ElGuapo88

I have used the "search" function and have not gotten a definitive answer. I am going to be getting an oil change soon and had a few questions:

1. What oil viscosity should I get? I understand that it should be either 0W-20 or 5W-20. With 0W-20 being necessary if you live somewhere cold. However people have been touting the fact that you should get 0W-20 anyways since its lighter and you get better fuel economy. Can anyone vouch for this statement? Opinions?

2. What type of oil should I get? (Conventional, Synthetic Blend, Full Synthetic)? Any advantages to going Full Synthetic as opposed to just the Basic Conventional?

3. I will be on the schedule of changing my oil every 5K miles and will most likely keep to this schedule (since I need to rotate my tires anyways, so I like to get it all done at once). However I have heard that Lexus has changed the recommendations officially and actually recommends changing every 10K miles (if you use the full -synthetic oil?). Again, this is just what I have read through searching the boards. I don't know if this is even true, or just made-up and posted by someone. But I would love to get clarification just for knowledge sake!

4. Side note, I believe ALL oil that is 0W-20 is by default Fully Synthetic? Correct?

Thanks for any possible answers to my questions!

AznRacer

iTrader: (2)

Toyota and Lexus are doing the 10k miles for full synthetics. My Toyota Sienna is getting the full synthetic and they are 10k miles. However I still have to come in every 5k miles for the tires rotation. I ask about this last time I had my LS service and they said it'll be the same thing as the Sienna if I want to do full synthetic. I like to get fresh oil every 5k miles so I went with the synthetic blend and they used 0W-20.

Doublebase

I don't think you're going to find much of a difference in gas mileage between 0w20 and 5w20. From what I've read 0w20 tend to have better base stocks and are all synthetic oil, whereas you will find that some 5w20 can be a blend or conventional.

As for this car, I'd use a quality synthetic oil...you can go further between changes and they tend to keep your engine cleaner, which is necessary with the variable valve timing system used in these cars. I know there are many people on this forum that go 10k miles between oil changes using synthetic, and the Toyota Genuine Motor Oil is highly regarded everywhere that I've researched. I'm running it in my car right now (it's 0w20) and I plan doing a 10k mile interval, with the occasional top off.

There are many good synthetics out there...Mobil 1 extended performance is on sale at Walmart right now. Napa Synthetic is really Valvoline Syntec at a fraction of the cost. And I've used both the 5w20 and 0w20...I can't tell the difference between the two of them. Walmart also sells their own synthetic for $17.00 a 5 quart jug and there are many people who swear by that oil.

If you're going to be going only 5k miles between changes, I guess you could go conventional, but any problems you run into with the variable valve system will wipe out anything you saved on oil in about an hour...then the $120.00 an hour dealership rate will make you wish you went with synthetic.

roadfrog

Here we go.....

With the numerous members (including myself), who encountered hesitation issues after an oil change, I HIGHLY recommend you stick with genuine Toyota oil....preferably 0w20. I tried Mobil 1, Pennnzoil and Valvoline and they all caused significant to REALLY bad hesitation. After this most recent change to Toyota 0W20 (synthetic), I encountered absolutely ZERO hesitation and the car is soooo smooth. The VVT-I systems in our LS' are finicky and really do benefit from the correct oil. The bonus is, I paid the same price for the Toyota oil as I did for the aforementioned other brands, ($5.06/qt to be exact), at my local Toyota dealer.

As for OCI, I normally do 6k mile changes, but will be sending an oil sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis at the 6-8k mile mark and we'll see what they say. That said, 10k miles should be conservative on a fully synthetic oil.

Chaos236

iTrader: (1)

Sooo who make Toyotas oil?

1Putt

I've read here on CL that Mobil 1 makes the Toyota 0-20w synthetic according to Toyota's specs.
So it would be diff from Mobil 1's own 0-20w oil

roadfrog

Correct. Toyota's additive package is unique and has very different spec from Mobil 1 that you find on the shelf at Walmart.

chris07ls

On my 2007, I do my own oil changes and I have done 21 of them using Mobil 1 0W-20. I live in a warm climate(Los Angeles ) and have no hesitation about using 0w-20 oil. The 2007 oil change interval is 5K and I have adhered to that schedule from day one when I bought the car in 2007.

sprtent

iTrader: (1)

Just to chime in on ElQuapo88's item #4 about all 0W20 are synthetic. Apparently, they are not. There are others as well.

Doublebase

Interesting, didn't know that. I bet both of those oils are more expensive than a lot of pure synthetics just because they are manufacturer brands and therefore designed to attack the wallets of customers.

Doublebase

I too do all my own oil changes (at 5k intervals), but I'm going to try extending it out to 10k miles, just because there are so many on here that do the same. Everything I've read says that a quality synthetic should be able to handle 10k and with our sumps holding so much oil (9.1 quarts), it really aids in the longevity of the oil. So for the first time in my life I'm going to be going much longer than usual for an oil change - and up until I owned this car I had never went further than 3k on an oil change. I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone.

roadfrog

??? If you're referring to my post (#4), I did not suggest that all 0W20 oils were synthetic.

As for synthetics in general though, going 10k miles on it is pretty conservative. On my 7 series BMW, it was not uncommon to go 15-20k miles as an OCI, and many went further at Bimmerfest (BMW Forum). I put 15k miles on one of my intervals and Blackstone Labs confirmed that I could go an additional 2k miles. I did not, but it was interesting to know I could. The 7 series sump is also similar to ours in capacity (9.5 qts).

Keep in mind though, that regardless of your mileage, you need to change your oil and filter once per year.

sprtent

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, roadfrog. I was not responding to your post directly. I didn't see anyone mentioning AlQuapo88's item #4 so I thought I say something to contribute to the whole thread. I have nothing against your #4 post, bud

7milesout

I worked as a design engineer in automotive engineer for 16 years. You can believe me, or do what you want. Either viscosity is fine. Yes 0W in a cold climate, especially if you park outside, and crank up cold in the morning. But you will NEVER be able to measure a realistice difference in fuel mileage as they will both operate at 20 weight.

Full synthetic would be my recommendation if you're going to park outside in the cold.

These guys on here know better than I. I've read my 2010 only states 5k mile o.c.i.'s.

I don't know if that's true or not. But my guess is that it's easier to find 0W-20 in synthetic than conventional.

Devh

The masses have to refer to oil as full synthetic which causes a lot of confusion.
It's either synthetic or not synthetic. Synthetic blend is nothing more then conventional oil mixed with little as 10% Synthetic. They say addition of a little synthetic oil helps the formulation but it's mostly for marketing.
Then you have group 3 which is debatable if it is synthetic or not but it doesn't matter because some Hydrocrack petroleum derived oil has proven to be better then Mobil 1.

It really comes down to the formulation. There are very few chemical derived synthetic oil manufactures and most of the brands get their base stocks from Mobil.