2017 Toyota Highlander maintenance reminder is coming on even though oil change is not needed

[keystone]

My family purchased a 2017 Toyota Highlander in April 2017 and the recommended maintenance interval is every 6 months or 5,000 miles, I believe whichever comes first. We have been averaging a little less than 5000 miles per 6 month interval, so we were taking it to the dealership every 6 months for the maintenance that Toyota covered during the first 2 years. Now that our 2 year window is up, I plan to take the vehicle to a mechanic for routine maintenance.

The maintenance reminder has been on the last few weeks, at the 2.5 year interval of our ownership. It appears that an oil change is only required on an annual basis in our case and the only required maintenance at this interval is some basic things like checking the floor mats, rotating tires and a couple of other things that do not seem critical at this juncture. I feel like it might be a waste to bring it in if I'm not getting the oil changed.

My question is, what have other Toyota owners done in this scenario? My choices are - a) leave the maintenance minder on and bring it in when an oil change is needed in another 5 months, b) reset the maintenance minder without doing any of the scheduled items at this time or c) bring it to the mechanic now to do the schedule maintenance items.

I am leaning towards option b. My other car is a Honda Accord and I never encountered this issue with its maintenance minder since the indicator always coincided with periods when oil changes were recommended.

Thanks

[dream_chaser]

Option B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFUYppeI4p8

*edit: Maybe I'm not understanding. Do the maintenance required (check floormats or whatever) then reset the light. If you can to the maintenance items yourself, don't take the car into a mechanic, and don't just leave the light on as it's simple to reset.

[rgarling]

Yes, just reset the reminder. Somebody must have forgot to reset it when you brought it in for service.

[mmmodem]

There's a reason it comes on every 5000 miles. Follow the owners manual. Having said that don't follow what I do. I do B and reset the minder. I think 5000 mile tire rotations is excessive, I do it every 10k miles. Ditto for the fluid level checks, I do it every 10 instead of 5.

So if there is nothing to do every 5000 miles, why does Toyota do this? My 1998 Corolla called for 7500 mile maintenance. My 2006 Corolla called for 5000 mile maintenance. I suspect the reason is because Toyota was sued for oil sludge problems in the early 2000's. This was what the lawyers decided as a fix to the problem. It persisted even in the 2010's as my Prius requiring synthetic still has this archaeic 5000 mile reminder.

[mortfree]

I asked the toyota dealer about this for our RAV4.

Once a year or every 10k miles is oil change.

Every 5k is tire rotation.

They “getcha” when you arrive and the rotation is normally $16 but they want you to do the x0,000 mile service where they’ll do a multi check, top fluids and rotate for $40.

Of course most bogleheads would never get their car serviced at the dealer (I do. Honda is ok. I hate toyota dealers.)

[keystone]

Thanks for all the replies, this is very helpful.

I'm going to reset the maintenance minder whenever I encounter these non-oil change intervals. It seems kind of quirky to me, especially compared to Honda, but I'll get used to it.

[Rajsx]

Another 2017 Highlander Owner here. I also am getting the unneeded Maintenance Message on my dashboard.

I am going to adjust it to come to when I think it would be due.

[fortfun]

I change the oil, myself, in my Highlander once per year. Usually in July or August after we return from vacation. Full synthetic, new oil filter, and engine air filter. 11 years old with about 120k. So far not a single issue.

[bubbadog]

My family purchased a 2017 Toyota Highlander in April 2017 and the recommended maintenance interval is every 6 months or 5,000 miles, I believe whichever comes first. We have been averaging a little less than 5000 miles per 6 month interval, so we were taking it to the dealership every 6 months for the maintenance that Toyota covered during the first 2 years. Now that our 2 year window is up, I plan to take the vehicle to a mechanic for routine maintenance.

The maintenance reminder has been on the last few weeks, at the 2.5 year interval of our ownership. It appears that an oil change is only required on an annual basis in our case and the only required maintenance at this interval is some basic things like checking the floor mats, rotating tires and a couple of other things that do not seem critical at this juncture. I feel like it might be a waste to bring it in if I'm not getting the oil changed.

My question is, what have other Toyota owners done in this scenario? My choices are - a) leave the maintenance minder on and bring it in when an oil change is needed in another 5 months, b) reset the maintenance minder without doing any of the scheduled items at this time or c) bring it to the mechanic now to do the schedule maintenance items.

I am leaning towards option b. My other car is a Honda Accord and I never encountered this issue with its maintenance minder since the indicator always coincided with periods when oil changes were recommended.

Thanks

Option B

[sunny_socal]

I change the oil every 5k miles on all our vehicles. If I were to follow the minder they would be like this:
- 2018 Volvo: every 10k
- 2015 Honda: every 8k miles
- 2007 Tundra: every 5k miles
- 2007 Honda: every 5k miles

The engines didn't even change between model years yet the 'maintenance minders' have evolved (eg. these days often 10k instead of the older 5k.) What changed? Marketing, 'save the whales' thinking, better oil. You pick: either change every 10k and ignore the MM or change every 5k.

[sco]

I'd just stick with 5k as the odometer reminds me.

Obviously if it took years to get to 5k, that may be different. I would certainly reset the maint reminder whenever needed, our local guy sometimes forgets that too.

[surfstar]

I change the oil every 5k miles on all our vehicles. If I were to follow the minder they would be like this:
- 2018 Volvo: every 10k
- 2015 Honda: every 8k miles
- 2007 Tundra: every 5k miles
- 2007 Honda: every 5k miles

The engines didn't even change between model years yet the 'maintenance minders' have evolved (eg. these days often 10k instead of the older 5k.) What changed? Marketing, 'save the whales' thinking, better oil. You pick: either change every 10k and ignore the MM or change every 5k.

For the most part, newer, better engineered, tighter engines, better oil, etc - all add up to 10k / 1 yr for a lot of new vehicles.
My VW is a direct injection turbo - should be much harder on oil than your 2007 Tundra and Honda - 10k mi oil changes, with a quality oil and no issues.
Oil just isn't "used up" at 5k. It is wasteful to change it twice as often. Same thing for oil filters. If I were you, I'd go 10k on everything not in warranty, and use Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum, or similar - whatever is on sale and has a rebate. Stock up. My Mobil 1 oil changes are ~$2/qt due to strategically timed purchases.

[3504PIR]

If synthetic oil is being used, every 5k is ridiculous. 10k seems more reasonable. Not sure what the impact on a warranty would be though. My wife’s Porsche has an annual oil change and that seems much more reasonable with synthetics. FWIW Porsche’s use 30w Mobile 1.

[sunny_socal]

I change the oil every 5k miles on all our vehicles. If I were to follow the minder they would be like this:
- 2018 Volvo: every 10k
- 2015 Honda: every 8k miles
- 2007 Tundra: every 5k miles
- 2007 Honda: every 5k miles

The engines didn't even change between model years yet the 'maintenance minders' have evolved (eg. these days often 10k instead of the older 5k.) What changed? Marketing, 'save the whales' thinking, better oil. You pick: either change every 10k and ignore the MM or change every 5k.

For the most part, newer, better engineered, tighter engines, better oil, etc - all add up to 10k / 1 yr for a lot of new vehicles.
My VW is a direct injection turbo - should be much harder on oil than your 2007 Tundra and Honda - 10k mi oil changes, with a quality oil and no issues.
Oil just isn't "used up" at 5k. It is wasteful to change it twice as often. Same thing for oil filters. If I were you, I'd go 10k on everything not in warranty, and use Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum, or similar - whatever is on sale and has a rebate. Stock up. My Mobil 1 oil changes are ~$2/qt due to strategically timed purchases.

The engine on the Tundra hasn't changed since 2007.

I could probably go with a 10k interval but a 5k interval gives me peace of mind and I avoid 'topping off' the oil in any vehicle. Is it a 'waste'? No, since it gets recycled. Is it a 'waste' to drink a beer when I could drink water? Beer = $6, water = $0. Sheesh.

[dsmil]

I just reset it myself. We have a Highlander and Prius and I'm having everything done every 10k miles, which is when the oil change is required.

[Nate79]

Resetting is fine but please don't be one of those oblivious drivers that don't regularly inspect their car for issues, don't check fluid levels, etc.

[grabiner]

I change the oil every 5k miles on all our vehicles. If I were to follow the minder they would be like this:
- 2018 Volvo: every 10k
- 2015 Honda: every 8k miles
- 2007 Tundra: every 5k miles
- 2007 Honda: every 5k miles

The engines didn't even change between model years yet the 'maintenance minders' have evolved (eg. these days often 10k instead of the older 5k.) What changed? Marketing, 'save the whales' thinking, better oil. You pick: either change every 10k and ignore the MM or change every 5k.

Former 2007 Honda Civic and current 2017 Toyota Prius owner here.

For Hondas, the minder recommendation is based on how you drive; the maintenance minder will require more frequent oil changes if you drive more in city traffic. My Civic asked for an oil change every 8000 miles when I commuted by freeway, and every 7000 miles when I lived in a suburban area nine miles from the nearest freeway. Services other than oil changes may be based on miles; for example, in my car, the spark plugs were to be changed at 105K, so when I needed an oil change at 102K, the maintenance minder told me to change the spark plugs at the next service.

For Toyotas, it is based on miles alone; if the last service was at 19,965 miles, the next recommended service will be at 24,965. In my Prius, maintenance is scheduled every 5000 miles, but the oil need only be changed at alternate maintenance visits.