First oil change?

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Tdale

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Morning folks, we bought a 2015 corolla at the end of March & included was 4 years of "free" oil lube & filters.

My question is simple enough for a lot of you but we're getting up there & I haven't kept up with the times when it comes to oil changes.

I set up an appointment for tomorrow morning for an oil lube & filter change & I'm hoping I did the right thing, you folks can help by educating me on the best time for a first oil change from the "factory oil".
Years ago around these parts almost all of us did the first change after a very short time because the idea was the engine might give off traces of metal during the "break-in" period.

Is that true these days?

we've put just under one thousand miles on the car so far, some driving around town but 85% highway...another thing, it's only warming up around here recently..some nights are still at or below 32F.

Have I wasted my time by making the appointment?

Thank you in advance for educating us.
 
This question comes up on average once a week on this forum. You might want to do a search. Every time it turns into a fruitless debate with half the people saying to dump your factory oil ASAP and the other half saying to just wait until your first regularly scheduled service.

I always say, do whatever helps you sleep better at night. You can't put a price on good night's sleep. And the older you get, the more you learn to appreciate it.

Good luck.
 
I agree with QP...do what makes you feel best.

I've always changed the factory fill early and will continue to do so. I used to change it at 1K but now I'd be willing to go to 3K because modern production techniques (and oils) have improved.
 
The dealer should notify you when you need a change. Did you give them your email or phone# and approx annual mileage driven?


Early would be less than 1000mi, late would be over 7000miles. Ive been trying to restrain my want to change early and do OCI#1 at somewhere in the 2000-3000 mile range.
 
Change the oil when ever you want to change it. An early change won't hurt anything and most likely help if anything. I had to come back with a thought. With the solenoid controlled thingies on some engines and transmissions it seems that clean well filtered oil is more important than ever.
 
Well, don't expect them to pay for early oil changes, they will go by what the factory tells them to do.

I am on the side of more frequent oil changes, it gets all the [censored] out that increases wear. But then you have to decide if you're going to keep the car forever, or get tired of it after 5 years and get rid of it. If you choose the latter, then all your preventive maintenance efforts are wasted.

Good Luck
 
Originally Posted By: Tdale
Morning folks, we bought a 2015 corolla at the end of March & included was 4 years of "free" oil lube & filters.

My question is simple enough for a lot of you but we're getting up there & I haven't kept up with the times when it comes to oil changes.

I set up an appointment for tomorrow morning for an oil lube & filter change & I'm hoping I did the right thing, you folks can help by educating me on the best time for a first oil change from the "factory oil".
Years ago around these parts almost all of us did the first change after a very short time because the idea was the engine might give off traces of metal during the "break-in" period.

Is that true these days?

we've put just under one thousand miles on the car so far, some driving around town but 85% highway...another thing, it's only warming up around here recently..some nights are still at or below 32F.

Have I wasted my time by making the appointment?

Thank you in advance for educating us.


I did my first oil change at 2291 miles on Forester. I was figuring before 2500.
 
I've not bought a new car in the past 15 years.

But when I did, a 2000 Expedition, I changed the oil at 500 miles, at my own expense, because, like you, I am old school. I would do what makes you feel better. I think the jury is still out on early oil changes. Some manufacturers (Honda) specifically caution against it.

I doubt that your dealer will change it early, but if they do, then you're all set. The factory Toyota oil is good stuff. I would be happy to let the dealer change it.

If not, get this first one done somewhere else, and take it back to the dealer for all the rest.
 
It won't hurt, but as far as time, it's definately a waste of your time sitting at the dealer.
Someone already mentioned it but usually only the normal maintenance intervals are paid for.
Your engine will last many miles, probably more than you will ever keep it for, with scheduled maintenance. We have 4 Fords that are fairly new or brand new. I just usually change the oil and filter when I think the tires need rotated or a State inspection is due.
Enjoy your new car!
Pete
 
I have a 2014 Corolla . In the U.S. the dealer does the first 2 years of basic maintenance free . The oil change according to Toyota is 10k miles with 0-20 oil . I did my own at 5k and 15k with the dealer doing 10k and in a few months the 20k changes . I plan on staying with a 5 -6 k oil change even after the free maintenance expires . It may be a little overkill with a good 0-20 synthetic but I only put on about 11k miles per year so your only talking around 2 changes per year .
 
I agree that you should do what makes you feel comfortable, but you may find that Toyota will bill you for this oil change, because one isn't recommended until 10,000 miles (if your free maintenance is from Toyota corporation and not part of a local dealer program).
 
On my new vehicles, I have changed it myself at 500 and others around 1000 miles. In every case there were bright shiny particles in the oil and especially at the bottom of the drain pan when I emptied it. Even with co. cars I had them changed at 1-2000 at Jiffy Lube. There is a lot of metal in there(normal) and if you are going to keep the car, I would change it. I'm getting ready to change out the factory fill in my new RV Ford V-10 with 2k miles on it.
 
I know that with Honda vehicles, they do not recommend changing out the factory fill because of the extra moly/assembly lubes the automaker advises leaving in until OLM is down to 10-20%.....or one year (which ever comes first).

Seems a bit extreme....so with my Hondas I change mine out the factory fill at 40-50% OLM reading.

For other makes that don't subscribe to Honda's factory fill procedure?

I'd change out at about 1,000 miles.....then maybe 2,000 miles again still using dino. After that I'd do a regular scheduled interval (according to the owners manual), using a quality synthetic from that point on.
 
One other thing to check. If you manual spec's 0w-20 make sure you get the correct oil. In some cases with these dealer changes you'll get 5w30 mystery oil from a bulk tank. If you ask you'll hear stuff like it's an approved substitute or they have local knowledge of driving conditions or we recommend.....
 
Originally Posted By: Stewie
Make sure your free oil change doesn't turn into a $500 "inspection"


Not with the "Toyota care" program. I have had that twice. They did the first 4 oil changes on mine for free. Then I switched to synthetic.But I do dump my FF in a new engine at 1000-1500 and fill with a 5w30 dino like PYB or similar. Except for Hondas which have high moly additives in the FF. That I run to 5-6000.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
This question comes up on average once a week on this forum. You might want to do a search. Every time it turns into a fruitless debate with half the people saying to dump your factory oil ASAP and the other half saying to just wait until your first regularly scheduled service.

I always say, do whatever helps you sleep better at night. You can't put a price on good night's sleep. And the older you get, the more you learn to appreciate it.

Good luck.

I'm in the "half people wait until first regularly scheduled service" for all my cars. Actually, I passed the scheduled oil change by several hundreds miles of the E430. The FSS (MB oil life monitor called Flexible Service Schedule) went from 10k miles down to minus 200-300 miles, supposed to change oil and filter when FSS is down to 500-600 miles. The other cars have standard mileage counter and I changed the factory fill when the oil change light on.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
This question comes up on average once a week on this forum. You might want to do a search. Every time it turns into a fruitless debate with half the people saying to dump your factory oil ASAP and the other half saying to just wait until your first regularly scheduled service.

I always say, do whatever helps you sleep better at night. You can't put a price on good night's sleep. And the older you get, the more you learn to appreciate it.

Good luck.

I'm in the "half people wait until first regularly scheduled service" for all my cars.

I am, too. I don't obsess about oil as much as I once did. Does that make me a bad BITOGer?
smile.gif
 
So much good oil gets wasted in this country with this early change mentality, it's a real shame. At least almost all of it is recycled. The wasted oil filters is another story. Maybe some people are sleeping well at night, but I doubt it. There's always another mountain to made of a molehill.
 
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