James sure uses a lot of words just to say he knows better then the people who build vehicles .
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Based on the analysis I provided.
Yes, the manufacturer is the party legally responsible for honoring the warranty but communications on the subject usually involve the dealership, especially initially. And the dealer is the Lessor in a lease so issues of vehicle abuse would be with that party.
I believe that is called legalese or confuseimationâ
My Lexus dealership mechanics and service reps have routinely passed on advice about vehicle usage when it was related to needed repairs or to the vehicleâs condition.
Of course, because they want the profit from the repairs or do you think they are being altruistic. The only reason the dealer wants your oil change business is to get the repair business. There is not hardly any profit in oil changes. My Toyota dealer does them $15 cheaper than the oil change places. I use neither one.
I think I should add one additional comment. It is reasonable to ask why the manufacturers include a time interval for scheduled maintenance at all if their real concern is the mileage. Perhaps because it provides an alternative way for high mileage drivers to remind themselves of the need for a maintenance service. They can post it on a calendar if they are not used to tracking their odometers. This would work well for drivers who equal or exceed the assumed mileage that underlies the maintenance schedule. For drivers who drive much less than the projected mileage, the time interval does not work at all for the reason that I provided above.
Peace, brothers.
The 6 month oil change schedule covers a wide range of driving conditions. An owner that drives 3 miles each day should have the oil changed every 6 months, an owner that drives 30 miles every 10 days, perhaps not really necessary but the maintenance schedule isnât written for multiple conditions, that would be too confusing.
I have a number of senior customers that donât drive everyday and change their oil every 18 months, these include the RX300/RX330/RX350. If engine sludge were a problem we would recommend that they change their engine oil more frequently.
I also have some customers that follow the book, changing the oil every 6 months. Last month a GS430 came in for an oil change, emissions test and to have the battery recharged, the car had 14 miles since the last visit, I suspect that they live 7 miles away. There are people on this message board that are no different.
Change the engine oil at your own discretion based on use. I have 4 vehicles that call for oil changes every 3000 miles/ 4 months, I change the oil once a year/5000 miles on two of them and every other year on the other two.
Our mechanic has the 2010 Toyota Prius that mom drives on a 6,000 mile service interval which ends up being about every 9mo. The same interval as was followed with the car she drove for 19yrs before only needing normal service items. Theyâve been personalizing the service schedule for the last 27yrs and it seems to work well.
Weâve managed to get Dad to change his oil annually (as the minimum honda specifies) and his CRV"s have been trouble free. (2007 and now 2019) He does an average of 4,500 miles a year, mostly 10mi trips 3-4 times a week mixed city/country road driving.
Two different animals, the Prius would be just fine with 10,000 miles/1 year oil changes. Hybrids donât pollut the engine oil as much as standard powertrains and those are just fine with the recommended schedule.
âIt is reasonable to ask why the manufacturers include a time interval for scheduled maintenance at all if their real concern is the mileage.â
You are assuming facts that are not in evidence.
What is your proof that the manufacturers are not concerned about elapsed time?
While it would be just fine going to 10,000 miles these guys arenât comfortable with that in this case. Momâs been trusting these guys for 27yrs now and I really donât see that changing anytime soon.
Note the word âPerhapsâ in my reply which pretty much indicates that what follows is not an offer of proof. Speculation about the reasoning behind policies has nothing to do with âassuming facts that are not in evidence.â The only fact being discussed is clearly a fact; i.e., whether there is an alternative guideline for the maintenance service schedule besides mileage.
This was a mistake on my part. I let myself get provoked into a retaliatory response which is my fault. I appreciate the communityâs vigilance in policing these comments. A so-called âcleverâ response can be just as mean-spirited as an all-out troll assault.
Iâm regret it and Iâm sorry.
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No, you are presuming they donât care about the elapsed time and the Perhaps refers to your speculation on why they include it in the schedule anyway.
Have you recently retires and miss arguing in court?
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This is all getting a bit tedious now. My argument is not a presumption. A presumption assumes certain facts and the debate continues on that basis. In this case, we do not need to presume anything because the undisputed fact is that manufacturers, at least some of them, include both a mileage requirement and a time interval date for their recommended maintenance schedules. My argument is that the time interval standard does not logically apply to vehicles with low annual mileage because the oil change part of the maintenance is included with a whole list of other recommended maintenance actions. While several community forum members here have explained why a time interval standard for oil changes makes sense because of deterioration in the oil that can occur despite low mileage, those arguments do not apply to scheduled maintenance for mechanical and non-fluid parts of a vehicle that do not age without actual use. If manufacturers were serious about the time interval alternative for low-mileage drivers, I argue, they would put the oil and filter change in a separate maintenance schedule. A secondary argument I have made is that no servicing dealer in my life has ever mentioned the time interval recommendation when I have followed the mileage guidance for the maintenance schedule whether or not the time between servicing exceeded the recommended oil change interval.
Are these points proof of manufacturer indifference? It is for me. For everybody? No. For you? It seems not but the great thing is that you get to make this decision for yourself.
As for courtroom arguments, in todayâs political environment everyoneâs capacity for logical reasoning and persuasion are well-tested. No need to resort to legal processes to address issues of major importance to everybody.
Iâm baffled. The oil change schedule time interval standard is there BECAUSE of vehicles with low annual mileage. The oil change is the key maintenance item in all cars, the remainder of the list follows along with it.
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Ok, Iâll give it one more shot. A logical reason for manufacturers to put the time interval requirement in the recommended maintenance schedule is to make sure that oil changes and other maintenance services get done when needed. Wear and tear on a vehicle occur with usage. Different parts of the fairly complex automotive structure wear at different rates and neglect comes with greater or lesser consequences depending on the part(s) affected. We all agree, I think, that damaged oil unable to perform its vital function of lubricating the engine is a very great consequence of inadequate maintenance.
But I argue that a 5,000 miles/year maintenance schedule for changing oil is sufficient. It does not need an earlier time interval if drivers get the servicing on schedule. Driving the vehicle 15,000 miles a year or more (the manufacturerâs basis for calculating the time interval to coincide with the mileage schedule) does invoke the need for a time interval requirement, either for purposes of putting it on a calendar as an additional reminder or for additional emphasis on the importance of maintenance for vehicles getting a lot of use.
But if you are driving only 5,000 miles a year (for example), you will be way below the manufacturerâs projected usage and well behind the anticipated wear and tear on the vehicle. Most drivers, probably the great majority, are putting mileage on their vehicles close to that 15,000 miles/year projection. Manufacturers cannot economically create ownerâs manuals for every type of driver. And a driver who drives a lot one year may drive very little the next year, or vice versa. So manufacturers have to come up with a standardized manual that fits the majority of their customers. That is what we have now.
One solution that manufacturers could adopt would be to create a separate maintenance schedule just for oil and filter changes. That would put it in a separate category from the rest of the vehicleâs maintenance and absolutely make it clear that manufacturers want that oil changed at least that often. The odd thing is that such a double schedule would only make sense if the time interval were equally important for both low-mileage and high-mileage drivers. I donât think that is the case.
I have raised the issue because many of the community members in this forum, including you, have insisted that the time interval applies to all drivers no matter how many miles they drive. As I have explained, that requirement does not make sense for low-mileage drivers unless engines run a meaningful risk of damage for failure to change oil even when the mileage is as low as a couple thousand miles. I, at least, am completely convinced there is no such risk unless one is driving in extreme conditions, not on the highways and city streets that nearly all Americans drive on.
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Yeah. I move to dismiss.
Weâll all just do what we think is right anyway.
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Motion granted. Without prejudice.