How Often To Change The Oil

i always do mine around 2500-3000, i dont care even if im using the best oil out there i am just kinda anal about that, i bet the dealer ship put in that long life oil stuff, i prolly wouldnt risk it as ive seen many of dealership snip cars up, id maybe go 4000 miles at the most, see what others say

I recommend you check the owner's manual and repair manuals for your maintenance schedule. There is both a mileage recommendation and a time recommendation. Because people drive different amounts of miles during different amounts of time (and under different driving conditions) the schedules vary and you have to identify what is closest for you.

6 months or 5k miles I believe.

Anything more than that may be a waste of natural resources and

your wallet.

I recommend you check the owner's manual and repair manuals for your maintenance schedule. There is both a mileage recommendation and a time recommendation. Because people drive different amounts of miles during different amounts of time (and under different driving conditions) the schedules vary and you have to identify what is closest for you.

I recommend you check the owner's manual and repair manuals for your maintenance schedule. There is both a mileage recommendation and a time recommendation. Because people drive different amounts of miles during different amounts of time (and under different driving conditions) the schedules vary and you have to identify what is closest for you.

most cars fall in the 'severe duty' schedule.

 

6 months or 5k miles WHICHEVER comes first on most new toyotas including corolla.

For people who drive a lot - 5K miles may be less than six months.

For those that don't drive many miles - 6 Months would do it.

If one were to review the recommendations for oil changes at the Toyota site, they actually state that the standard oil changes are to occur at 7,500 miles. This was confirmed by my independent mechanic. I change my oil at about 6,000 miles. I also change filter and oil drain plug gasket each time I change oil. I used to torque the drain plug to 22 ft lbs when I still had the original fiber gasket, but now I use M12 (1/2") nylon gaskets which are not torqued but almost hand tight. Has anyone used the aluminum gaskets?

If one were to review the recommendations for oil changes at the Toyota site, they actually state that the standard oil changes are to occur at 7,500 miles. This was confirmed by my independent mechanic. I change my oil at about 6,000 miles. I also change filter and oil drain plug gasket each time I change oil. I used to torque the drain plug to 22 ft lbs when I still had the original fiber gasket, but now I use M12 (1/2") nylon gaskets which are not torqued but almost hand tight. Has anyone used the aluminum gaskets?

What year corolla do you have? The new ones need to be changed every 5K miles. The dash gives a nice little reminder light that needs to be reset when the oil is changed.

Total city driving - dino oil 2,500 - 3K miles religiously.

Mostly city, a lot of the car sitting in the garage. I change my oil (dino) every three months, even if I've only driven 500 miles, which is often the case. Would change at 3k if I happened to hit that before 3 months. Probably overkill, but,there it is.

Well here's my thoughts on the oil change issue...

First of all, many of you make valid points regarding the maintenance shcedule listed in the owner's manual for the Corolla. The fact is that everyone falls under the severe driving conditions (after really reading into Toyota's defintion).

As far as my corolla, they recommend every 5,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first. To be honest, my wife and I travel a lot of miles. We put nearly 3000 miles on per month. We change our oil about every 3000-4000 miles.

The only reason why I change it earlier, is because I want to be sure that if there are any engine problems, the dealer cannot blame me. I also go to the dealer for the oil changes, so Toyota has an authorized record. I have heard too many horror stories of people producing receipts from independent garages and Toyota not accepting them as proof when engine problems arise.

Right now, I have over 18,000 miles on my corolla and I bought it brand new. To date, I have done 6 oil changes. I look at it this way, oil changes are cheap investment. You can change oil many, many times for the cost of a new engine or major engine repair.

Well here's my thoughts on the oil change issue...

First of all, many of you make valid points regarding the maintenance shcedule listed in the owner's manual for the Corolla. The fact is that everyone falls under the severe driving conditions (after really reading into Toyota's defintion).

As far as my corolla, they recommend every 5,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first. To be honest, my wife and I travel a lot of miles. We put nearly 3000 miles on per month. We change our oil about every 3000-4000 miles.

The only reason why I change it earlier, is because I want to be sure that if there are any engine problems, the dealer cannot blame me. I also go to the dealer for the oil changes, so Toyota has an authorized record. I have heard too many horror stories of people producing receipts from independent garages and Toyota not accepting them as proof when engine problems arise.

Right now, I have over 18,000 miles on my corolla and I bought it brand new. To date, I have done 6 oil changes. I look at it this way, oil changes are cheap investment. You can change oil many, many times for the cost of a new engine or major engine repair.

That means you change your oil every month. I bet that is more frequently than necessary, but it certainly won't hurt the car.

What year corolla do you have? The new ones need to be changed every 5K miles. The dash gives a nice little reminder light that needs to be reset when the oil is changed.

I have a 2005 with the maintenance reminder and it flashes at close to 7.5k miles and then when you reach 7.5k mile intervals it stays on continuously. According to my Passport to Performance (the Corolla maintenance guide), the oil only needs changed every 6 months or 7.5k miles. That is the schedule I follow, and the oil that comes out after 6 months really isn't that dirty.

I have to change based on time because my car sits parked a lot and then when it gets driven it gets driven a lot. Actually, I guess I follow something closer to 5k oil changes the more I think about it. I had my oil changed for the second time at 5.3K, then I reset the light when it came on at 7.5k. At 11k and 16k I had the oil changed also, and reset the light when it came on at 15k. I'll get the oil changed at 20k and reset the light again at 22.5K.

BTW, the light can be reset quite simply with no tools. The procedure is outlined in the owner's manual, as well as on this website in several posts.

To reset the maintenance light, you follow the procedure in your owner's manual. I'll outline it here for convenience

1) Get into the car, make sure all doors are closed

2) Turn the key to "ON" but don't start the car

3) Press the odometer reset button until the odometer (not the trip meters) is displayed.

4) Turn the key to "OFF", but do not remove it.

5) Make sure your dimmer switch is set to the door position (that is anywhere other than on or off, but don't worry about this step because nobody leaves their dimmer in the on or off position)

6) Press and hold the odometer button.

7) Turn the key to "ON" while still holding the odometer button.

8) Six zeros will appear, keep holding the odometer button until step 9 is completed

9) The zeros will disappear one by one until they are all gone.

At that time, the total mileage will be displayed and your "Maint Required" light will go off.

Are you sure you mean miles and not km? Mine is 03 but I was sure the newer with maint remainder are strictly 5000 miles. I have 5000 mile remainder in my RAV4.

What year corolla do you have? The new ones need to be changed every 5K miles. The dash gives a nice little reminder light that needs to be reset when the oil is changed.

I have a 2005 with the maintenance reminder and it flashes at close to 7.5k miles and then when you reach 7.5k mile intervals it stays on continuously. According to my Passport to Performance (the Corolla maintenance guide), the oil only needs changed every 6 months or 7.5k miles. That is the schedule I follow, and the oil that comes out after 6 months really isn't that dirty.

I have to change based on time because my car sits parked a lot and then when it gets driven it gets driven a lot. Actually, I guess I follow something closer to 5k oil changes the more I think about it. I had my oil changed for the second time at 5.3K, then I reset the light when it came on at 7.5k. At 11k and 16k I had the oil changed also, and reset the light when it came on at 15k. I'll get the oil changed at 20k and reset the light again at 22.5K.

BTW, the light can be reset quite simply with no tools. The procedure is outlined in the owner's manual, as well as on this website in several posts.

To reset the maintenance light, you follow the procedure in your owner's manual. I'll outline it here for convenience

1) Get into the car, make sure all doors are closed

2) Turn the key to "ON" but don't start the car

3) Press the odometer reset button until the odometer (not the trip meters) is displayed.

4) Turn the key to "OFF", but do not remove it.

5) Make sure your dimmer switch is set to the door position (that is anywhere other than on or off, but don't worry about this step because nobody leaves their dimmer in the on or off position)

6) Press and hold the odometer button.

7) Turn the key to "ON" while still holding the odometer button.

8) Six zeros will appear, keep holding the odometer button until step 9 is completed

9) The zeros will disappear one by one until they are all gone.

At that time, the total mileage will be displayed and your "Maint Required" light will go off.

Do you have a US spec car? Our owners manual states 5K miles in our owners manual for our 05. Also before I knew about the light on the dash, I used the trip b to keep track of miles. I changed it at 3K for the first oil change after a gentle break in and I've been changing it ever 5K since. Anyway, our maint light starts to blink for a few seconds after the car starts at 4500 miles and then stays on at 5K.

That's strange that your car is 7500 miles on the same year car. Unless maybe your in a different country that gets a different type of oil.

Do you have a US spec car? Our owners manual states 5K miles in our owners manual for our 05. Also before I knew about the light on the dash, I used the trip b to keep track of miles. I changed it at 3K for the first oil change after a gentle break in and I've been changing it ever 5K since. Anyway, our maint light starts to blink for a few seconds after the car starts at 4500 miles and then stays on at 5K.

That's strange that your car is 7500 miles on the same year car. Unless maybe your in a different country that gets a different type of oil.

I live in Ohio, my car was built at NUMMI. However, I figured out what the problem is. Sometime in early 2005 Toyota switched from a 7.5k service interval to a 5k one. Some of the cars, like mine have a suggested interval of 7.5k according to the manual, but the light comes on at around 5k. I didn't drive my Corolla much in the first year I owned it, so I'm sure that I did not remember which car I did what to when I posted last night.

Sorry for the confusion.

Toyota didn't want to face this situation and so they lowered the interval back to 5k.

Toyota did face the situation and it is called sludge.

Oils are asked to do more these days (higher combustion temps, leaner mixtures, and lower additives due to emission concerns). No wonder something has to give.

I'm from the school of thought that you should do your oil change at the outside limit of manufacturer recommendation. The reason being the more you take your car to the dealer or jiffy type places, the more chances you give them to screw up your car. I imagine jiffy type places don't pay their employee very much, and the dealer probably send their least experience guy, maybe an intern, to do oil change. Jiffy cross thread the drain plug on my grandpa's car a few years back. So, if you were to take your car for oil chance every 3000 instead of 6000, you just double your chances of running into trouble. Also, DIY'ers run the same risk. I once got distracted by a phone call, and forgot to pour fresh oil into the engine. Just when I was pulling out of the garage, I saw four unopened bottom of oil on the floor, and realize what had happened.

I've been using synthetic in my cars now for nearly 8 years. In my previous car I changed the oil every 6,500 or so miles. Did the first change in the Corolla at 5k, and I plan on doing the next and subsequent changes at 6k (changing synthetic oil any more frequently is a waste of resources and money). With the right oil, you could easily go to 12 or 15k miles, but would still have to change your filter every 5k or so. Hell, most truck drivers change their's every 20,000-30,000 miles! Granted, that is a different type of engine and some HUGE filters.

Did they decide that 7.5K was too long an interval to go before an oil change was necessary?

Yes, and it was not only Toyota that did it. I read in a Car and Driver that according to a GM study people who were driving cars with a 5k change interval neglected to have the oil changed until sometimes as many as 5k beyond the interval. Think, if the interval is 7.5k and you have people changing it at 12.5k, you're engine would suffer damage over time from neglect. Toyota didn't want to face this situation and so they lowered the interval back to 5k. Other auto manufacturers followed suit.

They have to allow a slight margin of safety and reducing interval provides it.

qvr4ever, I have a '00 CE and I checked the Toyota site and my mechanic checked under the '00 databases. Both have 7,500 miles for oil changes. When I change my dino oil at 6,000 miles, the oil is black but still amber-like in color when backlit by my touble-light. I'm thinking of changing the oil more often, maybe at the 5,000 mile intervals after reading the stuff here. BTW, I always change the filter with the oil.