As some of you know, my aunt recently purchased me a 2005 loaded Toyota Corolla. I've been reading over the owner's manual and maintenance schedule book since I received the car about a month ago. I was reading the maintenance book and was surprised to find that it says to change the oil at every 5,000 miles and not the traditional 3,000. I know that changing the oil regularly is one of the key things to keeping a car engine in good, working condition so my question is; did the manufacturer (Toyota) make a mistake or is this a new thing on newer cars, that they go longer before requiring an oil change? Also, I am wanting to know if it's good to change your own oil? I have a friend who works in automotives and said he would teach me to change my own because it is easy and it would save me $20.00. Do shops that change oil do anything different than what I could do myself at home? If so, what? Is changing your own oil really hard anyway? I am also environment friendly so if I did change my oil, what could I do with my old oil because I refuse to just dump it. Thanks in advance for any and all information.
Alot of manufacturers today recommend 5,000 miles on oil changes, but it certainly doesn't hurt to do it at 3,000 miles. Its best to check your oil every 1,000 miles and change it when it starts to look dirty (but don't ever go past 5,000). As far as changing your own oil, alot of places will do it on a car like that for $15-$20 (stay away from Jiffy Lube, as the usually push a full service package for $25-$30 which includes a whole bunch of extra stuff). Changing your own oil will cost you about $10 for the fluid and filter, about $2-$5 in disposal fees (although some places will dispose of it for free) and about 30 mins of your time. If you haven't done it before and don't want to fool with the mess and the hauling off of the old oil, it would probably be wise to invest the extra $5 and let someone else do it for you.
They didn't make a mistake. It IS 5000. Congratulations on your investment. I bought the wife a 2003 Corolla LE. I've gone about 6K without an oil change maybe twice, and I change it a little over 3500 every time. Works like a charm. I only spend about $15 of gas every week, even though I am now the one who drives it to work (KATY to Downtown). DON'T change your own oil. Have the Toyota dealer do it. You will get coupons in the mail for $9.95 oil changes, and if you register your car online for maintenance reminders, they will send you at least one "free oil change" per 3 months just for signing up. SAVE MONEY. This also helps to keep a record in the blue book they gave you with the instruction manual, and when you decide to sell the car, you can show the buyer how many times you changed it professionally, so save the dealer receipts printouts of when you changed the oil with them. I also have a 2003 CAMRY for ME (that my wife drives to work). That car could go above 5000 without an oil change, and had no "break in" period. Did your new camry have a BREAK IN period? My wife's did, we couldn't go over 55 mph for the first 500 miles. EDIT: I was typing my post while you were posting the next one below (what your aunt said)
Oh yes another question I forgot to ask, my aunt says that going to the dealership for oil changes is better than going to another place for oil changes because they will make sure everything is done correctly. Is this true or is changing oil, changing oil?
well, the dealership will give you genuine Toyota parts and higher quality oil. whether that's worth the premium is up in the air.
Like Swoly D said, sometimes dealers offer incentives for you to get it done there, so you really can't go wrong bringing it to them. Otherwise, yes, changing oil is changing oil. Its pretty hard to screw up. There are only a couple of things that could go wrong, and unfortunately, I've seen both dealerships and independent shops make these mistakes.
I've heard that some of those oil-change places use a spraygun to put the oil in and because of that, they don't give you enough oil. I'd recommend doing it at the dealership. I would check it after they do it to make sure they didn't short change you. Doing it yourself is pretty easy. Just make sure when you unscrew the bolt for the oil tank, hot oil doesn't come shooting onto your face. Make sure you have the pan ready and in the right position because once that bolt comes off, there's no turning back!
Oil changes every 3000 miles in most cars now is bunk for the most part - it wouldn't hurt to do it every 3000, but it's usually not necessary. I have a TL that tells me when to change the oil using an onboard computer that measures things like RPMs, temperature (I think), etc. and I've changed the oil 2 times in 17,000 miles and according to it, I'm about 50-60% of the way to my 3rd oil change - each time I changed it in the past, it was around 7000 miles. huypham, the dealership will not necessarily give you "better quality oil". You can go to WalMart (if you trust them) and ask them to use whatever oil they carry. Dealerships don't use any different oil than anyone else. As for the filters - most oil filters used by dealerships are made by someone else.
OK, I have one too and I don't want to start another thread... The transmission is acting up on my POS 96 Blazer. It's not shifting when it should. It revs real high before it shifts and sometimes it doesn't shift at all so I have to let off the gas. It's been getting progressively worse over the last month. Now it's to the point where I can't drive over 50 mph because it won't shift into 5th gear (or whatever gear that is). I'm thinking my transmission is going out so I need to buy a new car. I don't want to replace a transmission on on a 9 year old car. My friend was telling me that it may just be that I need transmission fluid. Is this a possibility or am I screwed. I don't even know how to check my transmission fluid and if I did, I don't even know where to pour it in! I drive a 96 Blazer with 86,000 miles. It's paid off so naturally I want to drive it until it's not worth it anymore. But I also would like to have a car I can depend on. I just spent $1200 getting the fuel injectors fixed this summer.
Check the toyota website: http://www.toyota.com/html/shop/dealers/parts/motoroil.html There's such things as "official" toyota filers/oil. Now, I'm not saying these are necessarily better, but they are definitely used when you go into a dealership. Good reading for more info: http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm#Do-it-yourself versus paying someone to do it
ID2K, The problem with your tranny could be any number of things. Could be the torque converter. IMO though, it sounds like the valve body for the tranny is fudged up. Continuing to drive it like that will only make the problem worse, and more expensive to fix. Get it checked out by a good tranny shop ASAP. A 96 Blazer shouldn't be having tranny problems with that kind of mileage.
I work at the Shell Oil Lube Plant in Galena Park which produces Pennzoil, Quaker State and private label oil which is the largest lube plant (for Shell) in the USA. Wal Mart is produced and packaged at our facility under the name "Super Tech" which is almost identical to Pennzoil and is just as good. IMO the best oil you can use is Valvoline as Pennzoil tends to leave a plastic residue on your moving parts which over time will harm your engine. I use a synthetic blend from Valvoline in my car.
Problem with the dealership I have always found is teh time. I have a Chevy Silverado and I can get the oil changed at the dealership at about the same price as a Valvoline type place but at Valvoline and done in 20 minutes. At teh dealership it takes forever (over an hour each time) and that is with an appointment. Maybe your dealership is better but taking an hour to change the oil is too long in my book and the reason I don't go back.
I go to the acura dealership and buy a box of the "certified" acura oil filters. I have my personal mechanic use my oil filters. He usually knocks a couple of bucks off the $19.95 special. He also rotates the tires, fills the windshield washer tank, tops off radiator and other fluids, checks belts, suspension, brakes etc.. I think it's worth paying a professional a couple of extra dollars every 3-5 months.
I saw that - no more questions answered for the BBS's Question Man. He can get his answers on a Braves BBS.
Yup they're "official". Just like Ford has Motorcraft motor oil with the Ford name on it. You know who makes it? Conoco. Don't buy into the hype. I actually use Motorcraft 5w20 syn blend in my Acura even though *gasp* it's designed for a Ford (yeah right). Some of the best oils you can use in your car aren't "official" manufacturer's oils. Like Royal Purple, Mobile 1, Amsoil, etc.
