Does anyone know why Toyota recommends changing the engine oil every six months regardless of how many kilometres (Miles) have been driven? The instruction manual specifies 8,000 km or 6 months whichever comes first. I plan to fly south for the winter and leave my TCH in the garage. It would seem unnecessary to change the oil even if the car hasn't been driven.

Do Toyota recommend this schedule for all their cars are just the TCH? I have never previously owned a car that did not base oil changes on just the miles driven and the type of driving.

I cannot get a definitive answer from Toyota, when I called their help line I was told they cannot answer "technical" questions and to discuss it with the Toyota service manager. He tells me he only knows what the service manual says!

Does oil changing effect vehicle warranty?

Would really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

 

I'm not so sure this is any different than any other car, in regards to time or mileage. I have owned many different makes, and to my recollection, all have stated time and mileage requirements for oil changes. The extra oil change seems like cheap security, however, as I have heard the oil breaks down with time as well as mileage. However, if the car is not even driven, I dunno...perhaps other owners here can commment, and we can get a concensis?

 

Water condensation and resultant acidification of the oil is a concern in this case.

As the poster suggested, it's cheap insurance.

 

Thanks for your input.

There are quite a few cars now that "tell" you when to change the oil based on the type of driving as well as miles driven. The last car I owned a GM Pontiac Bonneville displayed the percentage of oil life remaining, it kept track of engine revolutions and engine temperature. If the car was driven for short distances (cold engine and often in a lower gear) the change oil warning message would come up much sooner than if it was mostly highway driven. I think the operating manual said recommended change interval could range anywhere from five to 15,000 km. For my mixed type of driving it usually was around 10,000 km.

This in my opinion is a lot more environmentally friendly which I thought was what the TCH is all about!

 

I have a ski boat, and there is no way I actually wear out the oil. What does happen is the oil accumulates water and unburnt fuel in it. Fresh oil has something called a TBN (total base number) which is the basidity of the oil (opposite of accidic). When the engien runs there is some blow by and burnt/unburnt fuel that goes into the oil. This is acidic and the oil fights this with the base. As soon as the TBN is too low, then the oil can not defend againts the acidity and it starts eating the metal.

So long story short, store the car with fresh oil, and the time frame does not matter. Drive bit and get some acididity to the oil, and it needs to be changed.

I change the oil in my boat once a year, just before winter storage.

For more info on oil go to:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

I have a sample of virgin 0w20 toyota oil I am sending in for testing as well as my oil after 4500+ miles so I can see how long I can safely go between oil changes. I expect between 10,000 and 15,000 but plan to change it every 10,000 after I roll 36,000 miles.

 

Interesting stuff, please update us when you get the results from Blackstone along with the type of driving.

Thanks