I Finally Let My 18 Camry Run To 7000 Miles OCI , Yucch

[Dennywires]

I have done Oil changes at around 5000 even back when people were still doing them at 3. This is one of those times when I just didn’t notice The paint marker writing I leave on the door jam showing when it was last changed. My car doesn’t do anything exciting and so only a four banger it runs mostly on the highway. It has under 30,000 miles. It doesn’t live in a dusty sort of environment either. Boy when I pull that drain all I could say was instead of the soupy water thin oil everything uses today coming out it was just pure coal black nasty. I’ve seen nastier but not out of anything that I owned and took care of. Mobile one in there to boot So there’s no blaming it on cheap crappy oil. Needless to say I won’t be doing that again. I certainly would not be making a habit of stretching them out for 7500 like I seem to be wanting everyone to do today, no **** way.

Does that camry have port and direct fuel injection?
What does Toyota recommend for one's?

My scion ia had direct injection.. oil came out blackened and Slightly thin in appearance and feel but then again it ran 0w20 I just would run 6 month oci's

 

[haggler]

Big whoop, the factory OCI is 10k with your usage. Use an EP oil and call it a day.

 

[levi]

Overkill please explain it correctly
..please......

Mobile 1 is for highway use only.

Mobil 1 is for vehicles that sit in the garage. It is a storage oil only.

This may be the issue here???

Finally. Someone who knows what they're talking about.

 

[OVERKILL]

Or check your air filtration.

Yes, always good to check too.

 

[levi]

If you do your own oil changes, the cost of an oil analysis will probably be more than just changing the oil at 5K.

Make the environmentalists cringe and just change it at 5K.

Wife's 06 Solara OLM consistently comes up around 4500 miles. My 07 Silverado OLM lights up around 6000 miles.


Guess what?.. Each gets changed at 5k. And I don't care.

Flame suit on.

 

[TmanP]

I use 10k miles OCI on my Camry. The oil comes out looking like...oil. A little darker amber than the new oil.

Same here on the 10k runs, which ends up being every ~6 months for me. The M1 EP I use doesn't look much darker on the dipstick at 10k than you might expect at 4k. Maybe the color of pancake syrup? Nothing approaching black (not even really dark brown).

 

[mrjlube]

In my reading of this lovely forum, it seems one of the few things we all agree on is that absent actual particulate matter in the used oil, if it flows, one cannot tell much about the oils remaining life from color alone, and a used oil analysis is the only real way to be sure if one waited too long to change it... would you all agree with the above statement?

Totally agree

 

[Hall]

one cannot tell much about the oils remaining life from color alone

Straight from Mobil 1 describing color change with (3) different lubricants of theirs:

What does it mean when my lubricant changes color?

...there may be a color change but it does not affect the lubricant performance.

...when activated, can change the lubricant color from clear to red or purple. This is normal behavior for the product and does not adversely affect the performance of the lubricant or equipment.

ExxonMobil engineers have found in numerous cases that an oil can change color and yet have no impact on its performance. However, to make sure there is not a problem with the lubricant, you can contact a Mobil™ distributor to send an oil sample to our Mobil Serv℠ Lubricant Analysis laboratory. The oil report will indicate if the lubricant is operating within normal parameters, based on color and performance testing.

 

[DGXR]

4-cylinder Camry, under 30k odometer miles, mild operating conditions and sees mostly highway miles... oil comes out super dark at 7k miles OCI? Yes I know oil color does not indicate reduced performance/protection or need for service, but given the information the oil should not be super dark. So I must be missing something here... I'm guessing either it was a very long time to accrue these 7k miles, or the M1 oil is cleaning out some varnish or other stuff that was already in there. Any other factors like extended idling, heavy throttle driving, etc? I see you are in northern NY so maybe the car spends more time in open loop before it fully warms up?

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

I have done Oil changes at around 5000 even back when people were still doing them at 3. This is one of those times when I just didn’t notice The paint marker writing I leave on the door jam showing when it was last changed. My car doesn’t do anything exciting and so only a four banger it runs mostly on the highway. It has under 30,000 miles. It doesn’t live in a dusty sort of environment either. Boy when I pull that drain all I could say was instead of the soupy water thin oil everything uses today coming out it was just pure coal black nasty. I’ve seen nastier but not out of anything that I owned and took care of. Mobile one in there to boot So there’s no blaming it on cheap crappy oil. Needless to say I won’t be doing that again. I certainly would not be making a habit of stretching them out for 7500 like I seem to be wanting everyone to do today, no **** way.

I feel your pain. I have only done about 3-4 7.5K mile OCI's on my F150. I usually do 3K-5K mile OCI's.
I would probably lose sleep if I had to go past 7.5K miles.

 

[Driz]

Well PARDON ME . I’m so sorry I came to the church of Extended Oil Change and committed blasphemy. Hey, keep doing whatever you do and be assured of one thing, I don’t care a bit. Have at it .

 

[danez_yoda]

Well PARDON ME . I’m so sorry I came to the church of Extended Oil Change and committed blasphemy. Hey, keep doing whatever you do and be assured of one thing, I don’t care a bit. Have at it .

No offense intended Driz. More curiosity since I agree with the other folks, it is unusual for a synthetic oil to be that dark and nasty at 7500 miles. Mostly curiosity thats all? Almost to the point that there may be something to check on in your engine (parts rubbing, belt wear, etc).

A few thoughts come to mind.

1) was it Mobil 1 or Mobil super? They are not the same. As backwards as it sounds "Super" is the inferior product and would not hold up as well.
2) this is the first OCI with Mobil 1 after running conventional for the previous OCIs. Synthetic is cleaning out the deposits from the conventional.
3) any unusual driving habits for this OCI that would cause high heat or engine strain (stop and go, long waits in traffic, weeks of short trips only.
4) how did the oil filter look? Was it a cartridge or can filter. if cartridge was it full of sludge chunks?

 

[Hall]

Well PARDON ME . I’m so sorry I came to the church of Extended Oil Change and committed blasphemy. Hey, keep doing whatever you do and be assured of one thing, I don’t care a bit. Have at it .

You posted on a public forum.... What did you expect, everyone to agree with you ? If that's what you wanted, it would be better to write your "post" on a piece of paper and carry in your pocket so only you could read it !

 

[mahanddeem]

It's your car and your money. Do whatever makes you comfortable.

 

[Oliveoil2]

Get a UOA done of your oil with 5-7k miles on it and see what it shows. You have a DI engine so you probably have some fuel dilution happening. I’m a long OCI guy but I wouldn’t push past 5k on a newer DI engine. Run $15 ST or Kirkland synthetic oil and let a Fram Ultra run 20k (4x 5k oci)

 

[manicrodder]

It's that confounded counterfeit Mobile one, if you had used Mobil 1, there'd be no problem

Seriously though, oil colour doesn't mean much of anything. If you are concerned about what drained from the pan, have it analyzed with TBN/TAN.

Probably it. A guy on the LX forum used Moby 1. Must be from white synthetic whales.

 

[manicrodder]

Anyone beside me notice one heck of a lot of "D" avatars on this thread?

 

[EA82]

I change the oil once a year (usually around Thanksgiving) in the camry, have been averaging from 6k to 10k miles, did a UOA about 4 years ago just for chits and giggles. Various synthetics and grades.

 

[CleanSump]

Doesn't matter what brand I use nor how long or short an OCI, my current and previous three cars turned the oil black in no time at all. Diesel on boys, Diesel on.