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First oil change concerns

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27K views 33 replies 21 participants last post by  Freeman  
#1 ·
Hello fellow RAV4 folks,

I have a 2022 RAV4 Hybrid ELX. Took delivery from Dealer Feb 24th 2022. I am really getting to love this vehicle. I have just over 2,300 miles and reading that RAV4 engines have been experiencing metal shavings in the oil changes. It's been advised that the first change should be at or before 2,500 miles and it's recommended to have this done with a flush of the engine as an added protection of this hazard of the metal shavings. My dealer provides a free first oil change, is it advised that I mention the metal shavings and request the engine flush at this first service?

Looking for solid advice, Many thanks,

JayW4
 
F
#4 ·
The metal shavings issue is an over reaction. Toyota runs all their engines during the installation process then replaces all fluids (oil coolant, etc) with new fluids during final assembly, so any particles would be flushed out during this process.

You only need change the oil according to the plan in the maintenance manual that came with the car, which is once a year or 10,000 miles under normal driving (there is a earlier maintenance item in the manual at 5,000 miles which mainly consists of a tire rotation).
 
J
#7 ·
FKHeath said:
The metal shavings issue is an over reaction. Toyota runs all their engines during the installation process then replaces all fluids (oil coolant, etc) with new fluids during final assembly, so any particles would be flushed out during this process.

You only need change the oil according to the plan in the maintenance manual that came with the car, which is once a year or 10,000 miles under normal driving (there is a earlier maintenance item in the manual at 5,000 miles which mainly consists of a tire rotation).
Click to expand...
Is there a source for that? Not saying that’s false but it would be very hard for me to believe that as no other manufacturer runs and replaces all engine fluids. And in the age of environmental consciousness that would be such a waste and an environmental issue. The only thing I could find was that Toyota randomly selects engines off the assembly line to run through tests, but that’s one out of 5,000 engines.
 
#9 ·
JayW4 said:
Hello fellow RAV4 folks,

I have a 2022 RAV4 Hybrid ELX. Took delivery from Dealer Feb 24th 2022. . . . . . .

Looking for solid advice, Many thanks,

JayW4
Click to expand...
I gave my unit its first oil & filter service at 2,950 miles. I continue to perform oil & filter changes every 3,000 miles. The only scenario where my auto gets subjected to dealer service departments is for work that is beyond my modest wrenching capabilities and/or warranty work.

I would not concern yourself in the least with "metal shavings".
 
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C
#18 ·
Engines are made to much tighter tolerances today than even in 2016. Only pay attention to the break-in period with the car. Breaking in your new Toyota - To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:

● For the first 200 miles: Avoid sudden stops.
● For the first 500 miles: Do not tow a trailer.
● For the first 600 miles:
Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
Avoid sudden acceleration.
Do not drive continuously in low gears.
Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.

At 2500 miles all you need to do is the recommended servicing for the vehicle.
 
C
#22 ·
I did my first oil change at 636 miles. I did it again at 5000 then been doing every 10,000. Now at 30,000 and I love this vehicle. Glad I did the extra oil changes and broke it in mostly driving on mountain country roads, in manual, changing gears and rpm’s often for first 636 miles. Although never really exceeding 4500 rpm’s the first 636 until the last 36 miles begofore first oil change when I drove her hard in sport mode.
 
J
#23 ·
I did my first oil change myself at 5,000 miles. I think that 10,000 is a bit too long to go, particularly on a new engine. I pulled the filter apart to check for any signs of metal but there was very little. New engines often make some metal in the first few thousand miles. I change my oil at 5k, and the dealer dies the10 k intervals but my free oil changes are about done as my car is now 2 years old.

I figure the hybrid engine doesn’t run near as much as a standard engine, however I have no idea if the stopping and starting is beneficial or not. I figure now that I have 20,000 miles on it, I will probably do my oil changes about every 8k or so, whether I do them or the dealer does.

These are just my thoughts. Based on my engineering background and my career as an aircraft maintenance technician.
 
J
#25 ·
I agree with what you say JayPee. Having seen many engines apart, I kind of like my own approach. My reason for changing the oil early at 5k miles was that if there was a lot of debris inside the engine, I would know about it, and could do something about it early on. Or, what I would probably have done, was to run it a while and then do another oil change and check the filter. It’s really just a precautIon are thing On my part. I think I‘ll probably just change the oil when it starts to get dark in color. I also have a 2019 Toyota Tundra that I use to tow a boat and a travel trailer. I change the oil in the Tundra more often also, simply because it works hard when pulling a load, and I can see that in the color of the oil. Last time I had it in for service, I asked the rep about the transmission fluid and how often it should be changed, as there is no dipstick and you can’t service it without a machine. He told me 100,000 miles you change the transmission fluid if you pull a trailer and if not 150,000 miles. So I will bow to their knowledge there.

The new vehicles with the synthetic 0W-16 or 0W-20 oils clearly have diffevent internal clearances to handle the thinner oil, and the oil hold up a lot longer than conventional oil. It also doesn’t release the acids etc that conventional oils do over time.

So, on my RAV 4, I will probably just keep an eye on the oil color and see how it goes. Mash ve it will look ok at 10k, and if so, I’ll just resend out the oil changes to match.

Cheers
John
 
S
#27 · (Edited)
I did my first oil/filter change at 2000 miles. Paid for by me, service record say 0W16 oil. But the dealer checked off that I asked for "5000 mile " service. I didn't. How can they perform a 5000 mile service when car only has 2000 miles?
Not sure why dealership did this. Maybe they got me to pay for oil change then also charged Toyota for this service. They also swapped out my winter tires for summer OEM tires, at my request, which I also paid for.
Car was only in service bay for 30 minutes.
 
#28 ·
I will respectfully disagree with the Toyota techs who advise to just follow the 10k guideline. It cost under $35 to do an oil change with Mobil1 0-16 and a factory filter. That is less than a cost of a trip to McDonalds for a family of four (sad in itself). The Car Care Nut, who is VERY experienced and is not paid by Toyota says you should first change it out at 1k. There is absolutely no down side in changing the oil at 1k and i'll continue this practice on all of my vehicles, along with changing the oil every six months or 5k, whichever comes first. Cheap insurance for a vehicle I plan to have very long term.
 
#30 ·
Ah the great oil & filter change interval debate.

I'm a 3,000 dude. I did a faceplant on my '19 RAV4 Hybrid as I didn't get the first one done at 500 or 1,000 miles.

My '98 Tacoma 4 x 4 V6 (off the lot with 21 miles, Thanksgvg '97) went 241k before the head gaskets failed (barely noticeable hydrocarbons in the coolant, caught at a cooling system servicing) . . . . the machine shop cleaned the heads. NUMI Factory clutch and rear main seal replaced at 253k.

It has over 260k with zero oil consumption or burn off.

I think I'll go with what I've been doing. ;)
 
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