Use High Mileage Oil Because of Vehicle Age vs Mileage

[kc27]

I will be maintaining a 2006 Toyota Avalon with the 3.5L 268HP DOHC 24V w/ Dual VVT-i engine. The car has 47,000 miles on it. Do I go with a high mileage oil now, because the vehicle is 12 years old vs waiting until the mileage reaches the 75,000 mile threshold indicated for high mileage oil use?

Thanks for any insight on this.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Well to tell the truth the reason I went to HM oil at just a little over 60K was it was on sale cheaper than the rest at that time. My car has gone over another 60K with occasional use and guess what it has spontaneously combusted or started leaking when I stopped using it on my next OCI.

 

[diyjake]

I would just use non high mileage oil. I've never used high mileage oil in my vehicles and most of them I run up to 200k miles.

 

[tig1]

Use HM oil only if there is a visible need. My 2007 Fusion has 231K and I still use standard 0-20.

 

[Blueskies123]

I have a 2011 Avalon with 140,000 miles. I run regular synthetic and use a 10,000-mile OCI as I do a lot of highway driving on cruise control. Even at 10,000, the oil level does not drop a detectable amount. No reason to change to high mileage.

 

[csandste]

According to Valvoline HM oils may be used at any time. In most quick oil change places around here, MaxLife is the only semi-syn oil available and I'm using it from my first oil change. Use it if you want and if the price point is good, don't if you don't. If I could change my own oil I'd probably be getting an inexpensive full synthetic.

 

[LeakySeals]

Neither. 75k was a sales pitch to sell high mileage oil. Use it if you start leaking on the garage floor. Until then, use a quality syn.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
Neither. 75k was a sales pitch to sell high mileage oil. Use it if you start leaking on the garage floor. Until then, use a quality syn.


This. It is the perfect ad campaign for the oil companies.

 

[Artem]

I think the 75K mile starting point is silly. My 2014 Mazda 3 is creeping up to that mileage and in no way would I consider that engine as having "high mileage". It looks and runs like it did with 3 miles on the clock.

Since the only major difference with HM oil vs regular oils is the addition of seal conditioners to help bloat the seals to stop leaks, it makes more sense to use vehicle age as an indicator vs actual mileage. After 10 years of heat cycling, I'd say that most seals will probably start getting hard and leaks are inevitable soon, even if its a garage queen with 500 miles on it.

You COULD run some HM oil thru the engine every so often to maybe help with the seals but i don't the engine straight up needs a steady diet on HM oil or else she'll blow. Seals will leak eventually anyway, one can only try to postpone it.

Just my

 

[1JZ_E46]

For cars that are prone to leaks, I would start them on a diet of HM oil young. Easier to keep seals pliable than to try and undo the hardening.

 

[dave1251]

Go ahead any use it. It wont hurt anything and it is not any more expensive in most cases than conventional.

 

[wdn]

My 2004 Tundra with > 150,000 miles, gets regular Mobil 1 and a Wix filter (same as the oversized Toyota TRD filter for that engine, also made by Wix). It does not burn a drop of oil between oil changes and nothing is leaking, so no need for a high mileage oil that I can see.

 

[csandste]

Bloat the seals is the wrong analogy. Condition is the term they use, like hand lotion--- Valvoline states that it can be used at any mileage. I use it because of quick lube price points. If my condo allowed me to change my own oil I'd be buying Super Tech synthetic or something similar. As to the original question-- doubt if it makes much difference either way.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Well to tell the truth the reason I went to HM oil at just a little over 60K was it was on sale cheaper than the rest at that time. My car has gone over another 60K with occasional use and guess what it has spontaneously combusted or started leaking when I stopped using it on my next OCI.


On your corolla? If it started to leak oil, rapidly, it was probably from the timing chain tensioner o-ring and that seal will leak regardless of what oil is used.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Well to tell the truth the reason I went to HM oil at just a little over 60K was it was on sale cheaper than the rest at that time. My car has gone over another 60K with occasional use and guess what it has spontaneously combusted or started leaking when I stopped using it on my next OCI.


On your corolla? If it started to leak oil, rapidly, it was probably from the timing chain tensioner o-ring and that seal will leak regardless of what oil is used.


Its never leaked not before or after I used HM oil. But some people on here have the false belief the you engine will explode and burn if you use HM oil. I used it for one reason it was on Rollback and cheaper than the other stuff in the store. Its still not leaking after 40K more miles contrary to some common beliefs. Go figure.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted by 1JZ_E46
For cars that are prone to leaks, I would start them on a diet of HM oil young. Easier to keep seals pliable than to try and undo the hardening.


Its a valid point. But I can't erase Stuart Goss describing valve seals being prematurely worn down by HM seal swellers..

 

[1JZ_E46]

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
Originally Posted by 1JZ_E46
For cars that are prone to leaks, I would start them on a diet of HM oil young. Easier to keep seals pliable than to try and undo the hardening.


Its a valid point. But I can't erase Stuart Goss describing valve seals being prematurely worn down by HM seal swellers..


It's an interesting theory, but my understanding is that valve stem seals issues are due to the material hardening rather than wearing out.

 

[gotnogunk]

If the only difference is to keep the seals pliable then why not use it at mile one rather than when the seals start to lea?.

 

[kc27]

The engine is currently leak-free. I just changed the oil recently, and that is what got me considering the fact that an oil with seal conditioners might be just as useful in a 12 year old low mileage engine as a minimal form of preventive maintenance as it would in a high mileage vehicle. And can 75,000 miles even really be considered high mileage any more?

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by gotnogunk
If the only difference is to keep the seals pliable then why not use it at mile one rather than when the seals start to lea?.

Some have recommended that, and it's certainly feasible with an SN/GF-5 lubricant.