My brand new (2600 miles) 2020 300 NX is prompting me to get serviced in 7400 miles. Should a new car be brought in @ 5,000 miles? What routine interval is appropriate? Thanks guys!

 

Factory maintenance schedule in PDF format for 2020 NX300 can be downloaded or viewed here:

https://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/d...MS-20NX300.pdf
Maintenance schedule begins on Page 48.
A printed copy should have been provided at vehicle delivery by your Dealer.
First 2 scheduled lists of services (at 5000 and 10000 miles) are included in the price of the vehicle.

 

This is another "open a can of worms" post!!!! LOL The longer you own a Lexus, the more confusing it gets! The dealer says one thing, the manual says another, the oil manufacturers say another, and everybody that owns one has differing views!! lol I'm an old timer who has been driving longer than most of the posters on the internet have been alive!!
FWIW, IMHO, I believe that the new synthetic oil should be changed according to how dirty it is. My nx has about 3500 miles on the odometer. I have been to the dealer for my first "free" maintenance at six months. Be damned if i could tell you if they did ANYTHING to the car!!! I suppose they "checked" everything they said they would, but it sure seemed to be a a waste of time! BUT, they did use one of the FREE services that I'm entitled to!! ha!
I will say, however, that the oil has looked very clean (clean enough to make it hard to read the stick), until recently (at about 3000 miles). The oil has a definite "color" to it, not really dirty, but not really clean either. Seems to, me it's getting near time for an oil change.So, I would guess every 5000 mile would be about the time frame to consider an oil change.
I'll have the car one year in early September, so i'll make the trip to the dealer to get my "freebie" regardless of the mileage. From there on out, I'll decide when, and where I change the oil, I don't think I will be happy going more than 4-5 thousand miles between oil changes considering how dirty the oil gets in that time frame.
Of course, I don't drive anywhere near the miles in a year as most of you other guys do, so you may have a very different time frame. I do know, if the oil is dirty, it's time for a a change, regardless of how many miles you've driven, or how long it's been, since the last oil change.
My motto is "Oil Change Cheap, New Engine Expensive" !!!!!

 

agree. i go every 5k miles or once a year for an oil change for all my cars. The actual oil may not "need" to be changed every year depending on the miles but all the other things make it worthwhile. (a trip to the dealership to check out the latest models , free car wash, general visual inspection of things under the car in the hood, top of all other fluids .. coolant, washer fluids, check wiper blades, relax with some free coffee/treats, check out any hot babes at the dealership if any etc)

 

My local dealer follows the Lexus factory maintenance schedule.

Every 5k is essentially a tire rotation and fluid level check.

Oil change is full synthetic every 10k.

Our Toyota Highlander was similar. Full synthetic every 10k. We never had any engine issues with it.

I’ve been using full synthetic for years on several different vehicles and have never had an engine problem. I usually change my oil between 7 and 10k miles.

 

One of the reasons I asked was because I noticed the free 5,000 mile visit didn’t include an oil change so I was thinking I might skip it (dealer is about 200 miles from where I am).

 

Change oil at 10k or one year, whichever comes first.

 

You cannot tell if oil is "dirty" by looking at it. Just because oil looks dark, it does not mean it is dirty. In turbo engines oil darkens quickly due to contact with very hot parts of turbocharger, when cooling it. That is why synthetic oil is better for turbo, as it resists temperature breakdown better then dino oil. Also, all additives critical to oil life are still in oil even if it is darker and oil lubricity will still be good.

 

If you don't have any problems with the car and able to top off fluids and rotate tires by yourself, then you can skip the 5000 maintenance. It is just a bunch of check this and check that, you just need to reset the maintenance reminder.

 

How do you go about resetting the maintenance reminder?

 

Instructions are on Page 326 and 327 of your Owners Manual.
If you do not have a copy, download it here: https://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/d...f/OM78389U.pdf
This video might be helpful as well:

 

Thank you.

 

Quick question, I couldnt figure out what size wrench is needed for the oil change on a 2020, is it 64mm or 64.5mm? It should be the same as 2018 and 2019

 

It’s 64 mm https://www.toolsid.com/cta/14-flute...-mpn-2475.html

 

Unless you are getting used oil analyses there is zero way to quantify oil "dirtiness", "serviceability" or the need to change oil by looking at the oil or feeling the oil. Oil color, or how dark it is, says NOTHING about the condition of the oil. Oils made from different base oils will turn darker quicker and some of the best oils designed for long intervals with the highest quality base oils turn darker quicker - like within a few thousand miles even when they are designed to go 10K miles. Again, this says nothing about the condition of the oil. Finally, while oil changes are cheap and engines are expensive I have NEVER EVER heard of a single case of an oil-related engine failure while following the manufacture's OCI. Sure, if there is no oil in the engine or you try and run a 50K mile OCI on conventional oil but short of that it's just a waste of time and effort.