Commute Change - Change Oil Type?

[lndshark]

Hi Folks,

First time poster here. I found this site a few weeks ago and have been glued to it ever since...great information here! I'd like to get some opinions or suggestions here so please don't flame me for asking a newbie question...please!

My wife and I own a 2004 Toyota Echo 5-Door with about 90,000 miles. Owned it since new and it's had 5,000 mile OCI's with Toyota 5w30 and Toyota filters exclusively. My wife's commute has changed in the last year and I wonder if I should keep a 5,000 mile/6 month OCI. She now drives 5.5 miles one-way on back roads and surface streets. It works out to about 15 minutes, stop and go and speeds of up to 50MPH. SE Michigan climate. I wonder if this seemingly short trip would be a consideration for changing my OC practices.

If so, which oil, and how often? Keep using the Toyota (I get an employee discount being a Toyota employee) or switch to M1?

Thanks folks...I really appreciate the input!

 

[TJPark01]

You could run a thinner 0W-20 oil, but considering how expensive they are and the fact you're driving a 7 year old compact...don't change a thing. Keep doing exactly what you've been doing and that car will last forever. You're much more likely to have to change chassis components, than the engine.

 

[yaris0128]

Hey if I was getting a discount Id for sure stay with dealer bulk. I never had a problem with their oil in my yaris and we both have the same engine.

 

[Whimsey]

First off,

! Keeping the 6 month quality oil changes and a quality oil filter will be a cake walk for the oil & filter with the new commute. I drive twice the distance as your wife for work with very similar driving circumstances and climate in NW NJ. I do 5,000 mile or 1 year OCI's since new in 2001. My vehicle is a 2002 F-150 with the 4.6 V-8. My oil is Motorcraft 5W-20 with a Motorcraft oil filter. I did one used oil analysis at 2500 miles and it came back great. Went to 5,000 mile OCI's after that.

Whimsey

 

[daves87rs]

Stick with what you've been doing...seems to work for you.

 

[crazyoildude]

Welcome to Bitog the best place for anything to do with oil!
Keep doing what you are doing those engines are good engines for the person owning the car not for us engine rebuilders...

 

[lndshark]

Thanks for the great advice and for the warm welcome! I'll stick with the routine...in a past life I was a Toyota dealership technician and really believed that Toyota/Denso filters were the best, so I've just kept using them. I figured that if I'm back at the dealer getting filter or two, why not get a case of oil while I'm there? That's just one less stop to make anyway.

Can't wait to see what my first oil analysis looks like on the Echo and BMW motorcycle (using BMW-branded spectro until I switch to M1). Spring will be here soon (though you wouldn't know it since it was 17 degrees F this morning!) so I'm slowly gearing up for numerous maintenance items on both vehicles.

I've been with Toyota for nearly 6 years now and on the private automotive R&D side for nearly 15 years, specializing in Asian makes. It's true, the 1NZ-FE engine has a reputation for being quite durable and trouble-free.

 

[Michael_P]

I know someone who has an Echo and a Prius. Taking trips from Columbus to Indy, the Echo gets better highway mileage. Those Echos are keepers. Way better than the Yaris which gets less mileage than the Echo. Even sub compacts are getting big.

 

[lndshark]

We were on a road trip between Dauphin and Winnipeg, Manitoba a couple of years back in the Echo. With a slight tailwind and temperatures in the 20's, we averaged, yes AVERAGED, 46 miles per gallon! I had to calculate it and re-calculate it a few times just to be sure. My wife consistently gets 30 MPG on her commute and when I drive the car (mix of highway and city) I can hit about 35. It's been such a great car. I have no complaints and my wife insists on driving it until it falls apart. It will go anywhere in the snow. I passed a couple of kids in a Subaru WRX a few weeks back, buried up to the doorsills. Did I mention that I love my Echo?