ranberndt

2011 LS460L 38k miles

I ran 7500 miles on M1 0w20.

Blackstone said I had easily 2500 miles to go based on the TBN.

Also the oil was remarkably clean.


My 2006 Sequoia M1 5w30 - 125k miles...I ran 9500 miles and blackstone said I had another 3k to go. The oil was so clean the guys at bobistheoilguy.com could not believe i used a fram ultraguard.

enoch861

One thing I would be keen to know is what parts of the country/climates you're in compared to the numbers they're giving you. For example, if you live in a hot state such as Arizona, 0W-20 vs 5W-20 or even 10W-20 won't matter as much as say when you move to northern states that get colder. So I wonder if different dealerships in different states/regions are taking that into account? Also I wonder if they take into account different seasons. It's not uncommon to substitute a XW-20 for XW-30, for example, depending on how hot the climate is.

DiggerJim

My LS600h manual says 5W-20 or 0W-20 although best fuel economy and good starting is obtained from 0W-20 in cold weather. It doesn't say what cold weather is so I might do 5W-20 in summer and 0W-20 in winter but as long as the 0W-20 is in stock I go with that.

roadfrog

None of that will account for anything when you try to get any warranty work done. There are only TWO viscosity's that Lexus approves ANYWHERE in the world for the LS. 0W20 and 5W20. The fact that a Lexus dealer is putting what THEY think your car needs and doesn't meet Lexus spec or requirement, stuns me. They are obviously using a bulk product (ie cheap) oil that makes them more money. For goodness sakes, it says right on the cap "0W20 or 5W20".

Just another good reason why I do my own service and won't let anyone touch my cars unless I watch them like a hawk or am confident that they are using correct procedures and products. Fortunately my local Toyota dealer does everything by the book, so I'll trust them to do the odd job here and there (trans flush and brake flush).

Devh

There is no point to a 5W when there is a 0W even in a hot climate. 5W oils will be phased out eventually like 10W oils are now.

DiggerJim

Fixed it for you. The 2008 LS600h specs either 0W-20 or 5W-20, no 0W-30 variants need apply

enoch861

In that case, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects you from Lexus denying warranty work.

enoch861

Just to clarify:
I haven't read my manual yet, but does it say that XW-20 is required or recommended? I'm certain it doesn't say required otherwise I believe per the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, they'd have to provide it free of charge. Thus it's just a recommendation. Lexus can not deny warranty work unless they can prove that the oil you used did actually cause the failure.

enoch861

And for Canada and elsewhere in the world.. I'm not sure if you guys have something like the Warranty Act we have. So unfortunately I can't say too much for you guys and obviously the Act does not apply to you guys. I just remembered we have users from other countries once I saw that roadfrog is from Canada.

DiggerJim

I don't believe that's correct. I think you're referring to the prohibition against "tie-in sales" but that only applies to branded products. They can require things but they have to let you source it from someone else if you want. So they can tell you that it requires a certain API rating and weight and as long as they don't tell you that you have to use Toyota oil they're not on the hook for supplying it. You can use any oil that meets the requirement (there is a slight technicality here - if they spec something that's only available from them then they run into the problem you noted but as long as it's available in the market they're safe).

enoch861

You're right on the branded products. As you can tell it's been a while since I've had to look into the Act but I do know that you can use whatever oil you want not necessarily what is listed in the manual since it's typically listed as recommended and not required. But like I mentioned earlier, Lexus would have to prove that the oil you were using specifically caused the failure before they can deny any warranty work. They can't tell you that the work won't be covered without first proving it otherwise they're in direct violation of the Act.

alahelg

toyota 0-20 is not full syntetic. it is simply mid quality hydrocracked base oil (3 group). with out pao (4 group). with out ester (5 group).

20 viscosy in not safe engine. recomended for low forced condition.

for high forced condition recomended 30 and 40 viscosy.

i use amtecol n9000 0-30

roadfrog

I'm familiar with the MM Act, despite us not having it here in Canada. That said, Lexus cannot tell you to use THEIR 0W20 oil, (or 5W20 or whatever), but if you put Castor Oil in your car they can deny your claim. In other words, if they state that their engine requires XwXX oil and you put ANY other viscosity oil regardless of brand (including Lexus branded), they can deny your claim. That's how the act works. It also applies to any other part or fluid, etc. As long as the product MEETS or EXCEEDS your manufacturer spec, your good to go. That doesn't apply in the case of using a 20W50 oil when your manual clearly states 0W20 or 5W20.

Good luck with that. They will tell you whatever they want, deny the claim and then YOU will be fighting with them while your car sits unrepaired. You KNOW that's how it will play out. Act or no Act.

Now.....if we're talking about the specs for an LS600, that's a different issue. I thought we were talking about an LS460.

Roadfrog, tapping out.....

Wandl

A side point but these LS engines are pretty robust, we are talking about a hypothetical situation when the engine fails, no? This isn't like the valve cover fiasco of the earlier LS series, no?

Devh

It might be a group 3 but it is high quality oil and formulated very well for Toyota engines.
0W-20 is plenty safe and if there was an issue it would have reared it's head a long time ago considering how many cars and trucks that are in service running that weight of oil.
The only time 30wt maybe warranted is if you are towing otherwise you will just be creating fluid friction and possibility effecting the proper function of the VVT system.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...0_SN_VOA_with_

Toyota engineers tailored this oil around the materials their engines are made with to give the best performance and longevity possible. In many ways Toyota oil exceeds many other attributes found in other boutique oils.
I use group 3 Pennzoil Platinum in my other car just because it's highly regarded and it is known to exceeds many group 4 and 5 oils.