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First Oil Change In 2009 Rx350


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I'm a newbie to this website. I'm at 1,000 mile w/ my RX. The dealer says to change at 1,000. Is it necessary to change it then? My mechanic read in his "book" (about everything you need to know about any car - or something like that) to wait until 5,000; that it was filled w/ synthetic oil at the dealership. Who waited until 5,000 mile for the first change? I really don't know didly about engines & want to do the correct thing! I'm planning on driving this RX for a long time.

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Hi ZeeRX350,

I can't speak to whatever book your mechanic was looking at, but Lexus recommends that you change the oil at 1,000 miles, at 5,000 miles and then at 5,000 mile intervals. And since Lexus provides the 1,000 mile and the 5,000 mile service at no charge, why wouldn't you? Your mechanic will charge you for it.

Also, at the 1,000 mile service, they will program any 'personal setting' changes you request (see your user manual). At the 5,000 mile service, they will inspect the brakes and rotate the tires. Both are good things to do on a regular basis- especially if its free!

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I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

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I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

I don't know if Lexus uses synthetic oil or not. Often, on cars that require a change of oil at 1000 miles, the original oil is a 'running-in oil', and requires that amount of distance to do its job. I am of the opinion that unused oil in a crankcase does not really deteriorate, and, accordingly, though I am buying a car received by the dealership in Jun 2008 (we are now Jan/Feb 09), I do not plan to ask for the oil to be changed. IMHO, particularly if synthetic oil is used, the time between oil changes can be extended to a year (though I still stay within the 5000 mile use). But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

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But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

I don't think anyone is advocating trashing the planet with excess waste. Gone are the days when idiots pour their old oil into the river or lake or down the storm drains. Even my cat knows that oil is recycled these days. She is GREEN!

If there is the slightest question regarding sending 6 quarts of oil to the recycler to ensure that I do not send my longblock to the scrapyard, I will choose to recycle a little oil.

Perspective, my man.

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  • 1 month later...
I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

I don't know if Lexus uses synthetic oil or not. Often, on cars that require a change of oil at 1000 miles, the original oil is a 'running-in oil', and requires that amount of distance to do its job. I am of the opinion that unused oil in a crankcase does not really deteriorate, and, accordingly, though I am buying a car received by the dealership in Jun 2008 (we are now Jan/Feb 09), I do not plan to ask for the oil to be changed. IMHO, particularly if synthetic oil is used, the time between oil changes can be extended to a year (though I still stay within the 5000 mile use). But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

When I had the RX oil changed at the dealership, I confirmed they used standard dino 5W30 and an OEM filter. I didn't ask specifically, but synthetic likely would have resulted in additional costs.

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But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

I don't think anyone is advocating trashing the planet with excess waste. Gone are the days when idiots pour their old oil into the river or lake or down the storm drains. Even my cat knows that oil is recycled these days. She is GREEN!

If there is the slightest question regarding sending 6 quarts of oil to the recycler to ensure that I do not send my longblock to the scrapyard, I will choose to recycle a little oil.

Perspective, my man.

Not a long block, but a V-block. And the alternative is not that you either change the oil too often or send the V-bloc to the scrapyard.

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I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

I don't know if Lexus uses synthetic oil or not. Often, on cars that require a change of oil at 1000 miles, the original oil is a 'running-in oil', and requires that amount of distance to do its job. I am of the opinion that unused oil in a crankcase does not really deteriorate, and, accordingly, though I am buying a car received by the dealership in Jun 2008 (we are now Jan/Feb 09), I do not plan to ask for the oil to be changed. IMHO, particularly if synthetic oil is used, the time between oil changes can be extended to a year (though I still stay within the 5000 mile use). But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

When I had the RX oil changed at the dealership, I confirmed they used standard dino 5W30 and an OEM filter. I didn't ask specifically, but synthetic likely would have resulted in additional costs.

Then I will probably bring the RX into the dealership at, say 1,200 miles instead of the 1,000, request an oil change - to synthetic - and then go the rest of the time to 5,000 miles. In my case, because I drive each of my cars so little, this could take another 9 months or so, and I am more comfortable in the durability (time-wise) of synthetic vs. dino. Thanks for letting me/us know.

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I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

I don't know if Lexus uses synthetic oil or not. Often, on cars that require a change of oil at 1000 miles, the original oil is a 'running-in oil', and requires that amount of distance to do its job. I am of the opinion that unused oil in a crankcase does not really deteriorate, and, accordingly, though I am buying a car received by the dealership in Jun 2008 (we are now Jan/Feb 09), I do not plan to ask for the oil to be changed. IMHO, particularly if synthetic oil is used, the time between oil changes can be extended to a year (though I still stay within the 5000 mile use). But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

When I had the RX oil changed at the dealership, I confirmed they used standard dino 5W30 and an OEM filter. I didn't ask specifically, but synthetic likely would have resulted in additional costs.

Then I will probably bring the RX into the dealership at, say 1,200 miles instead of the 1,000, request an oil change - to synthetic - and then go the rest of the time to 5,000 miles. In my case, because I drive each of my cars so little, this could take another 9 months or so, and I am more comfortable in the durability (time-wise) of synthetic vs. dino. Thanks for letting me/us know.

I'm not going to steer the thread in a synthetic versus dino controversy, but in general, most proponents of synthetic recommend letting the engine break-in for the first 10,000-20,000 miles with the original dino oil, as-is by the factory, before making the switch. Those curious for specifics can google further, but it seems to be the general consensus to wait a bit. I don't know if this applies to all engines, or just older designs, excluding the Toyota/Lexus 2GR-FE that's in our vehicles, but just FYI...

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I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says to change the oil at 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. My first oil change was at 6 months with about 4k miles on the clock. The 1,000 mile "service" was nothing more than tweaking the personal settings and making sure we were happy with the vehicle.

I see no reason to change the oil at 1,000 miles in a modern street driven car.

I don't know if Lexus uses synthetic oil or not. Often, on cars that require a change of oil at 1000 miles, the original oil is a 'running-in oil', and requires that amount of distance to do its job. I am of the opinion that unused oil in a crankcase does not really deteriorate, and, accordingly, though I am buying a car received by the dealership in Jun 2008 (we are now Jan/Feb 09), I do not plan to ask for the oil to be changed. IMHO, particularly if synthetic oil is used, the time between oil changes can be extended to a year (though I still stay within the 5000 mile use). But I believe I am in a minority position here, the general opinion being 'can't hurt to change your oil, so do it frequently'. I was brought up hating waste.

When I had the RX oil changed at the dealership, I confirmed they used standard dino 5W30 and an OEM filter. I didn't ask specifically, but synthetic likely would have resulted in additional costs.

Then I will probably bring the RX into the dealership at, say 1,200 miles instead of the 1,000, request an oil change - to synthetic - and then go the rest of the time to 5,000 miles. In my case, because I drive each of my cars so little, this could take another 9 months or so, and I am more comfortable in the durability (time-wise) of synthetic vs. dino. Thanks for letting me/us know.

I'm not going to steer the thread in a synthetic versus dino controversy, but in general, most proponents of synthetic recommend letting the engine break-in for the first 10,000-20,000 miles with the original dino oil, as-is by the factory, before making the switch. Those curious for specifics can google further, but it seems to be the general consensus to wait a bit. I don't know if this applies to all engines, or just older designs, excluding the Toyota/Lexus 2GR-FE that's in our vehicles, but just FYI...

Yes - again without reviving the dino/synth. controversy - I have heard the same from some people. But BMW starts you out with synthetic in the new engine (first recommended oil change 15,000 miles or one year, whichever is first, and my engine on the BMW is like a sewing machine (actually sounds better, and of course more powerful (joke)), uses 'practically no' oil.

However, reading through some of the comments when I 'google' the issue, I notice a large number of comments on running-in the engine (to 10K miles, say) on dino oil and thereafter switching to synthetic. Because it is (for me) a least risk course, I will at least change the oil (dino) at 1200 miles, and also possibly at 5,000 miles. I do note there is some inconsistency in the comments made: they seem to believe that the best running-in for the engine is to load it quite hard early on, which is said to seat/wear in the rings best, and that if it is not done early, it is too late to remedy it. So: why the emphasis on keeping dino oil for 10K miles -> if all is set after the first few miles, what difference could it make???

Anyway, thank you very much for drawing my attention to this... Certainly makes me think things over.

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