2022 Toyota Tacoma Follows 2022 Tundra With 10k Mile Oil Change Rule

It seems as if the new 2022 Toyota Tacoma’s manual also pushes for first oil change at 10k miles. What this means for older people who are used to changing at 5k miles.

If you want to look at things from a logical standpoint, doing your first oil change very early is a good thing. Why? It has to do with how your engine works. When an engine is first created, it doesn’t have any wear or tear on it. This means that the more the pistons move, the more metal shavings are going to fall off because of the oil system still being used to lubing as needed. This means that even though your engine is not going to weld itself together from importer lubing, it will still shave off a few tiny metal scraps that will get trapped into your oil.

Granted this is rarely a failing issue and nobody really pays attention to it. For high end cars like Mercedes and BMW, they require your first change even before 1000 miles. Now luckily this isn’t the case for Toyotas but ever since the new 2022 Toyota Tundra came out, dealers have been pushing for the first oil change to be at around 10k miles. According to Toyota and the dealer, this new oil is supposed to be a break in oil that isn’t like older oils you see in the 90s. This full synthetic oil that Toyota uses in the factory is special in a way that it is meant to break in the engine over time.

By the way, be sure to check out our latest article on why owners shied away from the RAV4 Prime and went with the hybrid.

Now the Tacoma is following suite with dealers telling new Tacoma owners that they need to bring it in at 10k miles instead of 5k 0r 6k miles. Some owners took to the forums asking if this was normal. On Facebook’s Toyota Tacoma TRD trucks group, Mick Reese asked, “I just bought a 2022 Toyota off-road Tacoma. I had a 2016 sport Tacoma that I changed the oil every 4000 miles when they said change it every five. This Tacoma, they say every 10,000 miles it needs an oil change. I am of the old school. 10,000 miles? Now I suggest that you follow what the manual says because even though it may seem wonky, Toyota was the one who spent all those resources to study and build a new engine…not you.

That’s exactly what Natan Jackel said. He said, “if you feel like wasting money, change it more often than it is designed for. As an engineer this bugs me. Toyota spent billions on developing that engine, but guys think they managed to mix up how long oil lasts?” Now in my Tundra article about this topic, I kind of took the side of changing it early only because some dealers told their owners that they could bring it in earlies if they would like. Now because of this, I too am starting to think that maybe as owners we should take heed into Toyota’s suggestions.

Harrison Lane said, “I do 5k personally. It became a habit with older vehicles. Keeping the oil fresh won’t hurt anything but following manufacturers spec won’t hurt either.” Here’s my opinion. If I spent all that money on a brand-new truck, I would also take a second opinion from a certified and trusted Toyota mechanic who doesn’t work for a dealer. Because God forbid if something happens at 10k, then the dealer tells you there’s nothing they can do about it because its out of warranty, would you not have felt better with the 5k mile oil change?

What do you think? Listen to the dealer or your gut? Let us know in the comments below.

Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.