Regular servicing

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

My bad, I stand corrected on the underbody filter = 40K.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

I'm curious where most people put the oil from their oil changes and has anyone ever bothered to get it tested?

In the bin usually because not all tips provide a recycling facility. You can't put the used oil into the recycle bin.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

I base my comments on scientific fact based on oil sampling that we used to do.

We found that if you don't use pristine clean oil change equipment you will introduce dust/dirt particles from funnels, hoses etc. which do a lot more damage than diesel soot which just looks bad.

Filters actually become more efficient at capturing dirt after a short time of use and then there is no need to replace them until they start to restrict flow. Most well designed filters bypass when they clog, and that can be a serious problem.

Caterpillar went through an interesting exercise many years ago when they mandated oil changes based on hours use and found with oil sampling that they were prematurely throwing out oil.

I'm curious where most people put the oil from their oil changes and has anyone ever bothered to get it tested?

If you think about it the intervals such as 5000, 7500, 10000, 15000 are pretty arbitary chosen for ease of use rather than science which would probably end up in intervals such as 9473kms etc.

In any case if it makes you feel better do the 5000km oil changes.

The good news is, my Equiptment is pristine, like my workshop been to a hospital?

Also it's a waste of time changing the filter @ 5000k just oil. The oil filter will be fine for 20,000 stick with 10k lol......

I'm sure we are prematurely throwing out oil. But I'm sure new oil will look after your engine better than 6+ months old or 5000k soot oil.

Some people do get it tested, sometimes finding it over the maximum allowable soot. Many come back just within limits. New oil is well within!!

Looking at my clear dipstick makes me feel a bit better, but the shock horror look on others faces when they check it & think there's no oil is funny too.

Most car lovers do their oil at 5000k, yes we may be crazy, but you get that

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

My bad, I stand corrected on the underbody filter = 40K.

Yeah corrected underbody filter 20k you mean? Double doozie?

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

Fortunately, our local tip accepts used engine oil, and it gets recycled...supposedly. We dump it into a dedicated large bulk container at the tip.
I don't arbitrarily service the car at 5,000 km intervals, its the Toyota recommendation (and I know, you can easily argue that its Toyota setting an arbitrary 5,000 km service interval)....but when you read the fine print in the service book, when driving in dusty conditions, stop start conditions, hot areas and towing etc, etc, etc, then the service intervals for things like engine oil etc are recommended by Toyota to be done more frequently. But I do agree, that oil changes based on oil testing is a great idea, and I'd like to look into that, because we hope to soon get a new Prado, (the 2016 "GD" model Prado), and the engine oil with the new model will be more expensive than previous models as it has to be Diesel Particulate Filter "compatible"...or so I believe, (is that right?)...so I might not change the engine oil routinely every 5,000 km. (but certainly before and after big outback off road trips etc) ...I know others have mentioned it elsewhere, but whereabouts do folk actually get engine oil tested quickly and for a reasonable price... somewhere around Brisbane?...I could search the internet, but I would like to know if anyone has "first hand" experience and can recommend somewhere?
BTW, after approx 220,000 km and with approx 5,000 km service intervals, our 2010 Prado was still starting and running beautifully, idling quietly, with no undue rattles, and still had excellent injector feedback values (on the original injectors), so I was really happy with that, and we got excellent resale on the car.
Its a great discussion though, and I learn't quite a lot about the Prado and servicing from this forum...thanks Pradopoint and PP members!

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Yeah corrected underbody filter 20k you mean? Double doozie?

Yeah, you know what I mean. I need another holiday. Only been back at work 6 weeks.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Lots of modern diesels have recommended oil change intervals at 15,000km, 20,000km, 30,000km and even out to 80,000km in some instances, so going to 5k changes just to make yourself feel good doesn't seem to smart to me, I will save my money on the oil and spend it on diesel and feel good about spending another day out in the bush!

Cheers Andrew

[REN470 Member Find all posts View Profile Close REN470]

Interesting that people comply with Toyota requirements such as weight restrictions but don't trust them to know about engine servicing intervals.

Congratulations, been thinking the same thing since joining and reading so much negativity about dealers - trust them to build such a complex machine and then don't trust them to change the oil?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Congratulations, been thinking the same thing since joining and reading so much negativity about dealers - trust them to build such a complex machine and then don't trust them to change the oil?

It disappoints me no end that the forum in general seems to be getting more negative as time goes by. Someone has an issue and people almost seem excited to have something new to whinge or worry about.

Cheers Andrew

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Congratulations, been thinking the same thing since joining and reading so much negativity about dealers - trust them to build such a complex machine and then don't trust them to change the oil?

We trust Toyota Japan to build the great truck they do.
But it's hard for people to trust the kids out the back of dealerships, the bad work & things that get left are things I regularly see & have experienced myself more often than not.

Chalk & cheese is the Short way to say it.

Most people won't notice, so to save worry keep going there & put head in sand, all will b ok.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Lots of modern diesels have recommended oil change intervals at 15,000km, 20,000km, 30,000km and even out to 80,000km in some instances, so going to 5k changes just to make yourself feel good doesn't seem to smart to me, I will save my money on the oil and spend it on diesel and feel good about spending another day out in the bush!

Cheers Andrew

Yeah some truck engines are up there.
However the PRADO engine we are discussing is certainly 5000 or 10,000k.
Most people who are looking after their truck with 5000k oil changes are d.i.y car lovers & the value of the oil is about $50.00, these guys are not short of money so they will be in the bush for the extra day also feeling double as good
Probably 2 more days in the bush.

I bet they would drop the 5000k oil change for 2 weeks a year extra annual leave? Ha!

Certainly a personal choice when it comes to maintenance & it's all good!

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

Lots of modern diesels have recommended oil change intervals at 15,000km, 20,000km, 30,000km and even out to 80,000km in some instances, so going to 5k changes just to make yourself feel good doesn't seem to smart to me, I will save my money on the oil and spend it on diesel and feel good about spending another day out in the bush!

Cheers Andrew

I hear you AJ, and I'm definitely not an expert, (and i'm not arguing, just friendly comments)... but I'm not personally aware of any 4 cylinder diesel 4wd that has oil change intervals of that duration, and it is indeed Toyota themselves who recommend a 5,000 km service interval (when driving under what they define as 'adverse" conditions (or words to that effect)) . It was explained to me by a diesel fitter that the modern 4 cylinder 4wd engine has such high tolerances etc that they aren't quite as robust as say the big diesel cat engines etc, which have high capacity oil sumps and filters etc...so what I do is make sure I service the vehicle at the 10,000 km intervals, and then I do additional oil and filter changes and greases myself at convenient times at approx the 5,000 km mark between services, when under 'adverse conditions' (give or take 1000 km's within reason)...and it seems to have worked well for my Prado...its not about feeling good as such, but for me its definitely about following the printed service schedule guide issued by Toyota.

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

I think you will find a lot of trucks that get serviced by mileage are highway trucks, doing big mileage.

So most american engines can go for 30,000Km before an oil change under highway conditions. Say the truck averages 80kph, so that is 375hrs approx. Around town trucks such as concrete trucks that do a lot of idling are serviced by hours, and for ease most owners tend to go for either 300hrs or 350hrs. Remember these trucks hold up to 35L of oil depending on the application (sump size) and have one, usually two large oil filters.

Compare this to our Prado's, ours averages about 35kph according to the trip computer. So 375hrs is 13,125Km, 300hrs is 10,500Km. So going by this a service interval of 10,000Km is about right for ease of a round number. Bear in mind our oil filter is tiny in comparison and our oil capacity is also small.

So servicing every 10,000Km is good for most, especially those who can't/don't do their own servicing. Those who do their own do it when you want. I do mine every 5,000Km because I don't pay for my labour, I get my oil from work and don't pay for it and I get trade on the filter, so it costs me under $20 to do the 5,000Km service. It also gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, and you can't put a price on that!

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

It disappoints me no end that the forum in general seems to be getting more negative as time goes by. Someone has an issue and people almost seem excited to have something new to whinge or worry about.

Cheers Andrew

Unfortunately this kind of - negativity is not only limited to Forums, society in general tends to lean toward the - negative.
Always hear of the poor, over priced, damaged work done by dealership service centers than the good out comes.
The CEO or DP of the franchise can have the best of intentions of quality control and customer service, but unless this commitment carries down through the ranks the warm and fuzzy feeling can fizzle out.

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

Unfortunately this kind of - negativity is not only limited to Forums, society in general tends to lean toward the - negative.
Always hear of the poor, over priced, damaged work done by dealership service centers than the good out comes.
The CEO or DP of the franchise can have the best of intentions of quality control and customer service, but unless this commitment carries down through the ranks the warm and fuzzy feeling can fizzle out.

Humans have a tendency to place more focus on negative experiences than good experiences. Very few people are motivated to post about a good experience, I did notice a good news story in the forum about towbars recently.

The internet has made this worse, something we can all probably do is post a few more good news stories.