17K on PP full syn?

[i6pwr]

Hanging out with my buddy and he was changing the oil in his 2006 Highlander with the 3.3L. He said he was at 17K on this change and honestly the oil didn't look all that bad, slight hue of brown but not deep, dark brown. Motor has 102K and he generally does 10-12K intervals but this one slipped by a little.

I have an 05 Sienna with the same motor but cannot stomach that long of a change, maybe 10K on synthetic. Is this oil ok for that long of a drain interval?

 

[volk06]

There is a guy on here who does OCI of PP of 15-20K on a hemi and his UOA are always good.

 

[hardcore302]

Too long for my taste. Only way to really find out is to do a UOA, as oil color is not too telling.

 

[steve20]

damage (wear) in these types of situations happens slowly--the difference will be clear if he keeps it to 200K and longer

 

[Jocephus]

on those long OCI's, its the other (probably neglected) items in the maintenance schedule that concern me...(transmission, diffs, etc)

 

[GMBoy]

Even if it is fine, 17k miles is too far out of my comfort level. Oil is too cheap to stretch out that long holding fuel and nasty contaminants not to mention the oil filter and how it held up.

 

[spk2000]

Depends alot on the type of driving too. highway driving like I am doing racking 1,000 miles a week is real easy on the entire vehicle and oil too. I easily get 300,000 miles on any car if I keep it that long. I usually get bored and go find a different one at a local auction. Save alot of money on the cars and usually drive them 2-3 years and get what I paid for them. Need to know cars fairly well as 90+% junk goes through these auctions and easy to get taken. Crawl under them drive them and check all the fluids very carefully. Still risky but have not been burned yet.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: i6pwr
Hanging out with my buddy and he was changing the oil in his 2006 Highlander with the 3.3L. He said he was at 17K on this change and honestly the oil didn't look all that bad, slight hue of brown but not deep, dark brown. Motor has 102K and he generally does 10-12K intervals but this one slipped by a little.

I have an 05 Sienna with the same motor but cannot stomach that long of a change, maybe 10K on synthetic. Is this oil ok for that long of a drain interval?


You did not grab a sample for a UOA??

 

[KitaCam]

"Penny" wise pound foolish...he's saved maybe $300 on a $30,000 investment....1%...good oil though, Penn is...

 

[walk23]

even if he did go 17 K on PP it wasn't too sound of mind.No validation through a UOA and it might get some other unsuspecting fool to think it was OK to do. He might get a way with but it will catch up to his vehicle sooner than later.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
"Penny" wise pound foolish...he's saved maybe $300 on a $30,000 investment..


+1 I'll never understand it. Especially in the DIY crowd where an oil service costs less than $20 on average. You can get PP for $12 a jug and a filter for $4. I am going out to 200k on several Toyota V6 engines that all get 5k OCI's and none of them use any oil at 200k.

 

[KitaCam]

Penny (17K on PP full syn) is still good oil, even if Penny's worth only 1% to OP's bud (couldn't resist the double pun).

 

[Voltmaster]

Color/Odor doesnt show how much additive is left and how much it can protect...

If your buddy never pushes the car too much and oil and filter is changed often there is no reason why it wouldnt last.

Its a Toyota , they are over built to handle abuse.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: i6pwr

I have an 05 Sienna with the same motor but cannot stomach that long of a change, maybe 10K on synthetic. Is this oil ok for that long of a drain interval?


I can't stomach anything over 5K. Maybe your stomach is stronger.

 

[cptbarkey]

keep up that experiment, i'm sure the rubberneckers would love to see the eventual results.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Voltmaster

Its a Toyota , they are over built to handle abuse.


Yeah ok.

 

[spk2000]

How many engines has anyone seen fail due to extended OCI's? I have seen failed engines due to totally neglected as in not changing the oil. One car had a rod through the engine block at 30,000 miles no oil change or top off. She ran it dry and I put a junkyard engine in it and drove it for about 50,000 miles. It was a convertible metro.

 

[i6pwr]

Originally Posted By: Donald


You did not grab a sample for a UOA??


Didn't think of it at the time, I would have paid for it.

I don't think one time would hurt the motor but I agree oil changes are cheap enough to not let the OCI go this long.

 

[AlienBug]

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
"Penny" wise pound foolish...he's saved maybe $300 on a $30,000 investment....1%...good oil though, Penn is...


That logic would be correct IF his OCIs resulted in an oil-related problem.

The other side is that he spent, say, $300 doing 10 oil changes with PP in 150,000 miles of ownership and then will sell or trade in his vehicle, running fine.

An average BITOGER, who relies on his gut and "what my daddy taught me" will likely spend 3x as much to do 30 oil changes with PP in 150,000 miles of ownership. If he also does UOAs, that cost will increase more. He will then sell his vehicle, running fine, for the same amount.


The phrase you hear around here a lot is "it's cheap insurance."

Actually, any actuary will tell you the above is phenomenally expensive insurance.

 

[bigt61]

Trade in value and resale are subjective. A guy who can document all his short oil changes can likely get more for his car than someone who can't. Proper maintenance is worth something to a knowledgeable buyer if given a choice. Many people can and do get their money back. But if you're driving the car into the ground with 100's of thousands plus mileage - it may not make a difference in the end. Except to you, because the car is still running.