The Oil Change Interval Dissected

JayQQ97 said:
regarding the pink coolant... that sounds too good to be true!
i watched a recent episode of the car care nut discussing the Toyota pink long-life vs Toyota red and he states after a time it will turn acidic and start eating seals and gaskets on the water pump, head gaskets and whatever else is in there
he discusses it at 17-18 minute area
1000m
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So the pink is the good one right? I hope!! Because that’s what I just put in last summer
 
tacojoel said:
All i know is toyota claims their pink coolant is good for 10 years or a 100k miles.
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is that when the warranty expires?

in the past the dealer shop would do a simple drain and refill the radiator every 2 to 3yrs or so
now its gotta flush exchange the whole system afaik
i sport a 25 n half year old radiator still that i assume is in good condition internally, externally IDk there is something weird on the outside of the fan area (kind of chalky looking) where the fins look aged but maybe its just dirty
 
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tacojoel said:
No just the opposite. The green coolant will go sour over a shorter time needing to be changed. The pink stuff is lifetime. I know toyota recommends replacing it after 5 or 6 years, but i checked that stuff in my tundra every year after that and it still was fine, even nearly 20 years later.
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by 'checking it' do you mean actually testing the ph level to see if it was turning acidic?
 
tacojoel said:
No, i just checked it if it met the -30 degree range. All i can tell you it still looked pink and never needed adding any over all those years.
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i am being a terrible worrywart about this LOL and it turning acidic and eating at the HG
taco john in Denver had some HG issues on his rig in the 400k miles and decided on a replacement engine with lower miles rather than fixing it
its probably the only 'tarnish' on his superCharged '97 v6 single cab for making it to a million miles, he currently has over 710k, when he goes to Toyota for the accolades and acknowledgment of merit


i met up with him outside of Denver in January-'20
... shoulda washed my truck before this pic :( it was a dirty drive across Nebraska on US-34 to Denver that winter day
tacoJ im Denver Jan-2o2o.jpg
 
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Dealer did 2 timing belt kits that included the water pump, and tensioner at 100k miles and 200k miles. Its likely they added new coolant when each replacement was done. I never had to add coolant or change it. T
I sold the truck just short of 300k miles, or do at least $5k worth of work as it was 19 years old with multiple items needing major service.
 
JayQQ97 said:
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For one this engine isn't even in our trucks. You don't even know what type of oil the dealer used....could have been some cheap chit, or how well it was really maintained. Video is just hearsay. I can tell i only did yearly oil changes with mobil 1 on my toyotas in the past that averaged 15k miles per year. I never had an oil burning issue...even at nearly 300k miles it never burned a drop.
 
tacojoel said:
For one this engine isn't even in our trucks. You don't even know what type of oil the dealer used....could have been some cheap chit, or how well it was really maintained. Video is just hearsay. I can tell i only did yearly oil changes with mobil 1 on my toyotas in the past that averaged 15k miles per year. I never had an oil burning issue...even at nearly 300k miles it never burned a drop.
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its also not clear on HOW it was driven, my '96 Corolla beater burns oil and/or is leaking a quart every 2k miles but its more a very short trips to liquor store LOL sometimes in below zero temps :confused:, city stop go idle and does not get much regular exercising on the freeway that the taco does, which taco burns none and has only had one leak from the VCG so far
the old Corolla barely averages 5k per year!
when i take the taco to the store i nearly always take the long route and hop on the freeway first to get it all warmed up properly
 
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This toyota guy in the video must make money doing these videos as he has several out. Yeah, there's some helpful stuff in them, but a lot of it...take it for what its worth.
 
Yeah he has a story from working in a Chicagoland dealership for a long time and started this YouTube channel during the plague of '20
 
FWIW. Things to consider.....

Ask an Engineer if the extended oil change interval will allow the engine to survive the 100 kmile warranty period. His answer will be Yes, most will.

Will the engine run for 300K? Maybe. 200K? Maybe.

Marketing can now claim their trucks are "lower maintenance". Not many manufacturers warranty over 100 kmiles.

It all comes down to managing the risk and cost to the manufacturer. As the interval is extended, the risk of failure increases. As mileage increases, the risk of failure increases.

To me. A DIY oil change only costs about $35 2X/year using a 5K interval. A failed engine due to oil breakdown will cost well into the $5K range. That is equivalent to 142 oil changes or about 70 years or 710 kmiles.

So, you do a change at a 10k interval to save $35/year. Your risk (or the next owner) is somewhere down the road an oil breakdown will fail the engine. Now, you have a problem......just to save $35/year. That is less than $3/month.

It isn't too $$wise to extend oil changes.

To me, saving $3/month to gamble a $5K repair.......just ain't worth it.

Remember, this type of failure is not immediate. It is a failure from accumulations.
 
I just wish the oil filter on my rig was easily accessible 2 me.. it's not!!!
:mad:
It would be an extremely belaboured effort to access it without the proper equipment that I don't have
 
Manufactures are mandated to produce cleaner engines every so often along with these oil companies to develop oils with longer lasting additive packages so they don't break down like back in the day. Oil changes aren't needed as frequent as they use to be. My tundra is still going strong with over 300k miles on its new owner. I only changed the oil once a year roughly every 15k miles in that truck. I have no worries the tacoma will be similar, plus i'm retired now driving way less miles between once a year changes. I guess if you use a sub standard oil, yeah it'd be good to change it more often. Been only using mobil 1 with no issues, and plan to stick with it. Its what my dealer used during toyotacare.
 
How about gear oil change... MT front rear transfer gear oils

Those shop fluid services are pushing close to if not OVER 400$ now :confused:. After fees and that jazz
Can you let those go for an extended period? How about 100k miles between fluid exchanges
 
As far those gear oils like the transfer case and differentials its always been 30k miles for me. When a vehicle is quite a bit for towing i always did a 4 qt drain, and replace of my atf every 15k miles. I haven't decided yet what the interval will be for changing the atf on this gen3 tacoma. So far the automatic in this truck has been performing fine at nearly 20k miles. Another 10k or so i'll be doing those gear changes. Transfer case requires a special fluid. Seem's toyota has sort of cornered the market on this.
 
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