No Oil Change in 25k miles

PolyCule

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Jan 25, 2025
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Hello BITOG members, long time reader first time posting. My friend who did not get her license until her mid 20’s/just informed me that she hasn’t changed the oil in close to 3 years, but that she has topped it off several times. According to the sticker on her window it has been 25k+ miles since it was last changed. To make matters worse, much of her driving is short 1-3 mile trips that don’t reach operating temperature.

2018 Toyota Corolla 1.8L, OEM specs 0w20 GF-5 oil. Only 65,000 on the odometer!

I am going to do an oil change on it soon using M1 EP 0w20. I will keep an oil sample of the old stuff to send to blackstone just for fun as well as cut open and examine the oil filter and post results. Besides just fresh oil, I feel a need to do some sort of cleaning after that amount of neglect, but don’t want to knock any deposits loose and clog up oil passages/screens. Im also not going to be able to constantly monitor her vehicle. My question is, how should I now proceed to remove the contamination left behind?

A.) Some solvent flush (LM engine flush or other?) added to old oil and drain. Refill with new M1 EP oil and run a shortened 3k OCI

B.) no solvent flush, drain and fill with 1/5 oil cleaning additive like HPL EC30/MMO/SeaFoam/Auto-RX or others and use something like T6 Multi-vehicle 5w30 (as the additive will likely dilute the viscosity closer to 0w20) and 3k OCI.

C.) Drain old oil, fill the whole thing to the top with diesel fuel (or something else?) let it sit a day and drain. Refill with cheap rinse oil and filter - run for 30 minutes - drain. Fill with M1 EP 0w20 and run 3k OCI.

D.) No special flushes or additives, Fill with M1 EP 0w20 and run 3k OCI.

E.) Some combination of treatments listed (or not listed) above.

I haven’t evaluated the engine yet to see how much sludge exists, I will do my best to document and update this post. I wouldn’t worry about doing any of these options on my older Toyota 2UZ-FE engine, but I am a little cautious on this newer 0w20 vehicle that has been running the same oil for almost half its life. Thanks for your insight, hoping for someone with experience in a similar vehicle
 
At least she was smart to add oil when needed. That probably saved her from more damage if any was done. I’d go 3000 miles and change it again, 3000 miles again. Keep the interval to 5K after that.
 
Well she’s driving on 25k old oil, the sludge is on her. But if I “fix” it for her and plug something up causing expensive repairs, I would still feel partly responsible and could see how she might also blame me.

Seems like a low risk simple solution, similar to the Valvoline Restore/protect
I thought those engines had sludge issues whether you changed the oil or not?
 
She added oil and kept it full assuming it's not a sludge prone engine, it's probably not as bad as you think. Look down into the filter hole and see what it looks like. I still can't believe she kept it topped up. Better hang onto this girl 😂
 
I'm interested in what the UOA says. 0W20 oil has to pass minimum standards. The main difference in oil brands is their advertising budget. Change the oil, filter and carry on
 
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