2007 Yaris - Critique my OCI Plan

[derek244]

Well, throw the "Oil change receipts" concern out the window. Not everyone keeps them, and that is not what makes or breaks the warranty claim at any Toyota dealer I am aware of, including mine. A service department may ask for them, but that is not always the norm. It's almost saying "Your claim will be approved if you have these little peices of paper". I have DECLINED warranty repairs on engines with oil receipts several times for one reason: oil starvation damage. You see, you cannot disguise that. The rod bearing furthest from the oil pump will tell it's tale everytime. Then it's a overheated black connecting rod...then a hole in the block...etc. Oil change receipts can be made up by the customer, and I have seen this done many times. Toyota states that some oil consumption is normal, and it is the owners responsibilty to keep it full at all times, period. It's a grey area to be honest with you. Yes, sludge was an issue, but don't get me started on that.

Only you will know if you do extended OCI's. Toyota service departments don't send out your oil for used oil analysis. If it does sludge up for some reason, and you do 10K OCI's, you may be out of luck. Then you will need to get Toyota corporate involved. Again, signs of oil starvation is the #1 thing I look for. If you go 10K and never check the oil level, and drop 2 quarts, not good.

I do extended OCI's on my 2004 Rav4 with Amsoil 0w30, and a Amsoil filter. I go between 7000 and 9000 miles. I have no worries.

 

[Travis99LS1]

I'm sure they have corrected the problem now..but when the Yaris was first released..I think they had a recall about oil pumps going bad on them or something..I'll try to see if i can find the article about it..Either way, my point is..dont assume just because your buying a japanese car that there's not gonna be any problems..

 

[branshew]

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Well, throw the "Oil change receipts" concern out the window. Not everyone keeps them, and that is not what makes or breaks the warranty claim at any Toyota dealer I am aware of, including mine. A service department may ask for them, but that is not always the norm.

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Oil starvation is different than a sludge issue (unless the sludge caused the starvation) I was referring to saving the receipts for a sludge related claim. I'd be fairly certain that they would want some proof as to whether or not you changed the oil on schedule prior to replacing the engine on a sludge related repair. Otherwise - every knucklehead out there would be getting free warranty work for being stupid and never changing his oil.

Now oil starvation for lack of checking the oil level (and topping off) is a completely different beast. Although someone not changing oils would also probably not be likely to even check his/her oil. BTW - hope you don't own a new BMW and want to do this. They don't have dipsticks.

 

[Travis99LS1]

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Well, throw the "Oil change receipts" concern out the window. Not everyone keeps them, and that is not what makes or breaks the warranty claim at any Toyota dealer I am aware of, including mine. A service department may ask for them, but that is not always the norm.

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Oil starvation is different than a sludge issue (unless the sludge caused the starvation) I was referring to saving the receipts for a sludge related claim. I'd be fairly certain that they would want some proof as to whether or not you changed the oil on schedule prior to replacing the engine on a sludge related repair. Otherwise - every knucklehead out there would be getting free warranty work for being stupid and never changing his oil.

Now oil starvation for lack of checking the oil level (and topping off) is a completely different beast. Although someone not changing oils would also probably not be likely to even check his/her oil. BTW - hope you don't own a new BMW and want to do this. They don't have dipsticks.

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On new BMW's that dont have dipsticks you check the oil level electronically thru the I-drive. It gives you a picture of a dipstick and where the oil level is..and even gives you a numerical number as to how much oil is needed if indeed it is low.

 

[derek244]

Yes, I agree that oil sludge and oil starvation are different. Please realize I am trying to answer his concerns about his extended OCI, and any warranty concerns that may arise. If he does 10,000 mile OCI's and the dealer is aware of this, and he has a engine lubrication related failure, he may get declined by Toyota for coverage. Regardless of the oil quality and filter type used oil analysis, etc, the manufacturers recommendation for maintenance was not followed. When you decide to do an extended OCI on an engine that is under warranty, you are taking the risk, not the manufacturer. Toyota does not have a OLM on any vehicles at this time that I know of, just maintenance reminder lights and an oil PSI light (which is useless really, because when it illuminates while driving, your oil is just about depleted! Or sludge clogged...).

As far as boneheads getting free engine work, we do alot of it already, sorry.

I am trying to specifically answer the 2007 Yaris question. I am cursed with countless sludge and oil starvation concerns and arguments over the years. My hair is greying at 34 years old! Sometimes it's how you debate your concern or case with Toyota. They have a tremendous goodwill program that trumps everyone but Lexus (they are crazy).

 

[Travis99LS1]

yea man..if its still under warranty i would stick with 5K intervals for the time being...I mean..you just spent a lot of money on a new car..What is 30 or 40 bucks every 5K miles??

 

[lovcom]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to stay with the 5,000 OCI until the warranty is used up, then go to the extended (10,000 OCI's with Mobil 1 Extended Performance).

 

[Bill in Utah]

We have seen Mobil 1 Extended Performance used oil analysis that are not looking too good before 10k, so if you want to go 10k ocis, I'd do a used oil analysis.

Your car will go as far as you want to drive it with conventional oil every 5k *if* it does not have a problem.

I have had a engine eat headgaskets @ 61k and 108k and both were found with a used oil analysis WELL BEFORE damage to the rest of the engine was found.

Oil change receipts and oil changes following the manual (or better) allowed me to save $1200. And this was with a 3 year or 36k warrenty and they paid @ 61k.

When I buy new cars/trucks, following the manual is a smart idea.

My 1986 Jetta has 315k and never anything wrong with it. Orginal everything on the engine (except belts, spart plugs) and still runs great, excellent MPG and passes #@$%^ smog checks.

My 05 Corolla has 80k+ and I've done used oil analysis with most oils and the best were with Castrol GTX or Pennzoil Conventional 5w30. This is over Mobil 1 and Castrol Syntec.

Its been a great car and never been back to the stealership. So much for the warrenty.

BUT, *if* something happened (or happens) I'll be better off having followed the manual and having used oil analysis, receipts and logs.

Take care, bill

 

[MrCritical]

Being in the auto service business, albeit mostly domestics, I echo going with the recommended service intervals in warranty. You don't have to keep the oil change receipts, but I would keep a logbook. Make sure it's obvious from the entries that they weren't all logged the same day.

I would have a lot more oil capacity than a Yaris before I went on 10k oil change, but hey, it's your car.

 

[tsmay51]

I would stay with recommended changes per book for warranty reasons. The cost of oil changes is minumal among all the other costs of owning a car. I am sticking with recommended intervals until warranty is up. Then, I will change to synthetic and extend my drain a bit.

 

[grampi]

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Yup, I already red that link, but thanks just the same. Perhaps I'm very green about things, but I put 200,000+ miles on two Civics and one CR-V with just conventional oil and they all performed flawlessly, all having excellent compression, no eating of oil, and so I wonder to what extend we should be obsessed with oil analysis. Again, I admit I know next to nothing about these issues, but how can I ignore the great performance I've received in my past three high milage cars? I'm going to continue to read on this site, and perhaps my perceiptions will change.

Thanks to all the responders to my thread!!

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My thinking is more along the lines of your's. I truely don't believe the benefits of full synthetics over conventional are enough to justify the difference in price. I have gone through some short stints trying full synthetic oils, but I've always come back to conventional. I believe many, if not most of today's conventionals are so good there's really no reason to run syn. If today's conventionals are good enough to allow your engine to last 200K-300K miles (and I believe they are) then what's the point of running full syn?

 

[01rangerxl]

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then what's the point of running full syn?

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Because it makes me feel good.

I know full well that my truck would probably last a very long time if I just put Coastal in it, but I get some sort of satisfaction out of spending entirely too much money to do an oil change on it. Then again, $25 every few months isn't so bad...

 

[grampi]

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then what's the point of running full syn?

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Because it makes me feel good.

I know full well that my truck would probably last a very long time if I just put Coastal in it, but I get some sort of satisfaction out of spending entirely too much money to do an oil change on it. Then again, $25 every few months isn't so bad...

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That's cool. I still remember taking flack from some of the folks in here because I like to change out my oil and filter before it turns black because it makes me feel good, whether it needs changing or not.

 

[ThirdeYe]

My 2 cents on the situation. I think going over 8000 miles on the first OCI after factory fill is a bit too long. There's usually still some debris leftover after draining the factory fill. Second, I don't think running 10k on Mobil 1 Extended Performance is really necessary, like many have said before, I'd worry more about your warranty and change it twice as often as that (5k OCI's with any name brand synthetic). Good luck with your new ride though, I like the recent Kei-like-cars that the Japanese manufacturers have been bringing over (Yaris, Fit, Versa, etc.)

 

[ericthepig]

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Yup, I already red that link, but thanks just the same. Perhaps I'm very green about things, but I put 200,000+ miles on two Civics and one CR-V with just conventional oil and they all performed flawlessly, all having excellent compression, no eating of oil, and so I wonder to what extend we should be obsessed with oil analysis. Again, I admit I know next to nothing about these issues, but how can I ignore the great performance I've received in my past three high milage cars? I'm going to continue to read on this site, and perhaps my perceiptions will change.

Thanks to all the responders to my thread!!

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My thinking is more along the lines of your's. I truely don't believe the benefits of full synthetics over conventional are enough to justify the difference in price. I have gone through some short stints trying full synthetic oils, but I've always come back to conventional. I believe many, if not most of today's conventionals are so good there's really no reason to run syn. If today's conventionals are good enough to allow your engine to last 200K-300K miles (and I believe they are) then what's the point of running full syn?

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If you've got an engine that's easy on oil and/or you don't mind frequent OCs, then you're spot on in your conventional recommendation.

The only blanket statement that I can think of that works in this topic is - "just do what the OEM reommends and forget about it". Actually even that doesn't work if you ran a VW TDI 1.8L thingy from the last few years, or certain Toyota V6s from 8-10 yrs ago. Many of those folks followed the OEM recommendation to their engine's doom.

 

[ericthepig]

And if Toyota and VW can mis-tweak an engine, whose to say Honda won't mis-tweak the next iteration of Civic engine so that it turns dino back to dinosuar poop within OEM OCI.

 

[ericthepig]

I would add that having a car w/ precision engineering helps as well. This obviously plays into "easy on oil" but is still a separate issue. I bet there are cars that you can put Amsoil 0w30 in every 3k and they'll be drinking oil in 250k.

 

[gedcruise]

Friend,
One of the best things about a brand new car is that it typically will have no problems for several years, and if it does, the waranty will cover them.
Now, the Yaris is not actually a 325i, but it still cost you well into five figures.
Changing the oil every 5K takes almost no time or money. Why not just do it, and know that the engine of your expensive durable asset will be happy for it?
One of my favorite maxims is that you can't save much on what you don't spend much. Oil changes with a good Grp III are cheap. Extending your OCIs will save you almost nothing.

 

[ericthepig]

It's hard to argue with you gedcruise. And if I had a new car, I'd take your advice. For me it comes down to a personality issue - it would just irk me big time to drain a premium oil out at 5k and the stuff is still just amber on the dipstick. And with my 98 Sienna I don't have the luxury of running a non-premium oil. I don't even start enjoying my OCI till I'm passing thru 7 or 8k miles. I was addicted from the day (in the mid-1990s) when I drained pure black Amsoil out of my Mazda at the end of 1yr (true 25k) OCIs. The stuff was pure black even in a thin layer on the dipstick. I knew I had wrenched every bit of life out of that oil, and it did something to me deep down. Been murderizing oil ever since. So far the Synthetics have shown some kinks in their armour, but they haven't ultimately failed me. Pity me when they do.