Short Trip To Work

[mdme]

Hello, just bought a 2008 RX400h. (my awd IS250 died in a crash).....anyway, have been lurking here for quite a while and found this forum to be quite helpful.

I have a question to anyone who might be able to shed some light on the subject.

If my daily commute to work is like 1.5 miles (which means 3 miles in total), wouldn't the engine have a hard time since it doesn't get fully warmed up then it has to stop? I do however take her for a 15 or so miles over the weekend and take her for a 175 mile trip twice a month. would that somehow clean up the sludge build up from the "short trips"? How often should I change my oil? and when I do, should I change to synthetic (since I go to Canada at times)? Is there some sort of a heat recovery system similar to the RX450h? Lots of questions, I hope someone can help me. Thanks.

[RX400h]

I would strongly recommend that you have your oil tested at the first or second oil change. Almost definitely, there will be excessive moisture in it. The weekend drives should help, but I doubt it will remove all built up moisture. I knew a guy who drove his Toyota truck 1-1.5 miles to work every day. By 40,000 miles or less, his engine had seized from sludge buildup. He would've been a good candidate for an all-electric vehicle and you fall into the same category as well. But for now you should monitor your oil's moisture content. Synthetic oil will certainly be more resistant to sludge formation, but is not a cure-all.

Dave

[mdme]

I would strongly recommend that you have your oil tested at the first or second oil change. Almost definitely, there will be excessive moisture in it. The weekend drives should help, but I doubt it will remove all built up moisture. I knew a guy who drove his Toyota truck 1-1.5 miles to work every day. By 40,000 miles or less, his engine had seized from sludge buildup. He would've been a good candidate for an all-electric vehicle and you fall into the same category as well. But for now you should monitor your oil's moisture content. Synthetic oil will certainly be more resistant to sludge formation, but is not a cure-all.

Dave

thanks for your reply. I will try to do what you advised. what about my twice a month 175 mile trips. I suppose they would help too? What should I do with the results of the oil moisture content? Does that mean I should change oil more often?

[katzjamr]

im no expert but i would think the long trips twice a month would go along way to negate the moisture from the short trips. i got the lexus dealer to reduce the oil change cost by half because i did them more frequently. alot of toyota and lexus dealers were using a better quality synthetic blend oil, now i see they have gone to a cheaper bulk regular oil in many cases and not advising people of the change. I did call them on that after my last oil change and i have to admit the service guy took the 400h right back (i was still at the dealer) went to the auto parts store, got my blend oil and replaced it at no charge.

[RX400h]

I would strongly recommend that you have your oil tested at the first or second oil change. Almost definitely, there will be excessive moisture in it. The weekend drives should help, but I doubt it will remove all built up moisture. I knew a guy who drove his Toyota truck 1-1.5 miles to work every day. By 40,000 miles or less, his engine had seized from sludge buildup. He would've been a good candidate for an all-electric vehicle and you fall into the same category as well. But for now you should monitor your oil's moisture content. Synthetic oil will certainly be more resistant to sludge formation, but is not a cure-all.

Dave

thanks for your reply. I will try to do what you advised. what about my twice a month 175 mile trips. I suppose they would help too? What should I do with the results of the oil moisture content? Does that mean I should change oil more often?

My guess (and as Katz suggested as well) is that your long trips would help but just to be on the safe side, I would have the oil analyzed for excessive moisture content. The important thing to know, of course, is what acceptable moisture levels are. Blackstone labs is a well-known oil testing company.Here's their link:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas_engines.html

If the moisture level is too high after a couple of months of your driving routine, then more frequent oil changes or a switch to synthetic oil would be recommended.

[Gryphon]

That's an interesting scenario for sure. My gut feel is that the long trips would be more than adequate to evaporate any moisture from your oil. But what effect that moisture does to your engine between the bi-monthly runs is a more difficult question to answer.

Tom

[mdme]

Thanks guys for the responses. I will see what the verdict on the oil analysis would be. If I get any useful info, I would post it back. I will however be going on an extended trip to Canada next month which would be 650+ miles one way and another 650+ miles back. Since my RX400h is only at 500 miles, I reckon I will make my oil change at 5000miles and check it then to see how it goes. Just like what you guys said, I originally thought that the long trips would help "clean up" what the short trips do since the engine/oil would be at optimal temps for a 3+ hours every trip. I hope that's the case (for my RX400h's sake).

[jpzy3rxh]

Is a 7 mile commute one-way long enough to avoid moisture in the oil? Sometimes it's a 10-15minute commute and other times due to traffic it could be as long as 30 minutes.