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The Great Oil Change Discussion


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Cue the oil testing Amsoil people. :D

I use Amsoil,,,what up? Am I supposed to put on my supeiriorilstic attitude and step up on the pedastal and rain down facts of immortality by lubrication?:geek:

Yeah, right before I lock the thread. :chairshot:

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I think mburnickas and TOGWT are probably the most knowledgable on this topic. re2833. if you really want to know about synthetic oils look those 2 up. :)

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Yeah with sythetic's you don't need to change the oils as regularly as conventional..However, it gets dirty and black and that can have effects on the engine over time which most don't consider... So it is an on going debate..

With convention oil your oil changes are every 2000 miles, this keeps the oil filter changed regularly and your oil will not be jet black in color either which is good... In 2000 miles conventional oil do not break down in oil viscosity so it is the same as sythetic as far as I am concerned..... Sythetics hold longer but is not necessarily the better choice over time... There are some great oil conditioners that should be considered also like Smooth says.......

I am lazy and use sythetics...My car rides too low to pull into oil changing stops in my area, and I just hate getting under the car and jaking it up myself just to change the frigg'n oil and filter... I go 10,000 miles on sythetic and my oil is black, but I also use a good oil conditioner too.......

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If your lazy use sythetic, if your a cheap *BLEEP* use conventional.... :rolleyes:

How can I be cheap by using conventional or a blend when I'm chastised for pouring money down a rat hole by changing oil more often?:cries:

I didn't mean to call you cheap, and you do have a good point...$1 for a conventional quart of oil, and $5 for sythetic...It's the filters that are going to cost you more.... Let me rephrase my statement...

If your Lazy and cheap like me go with Sythetic....If your not lazy and are a consumer by nature then go with conventional oil.... Is that bettter said?

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If your lazy use sythetic, if your a cheap *BLEEP* use conventional.... :rolleyes:

How can I be cheap by using conventional or a blend when I'm chastised for pouring money down a rat hole by changing oil more often?:cries:

I didn't mean to call you cheap, and you do have a good point...$1 for a conventional quart of oil, and $5 for sythetic...It's the filters that are going to cost you more.... Let me rephrase my statement...

If your Lazy and cheap like me go with Sythetic....If your not lazy and are a consumer by nature then go with conventional oil.... Is that bettter said?

:cheers::lol: :lol:

I don't drive my IS350 that much so I change with synthetic blend every 3000 miles or 6 months and get my filters from Irontoad. Costs me about $33 per change including tax and filter. That's my old school oil change habits from way back.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am about to get my 20K service on my IS350. Is this a good time to switch to synthetic oil? And what kind of synthetic oil would you recommend?

On the side note, my 15K service cost me $500. Aside from getting a loaner car, I still can't figure out why the service cost so damn much. The service rep, of course, couldn't give me a good answer. As far as my understanding, switching to synthetic oil can allow me to drive up to about 7500 miles.

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I am about to get my 20K service on my IS350. Is this a good time to switch to synthetic oil? And what kind of synthetic oil would you recommend?

On the side note, my 15K service cost me $500. Aside from getting a loaner car, I still can't figure out why the service cost so damn much. The service rep, of course, couldn't give me a good answer. As far as my understanding, switching to synthetic oil can allow me to drive up to about 7500 miles.

The 'search' tool is your friend. ;) The synthetic oil subject has been covered in great detail. Follow the maintenance schedule that Lexus recommends for the drain intervals for warranty purposes.

What work did you have done exactly for your 20k service?

:cheers:

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I am about to get my 20K service on my IS350. Is this a good time to switch to synthetic oil? And what kind of synthetic oil would you recommend?

On the side note, my 15K service cost me $500. Aside from getting a loaner car, I still can't figure out why the service cost so damn much. The service rep, of course, couldn't give me a good answer. As far as my understanding, switching to synthetic oil can allow me to drive up to about 7500 miles.

Yes it is a good time. I would have done it 20K miles ago...

I would do a search on this topic (but this forum is not the best on this topic). Since I test my oil, Amsoil, while 99% on this forum does not, you can go way over 7500 miles with Amsoil oils and be fine. Some other synthetics no way. Plus it depends on what you want. It is oil longeveity, oil performance, protection.....

Side not when something is called a synthetic you need to know what you are getting, what is a real synthetic and how it performs in your car. Example, Walmart Synthetic oil is not even close to Amsoils (for example). Also Lexus is WAY behind the times on oil duration.

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  • 2 weeks later...

hi all,

I'm so torn on where to go for my oil change/20k mile service. I would love to go to a dealer (prob longo lexus) since they are the most reliable and Longo has the best service out there, but they're asking for $173 for a 20k service. Is it worth it? OR can i prob go somewhere else for a lot less but same service. Also if i want synthetic oil it's an additional charge. I've been just going to independent mechanic shops but they just do a quick oil change but don't check anything else. I want a full check on everything to make sure my car is running smoothly. Any suggestions on where to go around torrance/la area?

i was thinking about going to this place called the Japanese Car Clinic in Harbor City, on Lomita. This mechanic has had lots of experience, and specializes in toyota and lexus vehicles. Maybe he'll give me the same service for cheaper price. Has anyone been here or heard of this place? I want to make sure I go somewhere reliable if not a dealership.

dealer or no dealer? synthetic or regular oil? please help!

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There's not all that much they check at that mileage that you can't have done somewhere else or check yourself. I get my oil changed at a local oil change place and do all the other filters and stuff myself. I don't plan on taking it to the dealer until the 36 month checkup.

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I assume the dealer puts in what Toyota specifies, may not be the same brand since I think they might come from the factory with ENEOS oil and whatever Toyota specifies in their Lexus cars should be great for it.

I second that. I've got my car service at 4 different dealers - 2 used Mobil, 1 Castrol & other toyota motor oil. I'm not going back to the dealer for maintenance, rather will get the work done at a local mechanic & use synthetic oil instead of conventional oil.

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I have a 2008 IS250 and was discussing first oil change with the dealer. He said the car comes with a break in oil that should be left for 5k miles and then they pay for first change. Is there really a break in oil that should stay that long? Also, he indicated that Lexus uses a blend of regular and synthetic oil and that is why changes are OK for 5K miles. Is that really correct as well? I had a '97 ES300 that Lexus recalled for a sludge problem when following their guidelines so I am a bit skeptical.

Thank much.

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I have a 2008 IS250 and was discussing first oil change with the dealer. He said the car comes with a break in oil that should be left for 5k miles and then they pay for first change. Is there really a break in oil that should stay that long? Also, he indicated that Lexus uses a blend of regular and synthetic oil and that is why changes are OK for 5K miles. Is that really correct as well? I had a '97 ES300 that Lexus recalled for a sludge problem when following their guidelines so I am a bit skeptical.

Thank much.

Most dealers do not have break-in oil (just use normal oil). There is such a thing but it is not a normal item. The ring seating is BS. It will happen no matter what. The first oil change will clean all the crap out of the engine via assembly. Lexus uses Mobil oil (dino) and it will be fine for 5K miles; but I would do it sooner on change #1. Heck, dino oil is fine for 5K miles. Synethic will be better for various reasons and has benefits. But without going into dept, you are fine.

I have a 98 and the sludge issue is overblown. Lexus did not recall any sludge cars. There where special processes that were in place if you had an issue. Lexus is why behind the times on oil I feel. I am doing way over normal drains and are 100% sure I am fine.

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lol i do everything at the dealership. your car is an investment, id like to keep it as perfect as possible. let me tell you what it pays for:

-the car gets checked out everywhere

-you get a service rep who listens to your problems, then calls for a test guy to drive along with you to diagnose it

-they will fix it under warranty or free sometimes

-they often (or at least mine) gives me coupons for services i dont even know about nor give him

-you get a nice lounge with wireless internet

-you can get dropped off

-you can get a loaner car (for $8 a day)

-you get your car washed

-you get peace of mind

-you get to look at the nice new cars in the showroom

i agree with everything benzo said, but maybe i wouldnt have put it so blunt. lol

I just recently took my car into the dealer and had them do my 5000 mile service and it was dont for free. I got my car back and noticed that there was a little hair pin scratch on my bumper and so I told my service advisor. They have scheduled an appointment for me to return my car next week to have the whole rear bumper changed brand new.

I am a do it myself guy and I understand that the dealerships always tries to charge alot of money but when it comes to my car I always try to have things done the right way. I have had too many incidents where my car has been serviced in the wrong way and had the pay even more. For example, I have a Lexus LX470 and the car has hydrolic suspensions and because some dumb idiot at the oil change place decided to try to help me out because my hydrolic fluid level was low, so he poured transmission oil into the hydrolic tank without my consent. After taking my car home, 6 months later the suspension was busted, the shocks locked up and did not work so I had to deal with the car bouncing all over the road. Now I am still saving money to have my car fixed because its gonna cost me a few thousand to have the whole system changed out. I was now quoted $8,000 at the dealer and when I went back to the guy and told him that he told me he never poured anything into the Hydrolic System.

All I am saying is that hey you spent 40k on the purchase of your car and if you want to keep the car for long term and have the peace of mind that your car is well taken care of then let the people at the dealer take care of your car. if something does go wrong then they will have the common courtesy to hekp you out. But to be honest changing the oil on a toyota is not hard at all, so why not learn it, so you know exactly what goes into the car.

I hope this helps!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Is there a reason why a dealer charge $175 + tax for an oil change?!

I paid it once at 5000 miles for my IS350 but I don't want to do it again.

I could put synthetic oil somewhere else and still not even pay half of that!

Should I stay with the dealer for the oil change because of warranty issues or should I go somewhere else?

I hate the fact that they taking advantage of the situation.

I just recently changed my oil to that Royal Purple synthetic, and I can say that I have noticed a difference. The car idols quieter and there has been a slight jump in HP. I saw the oil on horsepower tv when they ran a big block V8 on reg and then switched out to the Royal Purple and gained 8hp to the rear on the dyno. Whether I get extra HP or not, the car runs smoother and I would reco the $60 cost to do it.

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I was wondering what kind of gas I should put in my new IS 250. The sales guy told me that it will run on 87...but they "recommend" 93...any thoughts?

Will it "run" on 87? Yes.

Will it run -properly- on 87? no.

What it will do is knock, which the computer will notice, so it will !Removed! the timing to prevent engine damage, reducing power and efficiency... two things the IS250 can't afford to lose a lot of.

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DO YOU CHANGE YOUR OIL TOO OFTEN?

....

After all, over the years I've heard lots of different opinions on how often you should change your oil. Mechanics and oil companies say you should stick to the 3,000 mile interval, while automakers say most people don't need to change it that often. The synthetic oil people say you can even take it to 25,000 miles.

Obviously, they all have their own vested interest. If you're selling oil or oil changes, you want people changing their oil as frequently as possible. If you're selling cars, you'd like to see them wear out so people have to buy new ones. If you're selling synthetics you want to be able to charge a lot. So who should you believe? I decided I needed to hear first-hand from both sides, the auto industry and the oil industry.

The oil guys tell me an oil change is an awfully cheap insurance policy for your engine. They admit that following the owner's manual is the proper thing to do, unless you do severe driving. But they have a pretty broad definition of what they consider "severe." Their definition includes driving in very cold or very hot weather, in dusty conditions, any fast acceleration, stop-and-go driving, long highway hauls, or doing any amount of towing. In other words, they think most people engage in severe driving.

The car guys, on the other hand, tell me that 3,000 mile intervals went out with hula-hoops. They say that made sense way back in the 1960's when carburetors let a lot of unburned gas get into the oil. But with fuel injection, much tighter engine tolerances, extremely strict emissions standards and with much better engine oil than was available 40 years ago, most of them have more than doubled that interval. And yet, they admit that interval varies with the type of engine in a car and how it's driven.

That's why a number of automakers use oil monitoring systems in their engines to tell the driver when to change the oil. These systems look at how many times the engine is started, how high it revs and how hot it runs. Some systems, like BMW's, actually measure the quality of the oil. Others, like GM's, use an algorithm to calculate when the oil needs changing. Thanks to this system GM says that most of its customers now change their oil at 8,500 miles instead of the recommended 7,500.

But it varies. A Chevrolet Trailblazer with the 4.2 liter I-6 is seeing oil change intervals of 12,000 to 13,000 miles, GM says. But the same vehicle with the 5.3 liter V8 typically needs an oil change at 7,000 miles. That's mainly because the I-6 has a big oil pan and takes 7 quarts of oil, versus 6 for the V8.

All this can have a huge impact on how much engine oil we use. Americans buy 1.1 billion gallons of engine oil a year. Using the automakers' suggested interval could put a big dent in that number. And yet, to put it in perspective, we burn about 420 million gallons of oil a day in the form of gasoline and diesel fuel. So our engine oil usage represents less than 3 days of fuel.

...

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  • 2 months later...

I just purchased a 2008 IS 250 RWD w/ nav. It states premium fuel only. Is this necessary or can regular unleaded fuel work? I have put a tank of regular and did not see much difference. Maybe a mile or two per gallon. Just does not make up fo the cost of premium. Please help!

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I just purchased a 2008 IS 250 RWD w/ nav. It states premium fuel only. Is this necessary or can regular unleaded fuel work? I have put a tank of regular and did not see much difference. Maybe a mile or two per gallon. Just does not make up fo the cost of premium. Please help!

Welcome to the LOC. Good choice of car! ;)

About the gas thing. You should do a search first. We have really hammered this subject.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&hl=premium

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