For those that advocate 10K miles OCI

[Pablo]

At around 1-1:30 he is completely full of POOP. His ATF theory is suspect, IMHO.

In my 40 years in the industry, frankly most almost every auto mechanic to a person, knows VERY little about motor oil.

Likeable, but his opinion is worth what you pay for it.

Do as you want.

Edit to add: Nothing wrong with 5K if that is what you want/must (to) do. But to say every Toyota running a 10K interval will be sludged and dead at 150K is just wrong.

 

[PimTac]

What about Extended Performance oils such as Mobil 1 EP and Castrol Edge EP that claim to be good for 20,000 miles? Should those also be changed at 5,000 miles if vehicle is driven mainly in city, short trips, stop and go traffic, etc.?

You have to finish reading the company statement on the jug. The oil is capable but only if the engine allows it.

 

[tolian21]

he did say that you dont have to listen to him. All he is trying to say, if you operate your car in severe conditions (long idle, short trips and etc). He is saying 10k might be too long…. Seems reasonable recommendation to me, not sure what is the controversy

 

[Pablo]

he did say that you dont have to listen to him. All he is trying to say, if you operate your car in severe conditions (long idle, short trips and etc). He is saying 10k might be too long…. Seems reasonable recommendation to me, not sure what is the controversy

I agree with what you write as applied, but that is certainly not exactly what he said and certainly did imply something beyond "might be too long"......

 

[HowAboutThis]

The problem with videos like this is, they don't present any data, just opinion. When you consider this "opinion" comes from someone who makes money from people paying him for car maintenance, it becomes suspect.
I say to each his own but always employ critical thinking and consider the source of all information.

My Toyota says 10k normal, 5k severe. I do the 5 mile roundtrip weekend errands a couple times that don't warm things up and the 300 mile per week commute that is 85% "go", 15% "stop" traffic. Gets warmed up nicely and pretty steady, low RPM highway driving (1800-2k RPM's thanks to the CVT). Winter temps are typically highs of 40-60, lows of 25-40. Summer temps are 60-100, lows of 50+. My *edit* "common sense" data says 7500 miles (about every 6 months, twice per year, oil changes). Colder climate I'd do 5k in the winter, probably. Shorter trips in this climate I'd do 5k changes, probably. That's my personal "data" I use.

 

[javacontour]

At around 1-1:30 he is completely full of POOP. His ATF theory is suspect, IMHO.

In my 40 years in the industry, frankly most almost every auto mechanic to a person, knows VERY little about motor oil.

Likeable, but his opinion is worth what you pay for it.

Do as you want.

Edit to add: Nothing wrong with 5K if that is what you want/must (to) do. But to say every Toyota running a 10K interval will be sludged and dead at 150K is just wrong.

I guess I only have 40k left in my RAV4. It's coming up on 110k and it's had 9 oil changes. The OS @110k will be the 10th. I guess I better unload it now

Who will give me $30k for a 2017 RAV4 XLE FWD. I know what I have, no low balls, joy rides or tire kickers.

 

[javacontour]

My Toyota says 10k normal, 5k severe. I do the 5 mile roundtrip weekend errands a couple times that don't warm things up and the 300 mile per week commute that is 85% "go", 15% "stop" traffic. Gets warmed up nicely and pretty steady, low RPM highway driving (1800-2k RPM's thanks to the CVT). Winter temps are typically highs of 40-60, lows of 25-40. Summer temps are 60-100, lows of 50+. My data says 7500 miles (about every 6 months, twice per year, oil changes). Colder climate I'd do 5k in the winter, probably. Shorter trips in this climate I'd do 5k changes, probably. That's my personal "data" I use.

If my use case was this, I'd hit the time component. I think I'm doing 10k/6month-ish changes in our 2017 RAV4. But we are close to 20k miles a year, so it's usually 10k miles. We bought the car mid October 2016, We are coming up on 110k miles, so it's been done by mileage so far.

And that's with oilBabe having close to a year of connected learning instead of being in a school with the kiddos. A good part of 2020 didn't get the same sort of use as the other years we've owned this vehicle.

But yeah, if it took longer than a week to go through a tank of fuel, I'd probably be on the 6 month OCI.

 

[HowAboutThis]

If my use case was this, I'd hit the time component. I think I'm doing 10k/6month-ish changes in our 2017 RAV4. But we are close to 20k miles a year, so it's usually 10k miles. We bought the car mid October 2016, We are coming up on 110k miles, so it's been done by mileage so far.

And that's with oilBabe having close to a year of connected learning instead of being in a school with the kiddos. A good part of 2020 didn't get the same sort of use as the other years we've owned this vehicle.

But yeah, if it took longer than a week to go through a tank of fuel, I'd probably be on the 6 month OCI.

My point being, it depends on your climate and driving type as to how close to 10k you should get. My data is "common sense" related. 5k with my conditions is probably not enough. 10k would probably be fine but I sleep better with 7500.

 

[tolian21]

My point being, it depends on your climate and driving type as to how close to 10k you should get. My data is "common sense" related. 5k with my conditions is probably not enough. 10k would probably be fine but I sleep better with 7500.

Yes, individual conditions and engine kind will matter for OCI. The only way to know is to test your oil, but many people do no do that and need simple rule to follow that always works, hence I believe he said 5k to keep it simple.

 

[Shel_B]

Edit to add: Nothing wrong with 5K if that is what you want/must (to) do. But to say every Toyota running a 10K interval will be sludged and dead at 150K is just wrong.

Can you show us where he said that?

 

[javacontour]

My point being, it depends on your climate and driving type as to how close to 10k you should get. My data is "common sense" related. 5k with my conditions is probably not enough. 10k would probably be fine but I sleep better with 7500.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was trying to say that. There is a time, distance and how you use your vehicle. Time and distance usually takes care of that. But if you have towing or use in dusty conditions, then yes, look at a shorter OCI.

 

[Pablo]

Can you show us where he said that?

Somewhere just beyond the 2 minute mark or so. As I wrote he more than implies it.

 

[2EHA]

My point being, it depends on your climate and driving type as to how close to 10k you should get. My data is "common sense" related. 5k with my conditions is probably not enough. 10k would probably be fine but I sleep better with 7500.

you have no confidence in your oil to do its job

 

[Samuraidog]

What about Extended Performance oils such as Mobil 1 EP and Castrol Edge EP that claim to be good for 20,000 miles? Should those also be changed at 5,000 miles if vehicle is driven mainly in city, short trips, stop and go traffic, etc.?

I would say to use your best judgment. It is all personal to each individual. Some feel that it is a waste to change at 5k miles, and prefer to extend to over 10k or 15k. Others want to do it at 3k. I don't think anyone should get criticized for either approach. Just do what makes sense in your scenario.

For those criticizing the youtuber in the original post, you have to keep in mind that he is called "The Car Care Nut" for a reason. He even says that his channel is for DIYers that want to take extreme care of their vehicles. This means the viewers may want to take excessive measures to make sure their cars have clean fluid, etc. to extend the life of their cars. Nothing wrong with being overly vigilant. Bottom line is that he doesn't recommend anything over 5k miles or 6 months.

Here is yet another youtuber that works as a technician and he recommends the same.


I think the opinion of these technicians should hold extra weight, as they actually see (on a daily basis) what happens to our cars with the different maintenance intervals.

But again, do what makes sense for you! Every engine is different. Every driving scenario is different.

 

[BHopkins]

I have often wondered how the experiences of professional mechanics, who spend their life working on cars that, for the most part, are maintained by shops, compares to the condition of cars that are almost exclusively maintained by do-it-yourself people.

It seems to me that those of us that do most, if not all, of our own auto work, approach car maintenance differently than those who have never even looked under the hood of their car. Never taken off a wheel to look at how much brake pad is left.

I realize that in both groups there has to be a wide spread, from those that address every concern, make sure all P.M. service is done, and pay attention to the condition of their cars, to those that only address an issue after a total failure. But I still wonder how much value there is for a professional wrench turner to be telling the do-it-yourself guy what is the best intervals. His experience isn't based upon cars that are maintained because of a passion to take care of the car.

I put a lot more value in fellow BITOG experiences. Other people with the same passion and experiences. And not someone who tells me that TGMO should not be used in engines other than Toyota. Really?

 

[Drewby83]

I run a 20k rated oil for 10k miles in our 4runner. Mostly a kid taxi for my wife. But is the family road trip and vacation vehicle so does see some long trips here and there. Doesn't burn a drop at 130k.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Yes, individual conditions and engine kind will matter for OCI. The only way to know is to test your oil, but many people do no do that and need simple rule to follow that always works, hence I believe he said 5k to keep it simple.

I’ve tested oil, then I realized there is a lot of data out there on the engine I have access to for free.
. Some run more severe some less It’s not relevant. Most are changing oil to early.
The point is the data doesn’t support a need for every individual to test their engine oil to determine if their interval is appropriate. The data also doesn’t support changing the oil 2x as frequently unless the conditions are truly severe.
try this statement,
Many people think their driving conditions are severe. Most people are not in severe driving conditions. The typical North American driving cycle was considered in the oci recommendations and we don’t need to drive like long haul truckers to qualify for the normal OCI.
they spell it out. Short trips I believe less than 3 or 5 miles in below freezing conditions. Being a mailman with your vehicle. Sleeping in your car with the ac on, towing a rv over engineer pass. Those are severe events.
driving 8-10 miles to work or 50 is normal.

 

[tolian21]

Short trips I believe less than 3 or 5 miles in below freezing conditions

I know plenty of people that mostly drive 3-5 miles per trip, stay home moms driving their kids around or people working couple miles away from home. As they say, oil is cheap, engines are not, some prefer to take extra precaution by changing oil earlier. The only downside is the cost of oil, which for many DIY is not an issue.

 

[2EHA]

I think the opinion of these technicians should hold extra weight, as they actually see (on a daily basis) what happens to our cars with the different maintenance intervals.

many technicians are dumber than a box of rocks, and so are the customers that bring their vehicles in

signed,

a technician

 

[HowAboutThis]

you have no confidence in your oil to do its job

I do have confidence, but I don't want to pay $15 for a UOA when synthetic and a filter are $25. Maintenance booklet says 10k or 5k severe. I do a few short trips to get groceries and such each week. Thus, split the difference. I'm sure I could go 10k. But a change every 6-7 months vs 8-9 months is fairly minimal