Still Change Your Own Oil?

[Retired Guy]

Oil changes are one of the few things I can do anymore. I change the oil in all of our vehicles. It's easy, I know what went in and that it was done right. Once I took my truck to a oil change place and asked them to use the Mobil 1 I brought in. Long story short, I asked for the empty container so I could dump some old oil in it. Lots of hemming and hawing. The guy put the jug in his trunk and didn't even touch my oil. If I hadn't caught them, I would have paid them to let me keep my old oil and steal a jug of Mobil 1.

My vehicles all specify 5K oil changes. I use Mobil 1 and have been changing around 10 months or 8K. Even then, I know I still have a margin of safety. My daughter drives a Ford Focus and mostly freeway driving. I sent in her last oil change sample to Blackstone Lab with 13K on the oil. They recommended going 2K more and rechecking (not change).

 

[notazombie]

Oil changes are cheap insurance. 3k on the short trippers and 5k on the ones that get long commutes or road miles. Forget about what the owner's manual says. Manufacturers are bound by CAFE ratings and really only care to the point of warranty expiration.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

@Oregonhunter5 i dont work for toyota(i work for GM) so i cant truthfully answer your question but what i can do is talk to the guys at toyota next door and see what theyve seen.

just this week, i have replaced 2 GM LS type engines from lack of maintenance/oil consumption. it shows big time under the valve covers when people dont change their oil. one yesterday and one today. doing the 3rd one tomorrow/possibly just doing a cam and lifters on it.

I see your points.
I guess my skeptical mind says it's a way for Toyota to run a vehicle into the grave faster. But from my experience Toyota doesn't operate that way. There business plan thrives off of vehicles that last forever. I trying to remember when Toyota switched to every 10k...? I'm on my 4th tundra. It's a 2017. Anyways, I've see 2 of the smaller 2007 4.7 liter go 1 million miles on the same engine. I guess when it's 10k change the car companies are banking on synthetic oil
Being the savior.
At 5k miles it's $29.00. Just checking levels.
At 10k miles it's like $90.00.
I skip the 5k and just have schaub rotate the tires for free. So it's really $45.00 every 5k for the tundra. I most Likely will trade up when I hit 175,000 miles. Im
Much more confident in a Toyota vs American engine at 10k changes. I kinda feel we put to much worry into this. Who keeps a vehicle past 200,000 anymore?
I got $21k for my last tundra. 7 years old and had 175,000 miles. Incredible how they hold value..

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I see your points.
I guess my skeptical mind says it's a way for Toyota to run a vehicle into the grave faster. But from my experience Toyota doesn't operate that way. There business plan thrives off of vehicles that last forever. I trying to remember when Toyota switched to every 10k...? I'm on my 4th tundra. It's a 2017. Anyways, I've see 2 of the smaller 2007 4.7 liter go 1 million miles on the same engine. I guess when it's 10k change the car companies are banking on synthetic oil
Being the savior.
At 5k miles it's $29.00. Just checking levels.
At 10k miles it's like $90.00.
I skip the 5k and just have schaub rotate the tires for free. So it's really $45.00 every 5k for the tundra. I most Likely will trade up when I hit 175,000 miles. Im
Much more confident in a Toyota vs American engine at 10k changes. I kinda feel we put to much worry into this. Who keeps a vehicle past 200,000 anymore?
I got $21k for my last tundra. 7 years old and had 175,000 miles. Incredible how they hold value..

toyota is definately a superior product. we wanted an SUV. it was a no brainer to buy a 4runner. very good rigs and have been since they came out(minus 3.0l v6) and they still have a frame.

Toyota Trades New Tundra For One With A Million Miles

Built Toyota Tough: Second Tundra Truck Hits 1 Million Miles

my 98 f150 has over 250k on it. ive owned it since 131,818 miles. only things ive ever done are spark plugs twice, filters, fluids, speedo gear in t-case, wheel hubs,belt,brakes and i did headgaskets at 220k. doesnt leak a drop of oil or coolant. original water pump, hoses, radiator, most of the gaskets... im impressed.

 

[L84Cabo]

I put myself through college working in a garage. Back then I changed my own oil all the time because I had access to a lift and stuff. Nowadays, I pay to have it done. The cost is well worth the time and hassle of doing it myself.

 

[cigars]

4 vehicles and a motorcycle. For one thing that's a lot of time spend waiting for some shop to do it one at a time. Besides the fact that I'm cheap, I can do all the cars in one shot and save time and money.
As far as oil goes, I'm switching to amazon prime full synthetic. I've been using Mobil 1 for years but amazon is now in the motor oil business. Their full synthetic is rated the same and has all of the same specs as the Mobil 1 and they will ship it free. For oil filters I use Wix or NAPA Gold.
Edit: The bonus is that Waste Management picks up my used motor oil at curbside on trash day.

 

[RicInOR]

What do you all do with the used oil?

I have an O'Reilleys near me, but inevitably the tank is full, or the manager is not here.

 

[Certaindeaf]

What do you all do with the used oil?

I have an O'Reilleys near me, but inevitably the tank is full, or the manager is not here.

If you have curbside trash pick up just put it in empty water/milk jugs and they'll take it for recycle.

 

[Ironbar]

Not sure if anyone has an answer for this one, but my xwifes 2007 Porsche Cayman S owners manual says first oil change is 20,000 miles. It used Mobil-1 0w-40

Maybe we all change the oil too often?

Baloney. I'd never let it go that far. 5,000 max even with synthetic oil.

 

[Ironbar]

If you have curbside trash pick up just put it in empty water/milk jugs and they'll take it for recycle.

You can also recycle used motor oil at the Waste Management recycling center in Newberg. I take stuff there all the time.

 

[orygun]

With one exception I always have changed my own oil, plus all service work on the vehicles we own. When I bought the wife a Jag we got several thousand miles of free oil changes. After those ran out I still dropped the car off at Monte Shelton's for the oil changes. It was less hassle and they even washed the car for her.
These days I drive 'em to work and do it on the lift. Too easy.

 

[Baseacegoku]

A long time ago when I owned my first car- yes.

Later on when it was less hassle and expense going to oil change place- no.

View attachment 587251

Nowadays with this rig, oil changes are up around the $90.00 range, so it's back to doing it myself, especially since I now work for a company where I can get synthetic oil at cost. It's my own labor, and I can change it for less than half the cost of anywhere else.

Have you tried taking that oil and filter to a quick lube and asking how much they would charge just to do the change with your stuff? I do that with my wife's car because no place in town carries the oil I like to use in it. They charge me $19.99 to do the change.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Baloney. I'd never let it go that far. 5,000 max even with synthetic oil.

Preach it. Mobile 1 is cheap these days..

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Preach it. Mobile 1 is cheap these days..

But how many miles do you put on your cars before you sell?

 

[Certaindeaf]

But how many miles do you put on your cars before you sell?

300,000

 

[Oregonhunter5]

300,000

That's 3 rebuilds on a Ford! Lol!!
State law!

 

[Certaindeaf]

I knew an actual rocket scientist that never changed the erl in his then brand new toyota pu.
It made it to 60,000.
yay rockets

 

[jbett98]

I've seen the horror stories and aftermath of the places that change oil when they make simple mistakes. Which they pretty much have all been caught doing. So I do as much to all of my own vehicle maintenance as possible.

Not only have I seen stripped threads on drain plugs, but more often when they check the air filter they don't close up the filter housing properly and leave the lid loose, so dirty air can infiltrate the intake.
This happened just last week to my daughter in Texas. The air box on her 2010 Nissan Sentra is the most user friendly ever designed, but the kid managed to lose one of the two snap springs and left the other loose.
When she called me that she had a weird rattling sound and whistling noise after the oil change, I had a premonition and told her go outside and check the air filter cover. She ordered a new snap spring on Amazon and installed it herself the next day.

 

[Mikej]

We'd always taken the '05 CRV to Tonkin for the oil changes, at 3000-5000. Over the years, various prices, $19.00-$39.99. Last time the gal told me at sign-in it would be $59.99. I wast ticked. Oh, they added tire rotation to the service, woop! I don't need that. That's costco's job. I paid it though. And complained at the website. Told them I'll be doing my own Differential lube change, and fan belt change now too. All I got back was "Blah blah"..."minimum wage, prices going up, blah" I always though that budget oil change was fostering good will with the customer. I'll buy a new car once we run this CRV into the ground, but it won't likely be from Tonkin. And I'll be looking at who will offer reasonable oil changes.

 

[WAYNO]

I'm to the point that I do very little of my own auto maintenance. That said, I have trouble finding a shop that can even perform a simple oil change without issues.

Loose plugs, leaking oil filters, air filter housings and/or covers not re-fastened, tools left in the engine compartment, and more.

And I tell them leave my tires alone! It's difficult to get the pressures close enough to not cause a TPMS warning, and as soon as they mess with the tire pressures, I must go thru the whole process again, matching the pressures on each tire as appropriate.

And the last time I had my Patriot at Tonkin for an oil change, when they were done, all the stuff in my glove compartment was dumped on the floor and my vehicle registration was missing.

I'll pay the price, and I'll even pay a premium, if I could just find somebody I could trust.