Hi,
I've already got to my 500 mile mark and was wondering if i can change the oil first before i get my first oil change from the dealer in feburary ?!?!?! if i change it myself first will it void the 3 free oil changes i get from the dealer !?!?!!?

No it won't.

It's your car. Do it if you want to. The 3 free oil changes are tracked by VIN. Just go in and tell them you want one of your free ones, they can check to see if you have used them or not. You don't have to wait until Feb for the dealer, tell them you want it now. But there's really no need to change the oil that soon. It's not running break-in oil, the engines are already done.

oh ok ... read somewhere on this forum that people changed their oil at 500 miles to get the engine metal or something out ?!?!?! don't know ... guess i'll do it later then ...

btw what kind of oil filter is best ?!?!? FRAM ?!?! or the TRD ones they sell one ebay ?!?!? i used to just use FRAM for my tercel ... don't know what to use now ?!?!?! don't mind paying a few extra bucks for a better oil filter tho ...

Change it 3000, metal bits whatever, its not going to hurt anything. Break it in just how you drive it.

The latest Toyota motors are pretty simple and not much is going to stop them ever.

I was reading the tC maintenence book and its says to change it every 5000 miles any opions on that? To be on the safe side I am personaly waiting on every 4000 miles.

I was reading the tC maintenence book and its says to change it every 5000 miles any opions on that? To be on the safe side I am personaly waiting on every 4000 miles.


I do it about every 7500. It's almost all freeway miles, It's brand new, It's a Toyota. People are always watching that gas gauge but will throw perfectly good oil out.

Japanese engines have very tight tolerances and with that, they don't have to run as strong of rings. Because the parts fit together so much better, there isn't the same need to score the cylinder walls to seat the rings as in big sloppy American engines. So they don't get the metal in the early stages and why they run for a few hundred thousand miles.

from what ive heard, you shouldnt buy aftermarket oil filters. there is a site floating around with a comparison to what i believe is a nissan part oilfilter compared to some undisclosed off the shelf filter from kragen. the nissan filter proved to be a much better filter. spend the extra $10 or so and make sure your oil stays clean.

k&n oil filters are great if ya got the 10 bucks to spend on em. and most are slightly larger capacity so extra oil.

It's your car. Do it if you want to. The 3 free oil changes are tracked by VIN.

I am trading in my 04 BOP for an 05 TCM, I still have 2 free changes in the book from my BOP so this would mean I cannot use my two old ones plus my 3 new correct? Just asking because I don't want them to laugh at me lol..

I'm not sure. I just know he pulled up my car by VIN and confirmed that I hadn't used any of them. This was at a different stealership than where I bought it. I don't know if they could travel with you or not. It's worth a try, tell them they said YOU got 3 free...

There has been problems with older camry engines, pre-2001, "sludging" up with oil. Toyota claimed it was a design issue and owner neglect, but many manufacturers have been having problems with oil sludge after they revised their maintanance schedules to recommend 5k oil changes. Oil changes are cheap, change your oil every 3.5k and never worry about it. :wink:

dont use fram filters...i read a report that they are one of the worst filters to use...ill see if i can find it again

WIX oil filters are a good way to go!!!

WIX # 51394 thats for the 1.5L

yea but how do you kill the "maint. needed" lamp on the dash?

yea but how do you kill the "maint. needed" lamp on the dash?

ALways check the Tech Section for these things. Many other great tips as well:

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/

Reset Maint. Required light:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20749

Wix - good

Fram - crap

Wix - good

Fram - crap


I dunno so much about that.
I have used Fram filters on all of my cars, from Pontiac. . to Chevrolet. . .to Toyota.. Ford. . . Chrysler. . . . Honda. . . Scion, for more than 40 years.
I have NEVER had ANY type of oil filtration problem.
I have 1 million (plus) miles (total) logged onto my personal vehicles.
(I had a 1981 Toyota Corolla w/ the 3TC motor - that went 191,000 miles and the only problem I had with the engine. . . the oil sending unit went bad at 11,000 miles. (Warranty item.)

Now, I have read that "NAPA" filters are excellent.

I have also read on other forums that K&N does not do everything that it claims to do, including their air filters giving 'such & such' extra horsepower.

Fram has been given a bad 'rap'. I spin one onto my vehicle with EVERY oil change.

Change the oil at 3,000 miles. It is the engine's life-blood. Every car/truck that I have owned have gone 100, 000 + miles, and I've NEVER had to do any type of internal repairs.

Yes, call me 'Old School.' Yes, call me 'Old.' I am both. Heck, I've been called worse. (And no, I don't even care 'bout that, either!!) Ha! :lol:

There has been problems with older camry engines, pre-2001, "sludging" up with oil. Toyota claimed it was a design issue and owner neglect, but many manufacturers have been having problems with oil sludge after they revised their maintanance schedules to recommend 5k oil changes. Oil changes are cheap, change your oil every 3.5k and never worry about it. :wink:

yes correct
change the oil every 3-4K

the 5K maintenence is under perfect conditions just like the epa gas mileage #'s

real world driving you should be changing it every 3-4K we actually make note of people who change their oil every 5K+ and then deny their warranty when they come back with sludge build up or problems of that sort

As far as filtration goes the Fram does an excellent job. You can measure this yourself by putting a used filter on a scale when you do oil changes, and comparing its weight gain to a new filter. A used Fram will weigh a couple ounces more than a new fram, and a Wix will weigh only about 1 more ounce than a new wix. Its cause it filtered out that much more dirt. (This was with an old V8 with an opensided air filter driven on gravel roads, not a new car driven on streets.) You can also see it in the color of the oil you changing. Perhaps not as scientific, but to me it seemed like the Fram left the oil a lot clearer at 3000 miles than a Wix would.

That said, Fram used to have quality control issue on the anti-backflow valve. If you ever get a brief knocking noise on startup, one thing to try is to change the oil filter immediately. I haven't had that particular problem in a long time now, but years ago that was an issue with Fram.

half the siezed motors i've seen come into the shop is because of fram filters
they love to leak/fail

"half the siezed motors i've seen come into the shop is because of fram filters
they love to leak/fail"

Was the other half from wix? :)

I'm not saying fram is that great as far as bypassing or backflow problems are concerned, I'm just saying that for filtration they are good.

I monitor a motorcyle message board and this oil filter debate recycles itself over there too. One guy posted a link to a site that compared filters by dissecting new filters to see how they are made. The Frams stood out for being made with cheaper materials and methods...and I guess this is why some motorcycle guys are afraid of Frams.

But...ask people to prove that the Frams are responsible for more engine failures than other filters and you'll get less convincing data. I don't know if such a thing can be proven.

This is why I don't pay much attention to these sorts of things, especially with products such as Fram that continue to have a prominent place in the marketplace. (if they were truly evil wouldn't be able to sell their filters, I think.)

I use K&N Oil Filters, with Mobile 1 Sythetic Oil "Newer Vehicle Formula"

I change my tC's oil every 3,000 miles to gaurentee good lube and no friction.

My friend who sold me my tC, said that if something should go wrong with your engine, and they spot a "foriegn" oil filter such as, fram, k&n, etc... that whatever the damage is done to your engine, it will NOT be covered under warranty.

I was shocked when I heard it too, but I have quit the BS racing with my car, it's all show now!

I use K&N Oil Filters, with Mobile 1 Sythetic Oil "Newer Vehicle Formula"

I change my tC's oil every 3,000 miles to gaurentee good lube and no friction.

My friend who sold me my tC, said that if something should go wrong with your engine, and they spot a "foriegn" oil filter such as, fram, k&n, etc... that whatever the damage is done to your engine, it will NOT be covered under warranty.

I was shocked when I heard it too, but I have quit the BS racing with my car, it's all show now!

only true if the leak was caused by the filter

i haven't had chance to come in to do the oil changes but have been changing them out regularly. would i still be able to get my 3 oil changes at the dealership?