To say Tom McCahill was opinionated would be an understatement. He was not a techie, but was used car salesman before going into journalism. Most of his type of opinions are still voiced here and there; big cars are good, there is no substitute for “inches”, heavy oil is better than light oil, etc.
The first small car sold that would hold up in US traffic was the VW beetle; until that time all small cars self-destructed quickly. Tom lived at the twilight of the big US dominated car culture, and would have been simply amazed at a high performance small sports sedan with one of those “sewing machine engines”.
Interesting. When I read how to check, I stopped what I was doing and ran out to check. The Sienna is made such that I really can’t access the inside of the cover with my finger. But, that place where the oil is poured in had just a bit of oil, not real dark, not real light. Not sure it that counts. Thanks for tip. I always like to learn new things.
There was some grit around the lid, but I live in a travertine quarry town, very dusty. If I clean the windshield, next morning it is covered with a thick layer of dust. So, I would expect to have some grit right there, but with the lid on, shouldn’t be in the oil.
I do not claim I am going to be able to evade all failures with what I call high-rel maintenance. I am still learning as I go. As a matter of fact, I did learn of this during my 31 years in a contract defense plant, in what I suppose is part of the aerospace industry.
I do worry about the transmission, since I have heard of failures, something to do with an o-ring failure. I drain 3 quarts and fill often, I have synthetic fluid in there. If that transmission goes, I will probably choose to have it trucked to the border and fixed in Texas.
In Texas, I can get a good transmission shop. Here, that is out of the question, and cost of rebuilt transmission plus shipping plus customs for already obscene Toyota transmission prices, it will be cheaper to truck the car north. You can buy a lot of trucking here for $1,000 USD. To come up with $6,000 or $8,000 cash here in Mexico would be difficult, but the trucking fee would not be bad.
Yeah, Tom was opinionated, which is why he had so many fans. Definitely the metals and oils are a zillion times better. So, as I said, the miles are totally different, but I still am convinced the principle is the same. At some distance between oil changes, the life expectancy of the motor is going to drop. I hadn’t seen that current study on NYC taxis, but I can believe the 3,000 / 6,000 miles with no change, for cars that are seldom shut off. I don’t believe it will be the same for cars with short trips.
I may be wrong, but I have a clear memory of Tom McCahill giving outstanding reviews to the BMW, which was a small car by comparison to American cars of the time. Anyone else remember that?
what is it that you know that the engine designers don’t?
What I and others know that they know but don’t tell for business reasons, is OIL CHANGES COST SO DARNED LITTLE IN COMPARISON TO WHAT CARS COST THAT IT IS NO BIG DEAL IF SOMEONE WANTS TO CHANGE IT MORE OFTEN.
Most folks here who talk about motors going 300,000 miles change it every 3,000 miles for mixed driving. My memory is not as good as it never was anyway, heh, heh, but I really don’t remember anyone here telling us his motor lasted 300,000 miles with changes every 7,500 miles in mixed driving. If someone can say that, please let us know.
And, what they know and we don’t, is the exact formula(s) they use when they program that indicator. If we did, maybe we would trust them. If I want my engine to run 300,000 miles and they program it for 150,000 or 250,000 miles, which we do not know but I strongly suspect, then I had better ignore it and change it more often.
This is one of the perfect examples of individuals with different viewpoints, wanting to do it their own way.
Irlandes; I agree that indiviual experiences can cause a different point of view. There are drivers who go 300,000 trouble-free miles with 7500 mile oil changes, but they do mostly cross-country service or sales work on paved roads. This is probably the easiest driving for a car engine.
In your case, driving in very dusty conditions, I would certainly stay with 3000 mile oil changes; the car computer may not be able to detect all that dust!
Personally, I stick with 3000 for my Nissan and 5000 for the Toyota because it gets mostly highway miles. At 5000 miles the oil is still clear and the color of maple syrup.
Oil is cheap. An oil and filter change every 3500-4000 can’t hurt, and will extend engine life. Make sure that you use a quality oil…not that quickie crap.
One other thing to consider is…Do manufacturers really want that engine to run for several hundred thousand of trouble free miles?? Will changing the oil every 3k miles prolong engine life to 300k miles as opposed to 200k miles for a 6k oil change interval???
I have no idea if this is true…but it wouldn’t surprise me if ALL manufacturers do some statistical analysis to determine what is considered LONG engine life…but NOT TOO LONG. If they design an engine to last trouble free to 200k miles with 6-10k mile oil change intervals…that’s probably good enough for 98% of the buying public. But changing the oil every 3k miles may increase that engine life to 300 or even 400k miles. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if GM/Toyota/Mercedes (pick your manufacturer) recommended the 6-10k mile oil change interval. Most people will be more then happy…and they’ll sell more cars.
You touched on an important point Mike; “good enough”, both in design and maintenance, has been the prevalent attitude of Detroit over the years. Since cars go through 3-4 owners, Detroit only basically caters to the first owner, and “low maintenance” is a big selling point.
Since mechanics have virtually disappeared from gas stations, we now have drivers who totally ignore maintenance since the car will basically keep running during the warranty period, except for a few oil changes. And a non-sludging car will run 60,000 miles without an oil change (just topping up) before the engine actually seizes up.
Toyota’s, Honda’s and Mazda’s approach (both design-wise and maintenance-wise) is more long term focused, and as a result their cars live longer. But even they now push longer interval fluid changes, such as engine coolant. A smart owner basically has to take the long term view and do all these things more often to get to that 400,000 mile design life.
In industrial maintenance, some machines run for 30 years without coming apart. BUT that requires proactive and dilligent maintenance.
Quote: OK, I’m an engineer, but the stuff in the car manuals gets watered down by the marketing department, see my above post. If you buy a Caterpillar bulldozer, or a heavy duty Class 8 truck you get more factual, and unedited maintenance recommendations. Unquote
If your company would permit marketing people to water down maintenance requirements vital to longevity to expensive equipment, I suggest that your company will soon go out of business.
Low maintenance can be marketed but must be designed in, not talked in wit advertising copy or the truth will soon become apparent.
God isn’t available in the forum right now, so I will attempt to answer for him.
That “8% remaining” is a reference to the oil change interval. It is not a reference to the level of oil in the crankcase. Personally, I would change the oil before it got to the 8% point, rather than adding fresh oil to oil that needs to be changed.
If you have the Owner’s Manual, I think that this would be a good time to read the section that explains the Oil Life Indicator, or whatever GM calls that feature.
Because the oil in your engine only has 8% life remaining before it all needs to be drained out, refilled with the proper oil, and a new filter installed. In other words, it’s time for an oil change service, which will include that and a number of other basic maintenance items like tire pressure, washer fluid, etc.
Reminds me of a funny(?) story. A guy was driving his Dodge Dakota when the oil gauge dropped and the light came on. He pulled in to an auto parts store, checked and added 2 quarts of oil and drove on. Later that day gauge dropped again and engine started clattering, so he towed it in. As I was writing it up he remarked that he hoped it could be fixed because it was such a good truck. He said that he never had to do anything to it. He had to replace the tires and do an oil change at 60,000 miles but that was it.
When I got the oil pan off I could see he was serious about the truck only having had one oil change in its life of 80,000 miles. The inside of the engine was coated with what looked like chocolate pudding. I cleaned out the oil pickup tube in the carb tank, put it back together and sent him on his way with the 50/50 warranty. When it breaks you own both halves.
When you take it in for a proper oil and filter change, they will reset the computer to 100% oil life.
I’m reminded of The Blues Bothers:
BANG!
Elwood "Darn"
Jake "What"
Elwood "We threw a rod"
Jake “Is that bad?”
I seriously doubt that a car company would permit marketing people to use false maintenance information to enhance initial marketability now. That would damage a mfr’s quality reputation. The second owner as well as the third and more are important to maintain resale value in the marketplace to enhance first buyer desirability.
