I'm taking my sister's brand new Lexus IS250 to North Carolina (from NJ) for a trip to family.

It only has 2100 miles on it, and i dunno when the IS gets its oil changed.

Is it every 3000 miles for jus like regular oils, or does Lexus IS use synthetic oil that goes for 10,000 miles?

Thanks guys,

 

I'd guess it would say in the manual. There are a few IS owners on here, but not sure where they are.

I'm thinking you may want to change the oil before your trip anyway. Get that break-in oil out of there.

 

5,000, lexus suggest synthetic

my dealer uses mobil 1 synthetic. all the newer lexus' are running synthetic. i think i may do the same on my IS when mine comes up.

go 3000 if your using dino juice.

 

Lexus just uses conventional 5W30 (or 5W20 now, maybe) and requires a change every 5000 miles or six months. You get the 5k service free at the dealership.

No need to change out the factory fill early...

 

I'd be shocked of the IS250 does not have a maintenance minder gauge in the car to tell you when you need to take it in for service/oil change. ...even a Honda Civic has that.

 

Nope, Toyota is on the fixed service interval schedule.

 

^^ Wow! Toyota FTL.

 

Actually, Ford debated the flexible interval vs fixed interval quite recently. They decided to up the interval to 7500 now on 2007+ Fords.

They said their customers liked a fixed, "predictable" interval more than the oil life monitor system. It was easier for planning purposes I guess.

 

lexus uses 5w-30 synthetic, i own a lexus and pretty damn good at mechanical and motors. there is a reminder built into the car every 5000k, 500 before 5000k it reminds you every time you start the car and big red arrow and maintence required/oil soon appears, idk the exact message.. i know because i own a 250. and you can reset the reminder yourself.

 

^^ Exactly what I was talking about.

 

I didn't know whether you meant a "dummy light" or an actual oil life monitor. They're different.

And Lexus does NOT require synthetic oil. All it states in the owner's manual is to use the latests API rated conventional oil of the correct viscosity. Where does it say in the owner's manual to use synthetic oil ???? All of the dealers in this area just use bulk Castrol GTX.

 

there is no dummy light, per say there isn't an exact meter that tells you how much life is on the IS. when you do an oil change you reset it and it is programmed that 4500 miles after that set point to give you a reminder. there is a screen that says oil and basically says your oil change is coming up, the big exclamation mark is so you see it. on the navigation model it may have a life meter but i don't believe it does. and the exclamation mark comes up when there is a low tire with a message.


i wrote this whole thing and decided to delete it bc i don't feel like arguing over nothing and wrote this.

they suggest you to use synthetic, no it does not state specifically but they want you to use synthetic for 5000k, if not then 3000k on dino juice. that comes from head of service in lexus and also the head of service at toyota nd one of the top technicians in toyota, who as you know uses variations of the same block and motor. who me and my father both know personally and the guy in lexus is related to me and have been there for a very long number of years. and the guy at toyota was the guy that figured out why the 01-02 tundras rear breaks were locking up while driving. why because my dad had one of the first trucks off the line and he had this problem. he torn that truck apart and found out what was causing it and what the solution to do to fix it and it has to do with the e-brake and rear end gear. so i think my info is pretty legit and there is 3 lexus' and a tundra in my driveway all new. My whole family is pretty much in the automotive industry and most were at one point including my own father.


on the last note, not all dealers are created equal.



......back to the thread, if you think your going to do 3000k miles or more change it out before you go, if not change it when u get back

 

That's still a dummy light. It's a reminder. It doesn't adjust the interval for each individual driver based upon their driving conditions like the GM oil life monitor does.

Purely a recommendation, not mandatory by the manufacturer. Conventional oil does fine for 5000 mile interval in today's engines. Even's GM oil life monitor is allowing up to 12,500 miles between service under certain conditions. Point is, conventional oils of today are much better than they were in the past and are more than capable of the OEM service interval.

 

idk if you have done any oil changes ur self personally but i've been doing my own and others since i was 16 and been working on cars and motors since i was 14. who else at the age of 16 can say they can tear down and rebuild a 350 small block by themselves. agreed conventional oil is better today then it was but it's still oil in the end. it came from the ground where it always has been coming from. but 12500 on oil is just nuts to me. after 3k on conventional oil when u pull it out you can see and feel how dirty it is. lubrication is so important on a motor. idk about you but i run my cars a little hard, it's a car and it's meant to be driven but i also take very good care of it. i've seen cars at 8000 miles have an oil change and the stuff is dark, burnt up, can feel all the stuff thats in it. to be honest i don't trust those meters at all, i think their all right but not great. if you care about your car treat it right and keep it running strong end of story. i'm not saying i know everything but i do know a lot of stuff, if i want a car to continue running strong i'm gonna change my oil at 3000 on conventional and 5000 on synthetic since it is better then conventional.

just voicing my opinion, and not trying to be a d***

 

thanks guys for the answers
my sister's IS, aka my daily ride...lol , is now done with service.

Lexus offers complementary service, any first service after the purchase of car is free of charge.

I've done the oil change at 2200 miles. It wasn't the oil i was concerned, it was the filter i was concerned. anyways, i got them all done. good until 7000 miles.

Driving to Charlotte, NC to meet my family. wish me luck driving 1300 miles.

 

I can change my own oil, transmission fluid, brakes, water pump, and motor mounts, thank you very much. :p

Look, I'm not an expert about motor oil and I don't pretend to be one in person or on the internet, but I tend to follow the advice of those who are. The engineers at GM, Honda, etc who developed and wrote the algorithm for the OLM have done much, much more research than you with regards to motor oil and its capabilities. You can draw whatever conclusion you wish from your observations, but remember than what you think is best for engines, well may not be necessary.

 

DAMN!
Everyone to their own!!! AS3.0CL just said how he likes his things done...and that's great. SodaLuvr then just says another.


Who gives a flying f* how everyone does their own oil and other non-sense. I don't see why we need to get personal. Its just how things are done. I'm a little biasied towards AS3.0CL just because I believe too that its good to change your oil fairly frequently even if you have a actual oil life computer or a 'dummy light' and that the dealer says you can go 'X' number of miles before changing it. To me, it's kind of like if someone told me, "You can go X number of miles after you hit 'Empty' before your tank is REALLY empty....". I'm not gonna push that limit or see how far I can truly go. That's just taking chances if you ask me.

But like I said...everyone to their own.

I don't see why yall are getting all bent out of shape. Damn....