chrisgo17

I am trying to decide how long to go between Oil Changes on my new IS 250 with Mobil 1 Synthetic. Previous car (01' Avalon) was 7,500 miles with OEM or K&N Oil Filter. Car has 98,000 miles and still do not have to add Oil between Oil Changes. Do I need to call the Dealer and make sure that it does not affect the warranty?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Officially your car requires oil changes every 5000 miles.

So if a warranty issue arises you will need to prove you did that. By, for example, providing receipts dated every 6 months showing your purchased the cheapest possible oil in the correct weight and a filter, then did the work yourself.

Now, if you have that, but you're -really- using a more sensible change internal like 10k or 12.5k with mobl 1, they're unlikely to know the difference.


UOAs I've seen on these cars so far suggest 7.5-10k on normal oil is fine, so any synthetic should be good for at least 10-12.5 and probably more like 15-20 or more but you'd want to do your own UOA to verify this

chrisgo17

Here in Florida I would never go 5000 miles with even quality multi-grade motor Oil due to the humidity here. I would fear moisture or sudsing. 7500 miles might be a little overkill with Synthetic but I believe it will payoff in the long run. Thank you for the advise to keep receipts on the Oil and Oil Filter, that is a good idea. I just feel better changing my own Oil.

Koz

The recommended OCI is 7500 miles, 5000 for severe driving environments (that's using petrolium based oil). You do not have to prove you changed your oil, the manufacture has to prove your neglect caused the failure. When was the last time you heard of an oil related engine failure. It does not happen! Toyota engines are gentle on oil. Using a high quality synthetic you can safely use a 1 year/12K OCI.

Koz

tcho82

iTrader: (1)

I'm planning on 10k intervals. Just switched over to mobil 1.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

10K should have no problem......

chrisgo17

I have always taken into consideration the length of time using Synthetic Oil. My wife's car, the IS 250 would be at around 6 months. My Truck, I change at 5000 miles at around 9 months. I also have a 72' 911S coupe that I change at 1 year with mileage less than 3000, but change at 1 year no matter if less. Might be overkill but Oil is cheap when holding on to a vehicle long term.

DrGP

Your car is still under warranty with 98K miles? Most syntheic oils can easily go 7500k between changes in normal driving. stop and go driving is not considerd normal though. Oil is relatively cheap. I would go 5k and be safe. 7.5k if you want. Above that you MAY encounter sludge problems.

CRB

The additives get used up, the oil is actually good for quite a long time. Every 6 months or six thousand is over kill but the way I generally try to do it and I keep that schedule irrespective of what is in the sump.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Stop wasting time speculating about what you can or can't do. Read this thread. If you're still having trouble figuring out how long you can safely run Mobil 1, you can always continue wasting your money on frequent and unnecessary oil changes.

CRB

Loved the thread and this post stuck out...

"An oil and filter is the cheapest insurance you can buy for a car."

And as someone who has lived through the hell of oil gelling issues with a 3.0 L V6 Sienna that did get the six month/6,000 mile changes (albeit, not with synthetic) I've decided to stick with that time/distance and use synthetic.

DaWhole9

10-15k miles on full synthetic is completely reasonable. My Range Rover and Carrera all get full synthetic at FACTORY recommended 15k mile intervals....if its good enough for those engines, then 10-15k on full synthetic should be fine with the Lexus.

IS35O

How often do you change filters on the Carrera and RR?

RA030724

iTrader: (1)

Just out of curiousity, what is the factory fill? I have heard it is a synthetic. I do know Toyota sells a synthetic oil bottled under the Toyota name.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

The factory OCI is 5000, not 7500, under all driving conditions.

Check your owners manual if you won't take my word for it.

Or you can go here-
http://www.lexus.com/models/IS/servi...intenance.html

and download the PDF for scheduled service on the 2IS.

Engine related oil failures? Thousands of them in Lexus and Toyota vehicles a few years back actually... and guess what Toyotas first reaction was? Prove you changed your oil as scheduled or you're SOL.

Now, eventually there were so many complaints they were forced to be a bit more reasonable on that (while still insisting it was failure to do regular oil changes that caused the issue) but you were in a lot better shape if you had your records at the start with that.

You can read up on that here:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ettlement.html

Note the parts where people were denied warranty because they didn't keep records of oil changes.

While it's a relatively isolated example in Toyota/Lexus otherwise generally great reliability history, it's significant enough that it's worth keeping records on hand.


All that said- again, I recommend having "records" that show you probably changed your oil every 5k. Even if you really used a much smarter and more realistic longer OCI with a good synthetic.