Do You Really Need to Change Break In Oil on a New Car?

Today we do a little bit of automotive myth busting. I have always been told to change break in oil out of newly built cars before 1000 miles or so. But the manufacturer said otherwise on this brand new 2023 Toyota Tacoma. They say to change it at 12000 miles which seems way too high to begin with. So who is right? The old mechanics rule of thumb? Or the manufacturer? Let's find out!

*Disclaimer: Please use all safety precautions

[WVFAN]

Bought a 2023 Toyota 4Runner it’s got 759 miles on it.. thinking about changing it around 1500 to 2000 miles. I’m also an old school about taking care of stuff. Things cost so much…. Thanks for sharing your story. God bless everyone.

[JoeTaco]

I’ve always done my first oil change at 1000 miles. Since I do it outside in the sun and pour out of a black plastic pan, I can see the tiny particles in the oil without a microscope. It looks like fine Glitter. I’ve owned 4 Brand new Toyotas and all 4 with same results. So like this video says, Oil and a filter is fairly cheap compared to having any major engine problem.

[paintballtechpb]

Every brand new motorcycle, every brand new car, every brand new vehicle I've ever owned I've done the same thing - Run it to about 500 miles and swap the oil and filter. There is too much debris, too much crap in that engine from assembly, plus break in, to leave it in there for a year. Run the engine for a 3-4 tanks of gas, swap the oil, sleep at night

[notlisten]

I agree with the idea of sending off used oil samples for analysis. Last I recall, around 40 micron is the small the human eye can see, but a lot of the particulates that cause damage are 20 micron and smaller.

I learned this method of breaking an engine in from a guy that worked at Toyota on their race engines from the mid 90s until at least 2006 (when I met him).

Perform your 1st oil change at 500 miles (total). Perform your 2nd oil at 1500 miles (total). Perform your 3rd oil change at 3000 miles (total).

From mile 0-500 follow this rules:
Do not exceed 4000rpm, never romp on the throttle, do not use cruise control, change gears every 2-3 minutes, no excessive idling, downshifting & engine braking are allowed - if you have forced induction, do not use boost at all.

From mile 501-1500 follow this rules:
New oil and filter. Do not exceed 4500rpm, never romp on the throttle, do not use cruise control, change gears every 2-3 minutes, no excessive idling, downshifting & engine braking are allowed - if you have forced induction, max boost 3psi.

From mile 1501-3000 follow this rules:
New oil and filter. Do not exceed 5000rpm, never romp on the throttle, do not use cruise control, change gears every 2-3 minutes, no excessive idling, downshifting & engine braking are allowed - if you have forced induction, max boost 6psi.

From mile 3000 and on:
New oil and filter. Drive it like you intend to drive it.

I took it 1 step further and used Break In (specific) oil and the best oil filter based upon the smallest micron captured at the highest efficiency (note: OEM filters are almost never the best). I also ran the initial oil and filter for 10 minutes (long enough to make sure there were not leaks and the engine idled correctly), then changed the oil and filter. That means by mile 3000, I had done 4 oil changes.dd

I followed this method on my former 2006 Subaru WRX (they're notorious for burning oil), and even with 96, 000 miles on it, it does not burn any oil.

I also followed this method on my former 1986 Toyota Mr2 and it never burned any oil after 30, 000 miles - and I frequently brought that engine to redline (7200rpm), and it consumed no oil.

[DonziGT]

Looking at the oil with a microscope is better than nothing, but oil analysis has repeatedly shown that there's more metal in the first oil change even with modern engines. How much damage these tiny particles will cause is somewhat unknown.

[rogerphillips]

I did my first oil change on my 2023 Nissan pro 4X at 1000 miles. I added a magnetic drain plug to the oil pan. At the 4000 mile mark I checked the magnetic drain plug and while they were no metallic bits on it I was able to wipe off a small amount of what look like a metallic slurry. Maybe it is something that the paper oil filter cannot catch.

[Raorl]

Thank you!! Just got a new 2023 GX and was looking for exactly this kind of video. You got a new sub comment and like.

[erbenton]

I changed mine out at 500 and again at 1000 miles. Now Ill switch to every 5, 000 miles.
I wish you had sent a sample off to Blsckstone or a similar oil analysis place.

[Eatshhhushi]

Thanks for confirming and reassuring I need to change my 2023 Lexus GX 460 Luxury motor oil. The truck just passed 500 miles. I will not wait for the 5k miles Lexus complimentary maintenance schedule. Plus I never change my car oil that long. I always follow the 6-months oil change regardless of mileage. I don’t put more than 3k miles between oil changes. Oil is cheap engine is not!

[Funkydood]

Great vid', dude! You cleared up a doubt I'd had for decades!!!

[ukobs]

Great myth confirmation!
Before watching I had taken my new ES350 to the dealership for its 1000km check, I got them to change the oil and filter. I got the feeling that the service advisor thought I was a little crazy but I explained that I was old (hence the Lexus sedan) and that he should just humour me. I’ll also be changing the oil and filter every 5000km, just standard OEM, no need for ultra expensive synthetic oil with regular changes.

[wailingalen]

Hooray for your manual truck!!! Sweet ride!
I just got a 23 Jeep sport 2 door with the manual! Three pedals and two shift levers 😇

[gabbycabel]

Super informative! Definitely along for the plot.

[kefntts]

Nice Video! Super helpful. I just changed the break in oil on my 2023 Challenger at 2000 miles! I’m sure anywhere between 1500-2000 is good enough!

[CAngel-gqcm]

Fantastic Video! Many years ago I changed my then girl friends break-in oil in her new 1988 Suzuki Samurai was at either 300 or 500 miles as I remember.
I happened to have a new yellow oil change pan and I drained that oil outside midday in direct sunlight. At only 500 miles the oil was almost clear but the metal flakes in that oil glistened like fool's gold in a mountain creek! Seeing that sparkle some 35 years ago has always stayed with me and influenced my early first oil changes.
Things such as lawn mowers / small air cooled engines I will always do an early oil change. However for the first time in 35 years I decided to hold off till 4, 000 miles on my new Ram Cummins truck as my thought was the cost of that oil and the fact its a diesel but that at 4, 000 miles, that was early as normal is 10K to 15K oil changes so my question is just how early is best? I'm picking up my new Harley in a few days and Harley suggest the 1st fluid change at 1, 000 miles ( I think after break-in Harley suggest oil changes at 5K miles. or once a year but I'm wondering based on my 35 years of early oil changes should I change that oil out at 300 or 500 or even 50-100 miles or just go the 1, 000?

[GraV]

So weird this video popped up in my feed.

I have a 2023 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4 & bought it about 2-3 months ago & im getting ready to come up on 1000 miles, & because of that I went by the Toyota dealership the other day & got a new filter & oil to do my oil change. I also purchased the OEM Toyota metal housing that I’m going to swap the plastic one with. Glad to see I’m doing the right thing. Even though I have a 10yr-100k mile extended warranty, & lifetime engine & tranny(plus the rest of the drivetrain) I don’t want to have to deal with all that. Much prefer to just take care & maintain what’s in there now. Nice to know I’m not doing it for nothing

[Tonga]

The big question, do manufacturers actually use a special blend of oil for breakin that should not be taken out until the engine surfaces mate perfectly??? The filter gets the oil first before being pumped through the engine and the filter catches any particles and holds them until replaced. Anything small enough to get through the filter should not damage any component I’ve been told.

[TommyG]

Absolutely between 500 and 1000 miles, drain that oil in a clean pan and stir it wit a screwdriver and look at the fine metal ice swirl.

[philc.]

i recently purchased a 2023 Winnebago Travato with the Ram Promaster chassis. It already had 2000 miles on it as they are driven from the factory to my dealership in California. I now wonder if that was good for the engine. I immediately changed the oil and filter around 3000 miles with a good synthetic. I plan to keep it for a long time so maintenance with be done regularly (every 5-7 K instead of 10 K as the manufacturer recommended).

[ntelly]

Perfection with this video, keep up the great work