Raleigh

I decided to get my oil changed at a GMC dealer instead of the lexus dealership for a quarter of the price. However the GM guy used regular 5W30 not synthetic oil and told me I had to come back after 3000 miles instead of the regular 5000 miles. Does it matter if regular 5W30 or synthetic?

Veny

5000 miles is with regular oil, full synthetic can last longer than 5k miles. Delars wants you to come back faster to book more service revenue!

hypervish

Welcome to Club Lexus!

I'd change out the dino oil now, and put some synthetic in there. It won't cause any problems, but synthetic has so many more benefits. Plus, you don't know what type of other damage the GMC dealer could have caused. I would not ever go to a GMC dealer or any dealer for that matter.

Take it to Independent shop next time. You don't have to change back to synethic right now, but I would suggest you do so. It won't cause any problems, but it'll help you sleep better at night knowing your car has the oil it needs.

jagtoes

No big deal there are no benefits to using syn vs. Dino as long as it meets the mfg's specifications. Most Lexus dealers use Dino oil and they use the OM recommendation of 10K between oil changes. If you change oils at 5K miles then Dino is as good as syn but half the cost. If you wait until 10K miles then I would recommend syn. I just turned 10K miles on my 2010 and changed the oil with Dino. The old oil was almost as clean as the new oil.

buttons

Haven't changed oil yet on the ES (have never paid for an oil change in my life and I am 74); anyway, this post is having me rethink syn. Normally I change oil and filter every 3000 miles ( have a lift so it is a park walk); BUT if I use Syn. and change every 5000 miles then it is almost the same cost as I am doing now !!!! Never used synthetic in my life except Redline in the transmission of the AH 3000. Tks for getting my thought process in gear~~ think benefit is not specs but longevity

jagtoes

The new dino oils are good enough for 5000 miles so pick your poison. What type of lift do you have. I have a eagle 4 poster that I've been using for the last 10 years. Makes a lot of work easy. Enjoy.

MadMax96

3000 mile intervals for oil changes is like flushing money in the toilet. Unless you're doing some extreme stuff with your car (racing, towing, etc..) I wouldn't bother changing it that often.

The 5k oil change interval from Lexus is regular dino oil. If it was synthetic, the price would be MUCH higher.

I'd be fine with the oil the GMC dealer put in and wouldn't hesistate to wait until 5k for a change. I'm surprised they had a filter for your car though.

Like mentioned, the 3k interval is just a way for them to make more money off of you.

You guys with the lifts make me jealous - nice to see some real gear heads in this forum.

LexBob2

Well said.

The 3.5 V6 engine in the ES is a workhorse throughout the Toyota/Lexus line. It's used in something like 6 Toyota models and 2 Lexus, there are hundreds of thousands of them on the road. They run fine on either dino or synthetic oil, your choice. At a minimum just follow the manufacturers interval recommedations.

jagtoes

Dual purpose use.

ksiq

Called the Lexus service dept in the Seattle area and asked how often the oil needed to be changed under normal driving (5000 miles driven about every 3 months - freeway / city about 50/50). I recently switched to a full syn. He said 10K with a synthetic. I told him that I was somewhat "old school" and that 10K was hard for me to wrap my head around. His reply was that he hears that concern often but 10K is what the Lexus engineers recommend with a synthetic.
Opinions?.....
Also would it do any good just to change the filter at 5000 (with a top off) and the oil and another filter at 10?

jagtoes

If you are old school then you know that the biggest contribution to oil changes are oil contamination and oil breakdown. Dino oil (5W-30) uses a base oil viscosity of 5 and then is fortified with ingredients that all the viscosity to be enhanced to 30 as the motor warms up. These ingredients brake down with the heat cycle which lowers the viscosity. Syn oil is not affected the same way so the need to change it as often is not required.Most syns can go to 15,000 miles but it is recommended to go to 10,00 as a good change point due to the mix of local and highway driving. As an old schooler myself I use Dino oil at 5K changes , mostly for cost. Pick your own poison.

jagtoes

FYI I oversimplified the viscosity issue by using the 5W-30 label. These numbers are not the true viscosity numbers of the fluid but give you an idea of how the thickness (viscosity) changes with heat. Optimum viscosity for these oils is around 212*F which is considered normal engine running temperatures. If you want to get technical there are thousands of articles on this on the web.

Macklin

Very interesting thread...and that is one sweet setup jagtoes!

What is that hovering over your ES?

jagtoes

I needed something to take to the golf course. LOL

By the way I use 20W-50 Dino oil in that one.

SteadyEddy

iTrader: (1)

I had always used synthetics in the ES since new. Like many other owners of 07 ESs I had that annoying ticking when you started it up and was there until it warmed up. I forget what they have said here exactly what was the cause. Anyway for the 60k oil change I sat there waiting and thought what the hell, I'll go with the synthetic blend and save a couple of shekels. Well I guess it's either going to blow any minute or it fixed it's self, cause I have noticed that the ticking is gone. Has anyone else noticed this if you switched from synthetic to either a blend or regular oil? I was just wondering. I for one am happy that I did the switch.