no longer being able to perform one of its key jobs, which is keeping things clean and preventing deposits. While you may not consider that a problem, it, by definition, is one. You, personally, may be willing to shrug that off as inconsequential, but it still needs to be qualified and understood for what it is.
 
Is the inside of an engine a place for a beauty contest? IMO, it's optional.

I used to be a "change the oil every 3k miles" kind of guy before 2010. Then I started using synthetic oil and doing UOA with my then new to me 07 gasoline Toyota FJ w/4.0L 1GR-FE. It's been my daily driver now for 14 yrs. I've put 201k of its 221k miles. Since switching to synthetic and doing UOA I discovered It's not necessary "it's optional" for me to change the oil in this vehicle in less than 10k miles. I've gone as long as 18k miles. The owner's manual says to change the oil every 5k miles. It also says to run premium unleaded. I've always run regular unleaded. I've also pulled it another 50k miles 4 down behind our various motorhomes. Manual says that can't be done. It gets the same mpg today as it did the day I bought it in 2009. Drives like new still. Doesn't burn or leak any oil. It's never thrown a code or been in a repair shop. Why? I guess "me and it" are a good combination.

Had I followed the owner's manual and all the naysayer's advice over the yrs, think of all the $$$, and natural resources I would have wasted. Not to mention the missed opportunities to strip/cross thread the oil drain plug etc while doing all those "optional" extra oil changes.

The downside? it has varnish/carbon on the inside and thus won't win any "engine internals" beauty contests. I worked at a machine shop. All engines come in was varying degrees of varnish etc. Makes little difference.

In my FJs case, it's evident (to me) the varnish is "meaningless (to me)" because its not hurting anything. I'm proving it daily and have been for yrs. Is there carbon buildup on the rings? if there is? there's no evidence that it's hurting a anything. So again it's "meaningless (to me)". Day after day, year after year.

Drives the naysayers crazy. Always has, I guess it always will.
 
Is the inside of an engine a place for a beauty contest? IMO, it's optional.

I used to be a "change the oil every 3k miles" kind of guy before 2010. Then I started using synthetic oil and doing UOA with my then new to me 07 gasoline Toyota FJ w/4.0L 1GR-FE. It's been my daily driver now for 14 yrs. I've put 201k of its 221k miles. Since switching to synthetic and doing UOA I discovered It's not necessary "it's optional" for me to change the oil in this vehicle in less than 10k miles. I've gone as long as 18k miles. The owner's manual says to change the oil every 5k miles. It also says to run premium unleaded. I've always run regular unleaded. I've also pulled it another 50k miles 4 down behind our various motorhomes. Manual says that can't be done. It gets the same mpg today as it did the day I bought it in 2009. Drives like new still. Doesn't burn or leak any oil. It's never thrown a code or been in a repair shop. Why? I guess "me and it" are a good combination.

Had I followed the owner's manual and all the naysayer's advice over the yrs, think of all the $$$, and natural resources I would have wasted. Not to mention the missed opportunities to strip/cross thread the oil drain plug etc while doing all those "optional" extra oil changes.

The downside? it has varnish/carbon on the inside and thus won't win any "engine internals" beauty contests. I worked at a machine shop. All engines come in was varying degrees of varnish etc. Makes little difference.

In my FJs case, it's evident (to me) the varnish is "meaningless (to me)" because its not hurting anything. I'm proving it daily and have been for yrs. Is there carbon buildup on the rings? if there is? there's no evidence that it's hurting a anything. So again it's "meaningless (to me)". Day after day, year after year.

Drives the naysayers crazy. Always has, I guess it always will.
What a wonderful story, but it's still just a sample size of one, regardless of how elaborate the tale becomes.

I don't think anybody is being "driven crazy", the point has simply been made that varnish can cause issues because of what it is and where it tends to accumulate. It's a bit like smoking, my grandfather smoked like a chimney and yet it played no part in his death. That doesn't mean there aren't health implications from smoking and that it doesn't kill other people. I don't hold my grandfather up as an example that smoking isn't bad just because it didn't seem to affect him.

If you were interested in doing an experiment, you could do what @wwillson is doing with his Durango and try running some HPL HDEO in it, see if you get carbonaceous material in your filters (which comes from the ring land area). Would answer the question as to whether it's there or not.
 
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