Low-mileage drivers, do you follow the 6-month rule or just go by miles?

General Discussions and Questions
1

The Toyota Maintenance Guide says:

  • Get service every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.
  • If you hit 5,000 miles before 6 months, don’t wait.
  • If 6 months pass but you haven’t hit 5,000 miles, don’t wait.

I only drive about 5,000 miles per year (roughly 2,500 every 6 months). Do I really need maintenance every 6 months, or can I just stick to every 5,000 miles? What do you all do?

2

It’s always whichever comes first.

3

Harlow said:
It’s always whichever comes first.

Got it. I’ll do the oil change every 6 months. What about the other stuff on the list?

4

Martina said:

Harlow said:
It’s always whichever comes first.

Got it. I’ll do the oil change every 6 months. What about the other stuff on the list?

Same rule applies. Just rotate the tires and do a general check at the same time.

5

In your case, I’d stick to every 6 months.

6

Arden said:
In your case, I’d stick to every 6 months.

What about the other maintenance items? Should I follow the 5k schedule for those too?

7

Martina said:

Arden said:
In your case, I’d stick to every 6 months.

What about the other maintenance items? Should I follow the 5k schedule for those too?

Yeah, I’d follow that schedule.

8

Exactly what the guide says—whichever comes first. I just did my oil change at 6 months with 3,400 miles on the clock.

9

If you need a reminder, you can make a Carfax DIY account. It tracks your maintenance and reminds you when it’s due.

10

LillyGrace said:
If you need a reminder, you can make a Carfax DIY account. It tracks your maintenance and reminds you when it’s due.

Is that free?

11

Tsuna said:

LillyGrace said:
If you need a reminder, you can make a Carfax DIY account. It tracks your maintenance and reminds you when it’s due.

Is that free?

Yeah, no charge for setting up a DIY account. Funny thing is, after I signed up, I could see past reports from cars I sold years ago.

12

I drive about 3,000 miles a year and still do oil changes every 6 months.

13

Same here. Every 6 months.

14

I drive way less since working from home, so I follow the 6-month rule instead of waiting for 5,000 miles.

15

If you’re using full synthetic, you can stretch it to a year.

16

I did every 6 months when I wasn’t driving much, and every 5,000 miles when I was.

17

For full synthetic, would 8 months or 6,000 miles be okay?

18

Toyoyo said:
For full synthetic, would 8 months or 6,000 miles be okay?

Personally, I’d do 7,500 miles or 9 months max. Some oils claim they last 10,000-20,000 miles, but that assumes mostly highway driving.

19

I change my oil every 5,000 miles or 9 months, whichever comes first. I also rotate tires every 10,000 miles, replace the battery every 4-5 years, and change the brakes every 60,000 miles.

20

If you drive almost every day, do it every 6 months. If you only drive a couple of times a week, you can go a year.