Recommended maintenance outside of dealer recs

[SD_Driver]

Oil change intervals have increased as the quality of oils (synthetics) came into being along with improved manufacturing of engines themselves.

I was driving in the early 80's and doing my own oil changes every 3,000 miles. The crap that came out then was incredible. And it was hard to get an American made engine past 100k miles.

Nowadays, you can almost do nothing and you'll get an engine to 100k miles. Today's oils, engines, and gas are just so much better.

Toyota and Honda have both built their reputation and their followings on their longevity. They do not want their cars failing right when warranties are ending. This isn't GM.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

I was planning on changing the transmission and diff oil at 30k miles, but I am not sure if I should do a spill and fill or a fluid exchange (with a machine) for the transmission.

A spill and fill I can do at home, a fluid exchange would require going to a shop because I do not have a machine that is capable of doing that.

Also, I have not checked, but, is there a transmission dipstick or is there a process to check the fluid level that uses a scan tool and getting the trans the right temp?

Personally I'll be doing a spill and fill. I see more problems with flushes than spill/fills. There is a process for the tranny where you basically overfill and let the overfill drip out until its barely coming out. I've never done it, but I've seen plenty of videos. Should be LC specific videos coming out soon

 

[Area 51]

I went through a race engine type oil break in change schedule.
At about 2500 miles i am going to change the diff, trans and center diff fluids at the dealer. Residue is the enemy, casting sands, sealant, pieces of gaskets, not an emergency by any means, however, everyone knows about the recent v6 fiasco.
ARB requires fluid change out at 1k miles after upgrading to any of their diffs. Maybe they know something?
Otherwise i think the factory schedule is fine. Stay on top of the air cleaner condition that will affect performance.
I have a long successful history with AMZ products and prefer them.
Bay Area wise if you have a good dealer stay with them. Parts are still not always easy to get, let the dealer keep your life simple.
Enjoy your great new Cruiser.
See you out there.

When you decide you want better cornering and superb highway and overall performance do consider a stock size set of Michelin Defender LTX tires. have mine on for about 2 weeks now, fixed all the steering issues that were irritating.
Accurate and much more precise steering. An excellent tire and could be used on light trial duty. Much more puncture resistant than the stoick junkers, either Yokomamas or Dunlops if that is what you have now.
No rush, go through the break in cycle, then think about the tires, you won't be disappointed.

 

[dpcompt]

I don't know if you guys watch "the car care nut" on Youtube, he is a Toyota mechanic specializes in Toyota/Lexus cars. Iirc, in one of his videos he mentioned not to follow Toyota recommended intervals and do oil changes more frequent, especially on these newer generation turbo engines.

I am just skeptical when they keep on extending the recommended oil change intervals. Back in the days it was 3000 miles then it went up to 5000, new we are at 10k miles...

I am also suspicious of why some of the modern car engine components are made of hard plastic, which are guaranteed to crack/fail in 5 or 6 years due to the hot environments of the modern turbo engines, coincidentally, also is when the factory warranty ends. When the same part were used to be metal.

I think we can all come to the same conclusion as to why. Car companies make more money when you need more repairs, or when customers are sick of their always leaking, always problematic car and trade it in for a new one. Heck, this is the exact reason why I got rid of my audi and buying a more reliable Toyota.

We traded in our '20 Audi S5 SB for our '24 Land Cruiser LC. We got tired of all the things that needed repair in the Audi and the dealer was about an hour drive. My wife puts about 5k/year on her cars and the maintenance schedule fits her driving history perfectly. The first 6 month service is coming up and we have slightly over 2500 miles on the LC. Once a year oil changes are perfect. Also, the LC has had no reason to bring it back to the dealer for unscheduled repairs. A new experience for former Audi owners.

 

[jcdeng]

We traded in our '20 Audi S5 SB for our '24 Land Cruiser LC. We got tired of all the things that needed repair in the Audi and the dealer was about an hour drive. My wife puts about 5k/year on her cars and the maintenance schedule fits her driving history perfectly. The first 6 month service is coming up and we have slightly over 2500 miles on the LC. Once a year oil changes are perfect. Also, the LC has had no reason to bring it back to the dealer for unscheduled repairs. A new experience for former Audi owners.

Audis are reliable, compared to other germans, as long as you can keep up with its small repairs, the engine and tranny will last 200k miles. But the thing I hate about it is almost every small leak requires an engine out service, or you will have to live with oil stains on the driveway.

My wife's g wagon just went through a major repair to fix the oil leak on the filter housing gasket, a small piece of rubber buried deep in the engine layout, which required the entire bumper to come out and half the front of the engine disassembled. And "while we are in there" parts my mechanic recommended replacing all the turbo oil hoses (made of plastic and rubber instead of full metal), since they will become brittle and crack very soon, 2 rubber steering fluid hose... 2 thousand dollars to fix a small oil leak, and thats at an indy shop not the stealership. And there is no guarantee how long that the damn gasket will last. Basically extreme cold temps like we just had this past winter can make it shrink enough and can leak again.... I am so tired dealing with these german cars, my 2001 and 2002 hondas still going strong with no leaks ever just oil and fluid changes, regular maintenance.

 

[Area 51]

Audis, oh yah, more Euro trash name brand scalping of the US car market.
I would not buy an Audi with any of your money.

 

[Area 51]

Higher fluid change intervals is part of the EPA quals and evaluation the mfgs go through these days.
Does not mean we have to adhere to these ridiculous and clearly destructive intervals.
After all the synthetic fluids are corn oil based. Just more laws and restrictions that will yield zero end effect in global warming, which will continue regardless of anything idiot humans think they will accomplish. Follow the money,,,,,

 

[surf fishing offroader]

I created my own schedule which is a bit more aggressive than Toyota's / dealer schedule, but not exaggeratedly overboard. The rationale for shortening some of the recommended intervals is:

• off-roading is dusty - replace air filter more frequently
• replacing coolant helps to prevent water pump seal wear

The other are self-explanatory. Things like alignment or brakes are condition-based, so perform as needed based on inspection.

Replace engine oil and filter	5,000	Repeat every 5,000 miles
Lubricate propeller shaft	5,000	Repeat every 5,000 miles
Replace cabin air filter (87139-30110 or 87139- 60030)	10,000	Repeat every 10,000 miles
Replace engine air filter (17801-31180)	20,000	Repeat every 20,000 miles
Replace transfer case, front differential and rear differential fluids	30,000	Repeat every 30,000 miles
Replace spark plugs (NGK DILZKAR8E7H / 90919-A1008)	40,000	Repeat every 40,000 miles
Replace brake fluid	40,000	Repeat every 40,000 miles
Replace transmission fluid (including K0 motor / clutch unit)	60,000	Repeat every 60,000 miles
Inspect drive belt, replace if necessary	60,000	Repeat every 15,000 miles afterwards
Replace engine and inverter coolants	80,000	Repeat every 40,000 miles afterwards
Replace vacuum pump	120,000	Repeat every 120,000 miles

Haha I remember from my 4runner days, how much of a contentious topic that propeller shaft lubrication recommendation was... some would say once they lubricate, they get a clicking sound from the assembly - some say not lubricating caused the clicking sound...

I was lazy and never did it, and I used to park that thing in about 1-2 ft deep salt water all the time in the bays. Never had a clicking sound from the drive shaft...

 

[jcdeng]

Don't forget those battery air filters. I wonder if I can replace them with more porous "performance" ones, given that the cabin won't be as dusty and more porous is more air through the battery to help cooling?

 

[katekebo]

Haha I remember from my 4runner days, how much of a contentious topic that propeller shaft lubrication recommendation was... some would say once they lubricate, they get a clicking sound from the assembly - some say not lubricating caused the clicking sound...

I was lazy and never did it, and I used to park that thing in about 1-2 ft deep salt water all the time in the bays. Never had a clicking sound from the drive shaft...

I had an FJ Cruiser which had a similar propeller shaft as the 4Runner, Tacoma and LC.
The only difference is that the FJ propeller shafts had 6 zerks, while the LC has 5. The rear propeller shaft of the LC now has a rubber boot over the slip yoke, so it no longer needs regular re-greasing (and hence doesn't have a zerk).
In the FJ, if I didn't lubricate the slip yokes, I could hear a distinct "clunk" and feel a bump every time when starting from a full stop. Lubricating the slip yoke every 5-10k miles would keep it smooth and quite.
I agree that it's not a super critical, but lubricating the propeller shaft is an easy job, and a cheap insurance against premature wear.

 

[sukiyaki]

Why would you not trust the recommended intervals from the manufacturer, especially with how good synthetic oils are today?

My old Honda Accord had the old recommended oil change of every 3,000 miles. But that was before synthetics. As I started using synthetic, I went to 10,000 miles between oil changes with no issues at over 250,000 miles.

For years, it was beat into us that oil must be changed every 3,000 miles. It’s hard to give that up when it was preached forever. Oils and engine manufacturing have improved so much now that manufacturers have increased their recommendations.

I get that some people will always want to change early. No harm in doing this.

My new Honda Accord hybrid 2024 was based on oil life. I didn't know other Honda vehicles, but at least the Accords do not base on the driving distance any more, like 3K, 5k or 10K miles for oil change. When the oil life drops down to 2, then it start to notify that car needs oil change. I don't know how good/bad by basing on oil life not the driving distance like before because I replace it with new LC recently.

 

[ultane]

View attachment 31456
After a stupidly long wait, I finally got my LC about a week ago.

Would love to hear feedback from anyone willing to share.

Welcome to the forum lubasf. Heritage blue, the best color. I know that the wait was painful.

With stop and go driving, and a turbo, oil changes every 5K are worth the price of admission, despite all the naysayers on here. It has been said that the 10K oil change interval is to make the vehicle appear more economical to own and drive.

I did Miss Daisy’s first oil change at ~1300 miles, and her second oil change at ~4400 miles (only because we were going out of town on a several thousand mile trip). I did engine oil analysis on both samples (SPEEDiagnostix). All was good, EXCEPT that there was fuel in the oil, more in the second sample than the first, which is very troubling to me, as the fuel dilution decreases the viscosity of the oil. My worry beads came out.. So, I am following with oil analysis on each sample until it goes away, and I can put my worry beads away.

Good luck!

 

[jcdeng]

Welcome to the forum lubasf. Heritage blue, the best color. I know that the wait was painful.

With stop and go driving, and a turbo, oil changes every 5K are worth the price of admission, despite all the naysayers on here. It has been said that the 10K oil change interval is to make the vehicle appear more economical to own and drive.

I did Miss Daisy’s first oil change at ~1300 miles, and her second oil change at ~4400 miles (only because we were going out of town on a several thousand mile trip). I did engine oil analysis on both samples (SPEEDiagnostix). All was good, EXCEPT that there was fuel in the oil, more in the second sample than the first, which is very troubling to me, as the fuel dilution decreases the viscosity of the oil. My worry beads came out.. So, I am following with oil analysis on each sample until it goes away, and I can put my worry beads away.

Good luck!

Fuel and water in the oil is normal in a hybrid drivetrain, if you have 12 minutes to spare:

 

[ultane]

Fuel and water in the oil is normal in a hybrid drivetrain, if you have 12 minutes to spare:

That guy always does a good job explaining stuff. FWIW, in his own words, Toyota fed him the information. Now it is a matter of the public record. It does make me clutch my worry beads less, but I am still concerned. So, screw the 10,000 mile OCI. I will keep with the 5,000 mile OCI.

I wish I could find the 0W-20 Mobil-1 oil for ‘hybrids’. I need to look again.

 

[MTR]

The Walmarts have it around here in NC

 

[kmershly]

That guy always does a good job explaining stuff. FWIW, in his own words, Toyota fed him the information. Now it is a matter of the public record. It does make me clutch my worry beads less, but I am still concerned. So, screw the 10,000 mile OCI. I will keep with the 5,000 mile OCI.

I wish I could find the 0W-20 Mobil-1 oil for ‘hybrids’. I need to look again.

Wally's World has it in my area (Central Florida).

With that said, I tend to go with Liqui-Moly because I am comfortable with it as I use it in all my BMWs, I toyed with using Amsoil in my LC, but ultimately went with Liqui-Moly.

 

[jcdeng]

That guy always does a good job explaining stuff. FWIW, in his own words, Toyota fed him the information. Now it is a matter of the public record. It does make me clutch my worry beads less, but I am still concerned. So, screw the 10,000 mile OCI. I will keep with the 5,000 mile OCI.

I wish I could find the 0W-20 Mobil-1 oil for ‘hybrids’. I need to look again.

Like many said, Walmart has the Mobil 1 0w-20 hybrid oil, but there are other brands that offer the same thing like liquidMolly, penz, and amsoil... Any brand is fine, and iirc, when they did an oil comparison, Mobil-1 isn't even that good, the best seem to be amsoil.

I am in the same boat as you and many others, I like to do my oil changes earlier/more frequent than recommended. And thats with a regular engine, after learning about the low temp and oil/water can accumulate in a hybrid engine, no way I am waiting till 10k miles.

 

[ultane]

The Walmarts have it around here in NC

Thanks!!! My next stop!!!

 

[ultane]

Wally's World has it in my area (Central Florida).

With that said, I tend to go with Liqui-Molly because I am comfortable with it as I use it in all my BMWs, I toyed with using Amsoil in my LC, but ultimately went with Liqui-Molly.

I’m unfamiliar with liquid moly. I wonder if it would void the Toyota warranty?

 

[kmershly]

I’m unfamiliar with liquid moly. I wonder if it would void the Toyota warranty?

Liqui-Moly is just another flavor of fancy pants oil.

If another dealer threatens me with having my Toyota warranty invalidated I am going to scream.