SC430GA

I search all forums and did not come to a definite opinion.
I have a car for 6,5 months and made 3,5K driving it daily – my office just 4 miles out.
Should I change my oil, or can I wait till 5K, what is another 2 months?
There are probably a lot of you using it just as weekend car, what are you doing?
Any opinion appreciated.

Max707

Your fine going to 5K miles, but I would change it at around 4K miles, but I'm kind of a maintance nut.

JCtx

With just 4 miles per trip, I'd definitely change it NOW. In fact, I'd do it at 3K. Constant short trips like that are brutal for oil (and your engine).
Condensation is your main problem buddy. It just doesn't evaporate completely in such a short distance, and moisture rusts your internals plus it produces acid in your oil. Yes, your oil's additive package neutralizes acids, but with constant short trips you deplete your additive package quickly, plus no additive removes water from your oil (just heat).

Bottom line is you need to change your oil (and filter) much sooner than if you were driving about 10 miles each way. What I'd do is leave a few minutes earlier and drive your car at least 6/8 miles, so give it a chance to evaporate all condensation. Or at least do that every other day or so.
Oh, and also charge your battery frequently, as your alternator can't do that in such a short period of time. Good luck.

Max707

I agree with ELP, if you are just driving 4 miles to work and 4 miles home everyday and you are not doing any other extended driving during the week that would take care of the condensation.

SC430GA

Thank you for replies, I would never thought about condensation, but I might be good here since twice a week usually Wednesday and Saturday we do some shopping and it is 8-10 miles one way and engine stays hot between stores so it is probably more like 15-20 miles on hot engine.
I might do it in next couple of weeks anyway, the car used to have the oil changes every other month, first owner was driving a lot and she was good on oil changes according Lexus history.
Is there any advantage to go to the Lexus dealer? I found a shop that servicing Lexus models and the mechanic came from the Lexus dealership.

rcwelch

I am a newbie to the SC430 world and have a newbie question...Can I take this car to someone like Jiffy Lube for an oil and filter change or am I stuck to the dealer? Be kind, I'm just learning.

Max707

You should ALWAYS take your car to the Lexus dealer for service. The reason I am saying this is that you will have your car correctly maintained, if you take it to Lexus at the mileage/time intervals indicated in your owners manual. By you asking the question "should I take my car to "Jiffy Lube" or the Lexus dealer for an oil/filter change" shows that you don't know a lot about caring for a vehicle, so you don't want to leave yourself open for not taking good care of your investment.

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

I'm a maintenance nut to I change mine every 3-3.5k with synthetic.

brianley

While I try to stay away from the Jiffy Lube type places, I don't agree that all service needs to be done at the dealer. Much of the regularly scheduled maintenance work can be done by a qualified independent garage or barring that, a Toyota dealer. I've had great success using an independent that only works on Toyota, Honda, Lexus and Mazda vehicles for all scheduled maintenance and only use the dealer for things like tire sensor registration - it has been a HUGE cost savings.

JCtx

You can do any maintenance on your car wherever you want, but I'd stay away from the Jiffy Lube type; a lot of times they're not careful enough IMHO. Most other places with certified mechanics, like PepBoys, should be fine. Just buy an OEM filter online (much cheaper; I use an Ebay Lexus dealer) and drain plug crush washer and give them to the mechanic. I'd use synthetic oil as well.
Just keep your receipt, and record it on some kind of maintenance log.
By the way, I do all my maintenance myself too. Nobody else will take care of your car like you; not even a dealer. You can also let it drain until nothing comes out, unlike dealers or oil change places. Your call, of course. Good luck.

rcwelch

Thanks for the information...I have a good independent Toyota guy very close...thats where I'll go.