2020 oil changes: every 10,000 miles?

Don't forget that the ICE only runs, maybe 70-75% of the time. And it's not stressed - ever. Nor does it idle for long periods.

 

There are a lot of members here who wouldn't be comfortable going that long between oil changes, even under the most ideal conditions. I am one of them. Penny wise and pound foolish, I would say.

 

Partly to increase sales?

I’d purely speculate oil at 5k has dropped 10% in efficacy, and another 15% by 10k. Those numbers are probably way off, but I think it’s a safe bet that 10k oil isn’t as effective as 5k oil. Personally I would stick with 5k or 6 months, whichever comes first.

 

Oils have improved, as have engines in the past decades. I well remember 1949, Dad's car needed checking oil level DAILY.



And - the head would be off every 40,000 miles for a de-coke, and the engine would need a full rebuild reasonably frequently.

Your PRIUS, the engine will likely last the useful life of the car with the servicing which TOYOTA recommends. Afterall, they have a research department which spends $billions a year - they have a better idea of what is best - balanced with wastage. Old oil is an environmental contaminant - changing it too soon is a waste.

I saw some test results of oil analysis on a fleet HiLux (TACOMA?) at the recommended TOYOTA oil-change period. They showed that the oil was still great for almost double the recommended length.

 

5k vs 10k oil changes is almost 100 extra quarts and at least $800 over 200,000 miles. Not the most frugal or environmentally friendly option in my opinion. Why waste oil with an environmentally friendly car?

 

BMW are going 25,000km.

At 10,000 miles (16,000km) the engine will likely last the useful life of the car. Don't ask us amateurs - when TOYOTA spend billions in research. They know.

 

Not necessarily wasted.

Is Motor Oil a Renewable Resource? Re-refiners Say Yes

With proper incentives, it will be reused in automobile engines, as opposed to being used in paving projects.

 

The question is, how many gen 4 owners change their oil every 5k miles vs 10k miles?

I'm 148k miles into my 2017, and I've changed the oil every 10,000 miles. No issues at all. Even my last car (2011 VW) was every 10,000 miles. I think it is way more common these days.

 

You taken a peek at the egr circuit yet ?

I'd be curious what the egr cooler looks like after 150k miles.

 

Or looked under the valve cover?

I change mine about every 7,500 miles or nine months. Both the '17 trim 2 and the '17 Prime.

 

Meh, with synthetic oil, there shouldn't be much to see there.

But the egr circuit and the Gen4 redesign on the egr cooler inlet location, there might be something there.

Looking for some data, otherwise it'll be 4 more years on my account .

 

Shouldn't be and can't be are really different. Engine design makes a big difference. Sludge destroyed my son's Intrepid's engine in spite of using synthetic oil. The heads on the north-south V-6 were the same. So the oil return for the cam shafts on the passenger side was at the bottom of the slope while the one on the driver side was at the top of the slope. When we removed the valve covers there was a pile of oily glop on the driver side head.

 

Why is that long? I don't get it. Regular ICE cars have had longer intervals more than 10 years ago. Toyota has had 15000km (9375 miles) intervals for ages in Europe.
When looking at the rest of the market Toyota has very short intervals because most are 20000 or 30000km (12500 to 18750 miles) or even variable intervals up to 50000km (31250 miles).

 

Our son’s got a 2018 Mazda CX-5. North American owner’s manual says 8k kms (5000 miles) or 6 months for the oil and filter.

Ultimately, it’s your car. Sure you can stretch it. Me, I’ll stay with the shorter end, and buy new.

 

The definitive way to answer this is to send a used oil sample to Blackstone Labs. They will report back with levels of metals in the oil sample, which tells you if your internal engine components are wearing too much. Additionally, they tell you how much of the detergents and additives are left in the oil, telling you how much more "life" is left in the oil. All you want out of your oil is good lubrication and cleaning performance. Changing too soon is a waste of your time and money and is bad for the environment.

 

This is excerpt from Canadian 2014 Prius Owner's Manual Supplement:



In inimitable Canadian fashion, while the graph format is a welcome relief, the first two rows are a little confusing, but basically it's one service or the other, and each entail and oil/filter change. So Toyota Canada is saying change the oil/filter every 6 months or 8000 kms, whichever comes first. Cross the 49th parallel Toyota USA says every 12 months or 10,000 miles. Not exactly singing from the same hymn book?

For 4th gen, Toyota Canada is in lock-step with the US. But again: it's up to the owner. You can argue environmental impact, cost, oil analysis. Or just say screw it, play it safe. Personally, DIY'ing my oil/filter changes costs me about $25 CDN per. I use bulk Toyota 0W20 (no used oil bottles in recycle stream), and all waste oil (and the filter) is recycled at a nearby facility; I actually walk it down there, lol.

Full booklet attached. Note: for all 3rd gen years Toyota Canada says the same interval. I just like the 2014 year 'cus it was one time they used a semi-legible graph format. Schedule begins on (pdf) page 27:

 

I would be especially reluctant to go with a 10k mile Oil Change Interval if the car spends any time in cold weather. In my opinion, even winter weather in the Pacific Northwest would qualify as cold, never mind the rest of Canada and the northern US states. The old rule was change oil every 3 months in the winter, every 6 months in the summer. The winter OCI was shorter because of sludge build-up, I believe. Ok, so motor oils and engines have improved since the old days. Have they really improved so much that there is no longer any sludge building up in engines and the OCI can be the same under any conditions? Especially if the car does a lot of local driving and never gets properly warmed up, I cannot believe that would be the case.