Is it worth changing my Corolla oil before 10k?

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I second the opinion earlier of:

If you plan on keeping it longer than 100k miles, change it every 5k. If you'll trade it in before the loan is paid off or before it's out of warranty, who cares... do it as required to maintain warranty. (10k).

All Toyota cares about is that the car costs them no money while inside the warranty period. 10k oil changes will achieve this goal. However, I do believe and assert that the engine will degrade performance faster with 10k oil and filter changes vs. 5k oil changes, synthetic or otherwise. If this car spec' 0w-16, it will only be synthetic oil. I have yet to see a non synthetic 0w-16 on the shelf. If you are able to change your oil and filter yourself you will save a wheelbarrow full of money, but if this is not an option you could find a trusted person or shop to use the oil and filter you provide.

I would recommend Mobil 1 or Valvoline Full Synthetic in either weight. Mobil 1 is easier to find, especially in 0w-16. I have written this all not knowing what viscosity your engine specifies. Two trusted brands of motor oil that will provide peace of mind. Does this engine call for 16 or 20 weight? My apologies if I missed that information.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
I wonder how I made it all these miles when all Toyota cared about was making it through the warranty period.



What interval do you run? I run 5k intervals on this and it's got 235k as of today. These pictures are from Saturday. I doubt this engine would be this clean with 10k intervals.

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I have a 2016 Corolla. I can get it high enough to change the oil with the included spare tire jack.
Go to Walmart, buy supertech 0w-16 in the 5 quart jug, get the supertech filter for $3, and you'll need an oil filter wrench and a good 3/8 socket. Throw in a cheap drain pan and funnel, you're talking $25 in tools 1 time and $20 per oil change going forward.
 
Originally Posted by oxband
If I was going to choose a synthetic oil, any recs for a 2020 Corolla? I know nothing about this and have no idea where to even start thinking about what oil I want.

Let's start with:

Which engine does it have? If it has a 2.0 liter,

Quote
All TEMPS....0W-16 SAE 0W-16 is the best choice for good fuel economy and good starting in cold weather. If SAE 0W-16 is not availible, 0W-20 oil may be used. However, it must be replaced with SAE 0W-16 at the next oil change.
CAPACITIES: With filter 4.9 quarts After refill check oil level.


If it has a 1.8 Liter:

Quote
All TEMPS....0W-20 0W-20 is the best choice for good fuel economy and starting in cold weather. If 0W-20 is not available 5W-20 may be used. However, it must be replaced with 0W-20 at the next oil change.
CAPACITIES: With filter 4.4 quarts After refill check oil level.


So a five quart jug will do it. 0w-20 is acceptable for either engine, save for the SUGGESTION of 0w-16 to maintain fuel efficiency in the 2.0 liter.

This should answer your question sufficiently.

Now the brass tacks. Is this car leased? Bought on credit? Bought with cash? Perspective changes your actions depending on the scenario. If it's a leased car, just do what is required as cheaply as possible. Why overly maintain the car for the next owner? If you plan to keep the car indefinitely, whether you are paying monthly installments for 5 or 6 years or purchased it outright, you may be interested in maintaining it a little better than the minimum requirements. Once you are out of warranty, you are on your own for repairs, such as clogged oil control valves, worn timing chains, or noisy/inoperative cam phasers. The likes of which can be mitigated by maintaining the engine (and entire drivetrain for that matter) better than minimum requirements.
 
Originally Posted by paoester
69Torino, In the 1st post he said it was the Hybrid one. 0w16

I see. Must have missed that. Thanks.

So a jug of Mobil 1 0w-16 and an OEM Toyota Filter should do just fine.

Another piece of information that would help is driving habits, climate, mileage per day/week/month, city or highway etc.

If you drive 100 miles a day, 90 percent highway, 10,000 mile intervals would be more lucrative. If you drive 5 miles to work, through congested stop and go traffic, in extremely high and low ambient temperatures, maybe 5,000 mile intervals are easier on the equipment.
 
Originally Posted by Marco620
I figured you had a few free oci. Honda gives three free ones. Just hand them a few qts and I'm off. Started using Castrol Magnatec shortly after the first factory fill. Nice car too.


Honda gives free oil changes with their vehicles?
 
Originally Posted by oxband
If I was going to choose a synthetic oil, any recs for a 2020 Corolla? I know nothing about this and have no idea where to even start thinking about what oil I want.


It's a toyota. The cheapest 0w20 you can get and it will keep on moving along. Plan on running Supertech 0w20 or store brand with a filter such as STP from autozone.
 
I believe it's a good idea to do an early oil change in all new and freshly rebuilt engines, at around 30% of the recommended service interval. Then just follow the normal interval after that. In your case, you could just drain & fill and leave the filter alone -- when the normal service interval comes, the dealership would never know you had touched it.
 
The Toyota Care package covers oil changes every 10,000 miles. I did not know this, so the wifes new Camry didn't get an oil change at 5,000. But it did at 10k.

2019 Camry manual says every 5000 miles for "severe" service but that is still not covered by Toyota Care.

That said, I paid Toyota around $55 for an oil change at 15k.
 
Originally Posted by rayrevolver
The Toyota Care package covers oil changes every 10,000 miles. I did not know this, so the wifes new Camry didn't get an oil change at 5,000. But it did at 10k.

2019 Camry manual says every 5000 miles for "severe" service but that is still not covered by Toyota Care.

That said, I paid Toyota around $55 for an oil change at 15k.


Yes it covers two oil changes. One at 10k and the other at 20k. The 5k, 15k and 25k service only includes checking fluid levels, misc. inspections and rotating the tires.
 
Originally Posted by oxband
After doing some reading online, I figured I'd take it in after the first 5k just because the engine is breaking in. I called some places today, and discovered how expensive an oil change with synthetic oil is. I was was all happy to just do it when it was regular oil, but given the fact the oil change will cost me 80-90, I now only want to do it if it's really necessary.


As others have mentioned I would get some ST 0w16 or 0w20 from Walmart for around $14 per jug. Along with an ST filter for around $3. Ask them to change it for you since the car is already up in the air and in for service.
 
If you're planning to keep this vehicle long term, I would change the FF early and then stick to 5k OCIs or so. 10k OCI are fine if you do lots of miles.

All this talk about trusting Toyota is silliness. 3rd gen prius is known for oil burning as well as head gasket failures. Head gasket failures are very rare these days, so Toyota obviously missed something.

This is a new design so it's hard to tell how it will compare to the prior gen. Maybe Ty Toyota fixed the issues or maybe not. Why take a chance on something as basic and cheap as an oil change?
 
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