Toyota Repair: Oil Change, mile oil changes, synthetic oil

Question
Hi,

I was talking to my girlfriend in Germany and she was telling me how in Germany, people get an oil change once every 20k-30k miles as opposed to 5k in the US. Do we really need to change our oil every 5k? I have a Yaris and I use syntheic oil and it was really surprising here how big of a difference it is.

Thanks

Jackie

Answer
Your friend may have been referring to Kilometers which is the standard in Europe, 20,000KM is about 12,000 miles, the intervals depend on the year and model of the cars, Toyota now recommends 10,000 mile oil changes since about 2012 using synthetic oil at a 0-20w viscosity, if you have an older car with higher mileage this oil is not recommended due to the difference in engine design and wear due to mileage.
Always follow manufacturers recommendation for your car.