4.6L V8 engine has an oil capacity of 7.9 quarts or 7.5 liters. The Tundra has made a name for itself as a powerful and reliable pickup truck, receiving the Top Safety Pick Award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and frequently lasting upwards of 300,000 miles.

Maintenance and repair expenses aren’t always something that drivers consider when buying a new or used vehicle, but they can cost you a pretty penny in the long run. That being said, you can cut down on the cost of maintaining your 2012 Toyota Tundra by learning how to change your own oil at home. You’ll need to check your Tundra’s owner’s manual first, though, to ensure you’re using the correct type and amount of oil.

In case you’ve misplaced your owner’s manual, or just want to find all the information you need in one convenient spot, you’ve come to the right place!

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2012 Toyota Tundra engine oil capacity

Let’s start from the top: exactly how much oil are you going to need to complete an oil change for a 2012 Toyota Tundra?

The base 4.0-liter V-6 engine in the standard 2012 Toyota Tundra has an oil capacity of 6.4 quarts or 6.1 liters. Be extra careful not to get your engine’s oil capacity—the 6.1 liters of oil needed to complete an oil change—and its displacement, which refers to the 4.0-liter volume its six cylinders take up, confused with one another. Despite both being measured in liters, these numbers are not interchangeable and refer to very different qualities of your Tundra’s engine.

What kind of oil does a 2012 Toyota Tundra need?

Now that you know how much oil you’ll need to buy in order to change the oil in your 2012 Toyota Tundra, it’s time to figure out what kind of oil you need to use.

Unfortunately, there’s not one single type of oil that works perfectly for each and every engine in the world, so instead of grabbing the first bottle of oil off the shelf, you’ll want to look for SAE 0W-20 motor oil. Toyota recommends the use of Genuine Toyota SAE 0W-20 motor oil for the 2012 Toyota Tundra. However, you might not be able to find that in your local automotive shop, so any premium grade 0W-20 motor oil should suffice.

But what does 0W-20 mean? Well, the numbers in your oil grade’s name refer to its viscosity—a measure of how thick the oil is. The “W” in the grade name refers to winter, while the preceding zero tells us that the oil type has a low viscosity at 0°F.

The 20 at the end of the grade name, therefore, suggests that the oil type is also relatively thin at the temperature where water boils—212°F. SAE simply stands for Society of Automotive Engineers, the entity that codes oil viscosity.

All of this mumbo-jumbo means that 0W-20 motor oil performs well even in cold weather conditions. Similarly, the oil’s low viscosity means that it will cause less wear and tear on your Tundra’s engine, meaning that you’re more likely to get 300,000 miles out of the pickup as opposed to 200,000 or lower.

If you can’t find Genuine Toyota SAE 0W-20 motor oil, any motor oil with the same viscosity specifications is a suitable replacement. You can find 0W-20 motor oils from several major brands, including Castrol, Mobil 1, and Pennzoil.

MORE:

Ultimate FRAM oil filter guide

How often to change the oil on a 2012 Toyota Tundra

Now that you’re up to speed on your 2012 Toyota Tundra’s oil capacity and type, it’s time to get your hands dirty and

change your oil

Toyota recommends changing the oil in the 2012 Tundra every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. That being said, we recommend checking your oil level more frequently than that to monitor oil consumption. If you don’t drive frequently, you may only have to change your oil every six months, but if you drive a lot, you may have to change the oil more frequently.

Between regular checks on your Tundra’s oil levels, keep an eye out for these signs that you might need to change your oil:

Dark brown or black motor oil (clean oil should be light brown or amber in color)

Coarse or gritty motor oil

Engine is making

strange, unfamiliar sounds

Smells of burning, smoke, or oil while operating

Alterations in how your vehicle performs

MORE:

Toyota Tundra ground clearance

How to change your oil and oil filter

Changing the oil in a 2012 Toyota Tundra follows a standard procedure. To get started you’ll first need to gather your supplies: a filter wrench, a drain pan, and a socket wrench. You’ll also need 7 to 8 quarts of replacement 0W-20 motor oil ready to go.

To prep your Tundra for an oil change, you’ll first want to warm up the engine to get the truck to its normal operating temperature. If it’s not too cold outside, or in your garage, this should only take a few minutes. Once you’re all warmed up, switch off the engine, open the hood, and follow these steps:

Locate and remove the oil fill cap

Get underneath the truck’s engine to remove the oil drain bolt and washer and use a drain pan to catch the old oil—you shouldn’t need a jack to get under the Tundra thanks to its 10.2-inch ground clearance

Remove the old oil filter and replace it with a new one

Replace the oil drain bolt using a new washer and tighten it to 29 lb-ft

Refill the engine with 7.9 quarts of your 0W-20 motor oil of choice

Finally, you’ll want to check your new oil level using a dipstick to make sure you’ve put in enough oil. After changing your oil, it’s a good idea to turn on your car and let your engine run for about 30 seconds before you check the oil level. This will give you a more accurate measurement, and you’ll be able to top it off if necessary.

Running the engine for a few minutes afterward will also help you see if there are any leaks. Assuming you’ve done everything correctly, the

oil pressure light

on your Tundra’s dashboard should turn off.

Be sure to empty your old dirty oil into a sealed container and take it to your local recycling center to be properly disposed of. Do not just dump the dirty oil on the ground or into a garbage bin!

Don’t forget regular insurance policy maintenance

Changing your 2012 Toyota Tundra’s oil at home will not only save you

time

and money on maintenance, but it will also make your Tundra more reliable and leave it running smoothly for years to come.

You can save even more money on your car’s ownership costs when you update your car insurance coverage by downloading the

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