500amg

Does Lexus use synthetic oil (like Mobil 1) from the factory? I know BMW & Mercedes have switched to full sythetic, but I didn't know if Lexus did yet.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

I would have to say no they do not come with synthetic, but it is available at most dealership and service shops.

The '02 ES I bought in Sept. came with traditional dino. I switched over to Mobil 1 during the 15k service performed by the dealership. According to the service department when I requested that synthetic be the new oil in the change, they made a huge point of telling me "that once I go synthetic I could never switch back".

I informed them that this was a total myth created by the service industry to make money (synthetic costs more). They would not commnet any further.


steviej

Lexmexico

The answer is no. I have heard the reason is to allow sufficient time for the dino oil to create a base of protection for the moving parts, which is something synthetic is quite weak at.

meZoom!

i couldn't imagine Lex/Toyota pouring in fully synth into cars fresh out the factory. makes little sense because: it will cost them more, fully synth is strictly NOT recommended in new cars, and what consumer would care?? i can't believe bimm and merc have started to do so.

500amg

BMW & Mercedes have been using synthetics from the factory from 2000 I believe. My MB came with Mobil 1 0W-40. From my readings about oil, the engines have been designed not to need the "coatings" that dino oil provides during initiall break-in. I'm just wondering if Lexus has done it yet, but I guess not. Synthetics are far superior to dino oils though, I hope Lexus switches at some point.

kobiashi

Lexus does not use synthetic as a "Factory Fill".

Interestingly enough, on my SVT Lightning I use Mobil 1. There has been a big debate among Lightning owners whether Mobil 1 can be used right away in the Lightning engine. Many argue that the Corvette comes with Mobil 1 as factory fill, as do Astin-Martin, and some of the Benzes. SVT reccomends that if you want to switch to synthetics to wait until at least 8000 miles have elasped...this allows for the rings to sealed.

I asked the master tech, at my dealer if I need to wait to use synthetic and he informed me that on my LS430 there is no need to wait. That toyota designed the rings so that a "breaki-in" period is not required. So what 500amg says is correct.

There are endless debates whether synthetics are worth the money, especially if you change the oil every three thousand miles. Suffice it to say this is why I use synthetic...A number of my Lightning friends are very into engines and working on them. Every time they take engines apart, if they use synthetics, even after a great number of miles, there is almost no wear whatsoever. One engine with about 200 Thousand miles, using Mobil 1, looked brand new.

I will start using Mobil 1 (and the Lexus filter...which is very good) with my next oil change, and then switch the oil every 5000 miles. With dino oil I switched every 3000 miles. My dealer sez every 5000 and with 5000 I still keep within the warranty limits. Synthetic easily lasts 5000 miles. So that's how I'm gonna do it.

Lexuses are bulletproof to begin with. With the 90 LS I did oil changes every 3000 (dino oil) and that is almost all I ever needed to do. the car had 150000 miles on it when I traded it in and it still ran great.
I'mm 44 now, and knowing how well built this 430 is, plus the fact that I will use Mobil 1, this car will probably be the last I ever have to buy and will probably outlast me.

k

muldrick

I've never seen advantages with the Synthetic oil, our customers do their oil changes every 5000 miles...their engine last forever (at 5000 mile intervals) So what is the Synthetic advantage?
What am I missing?

SCV8

These engines have chrome rings=no break in,last forever.
I use a slightly thicker oil to help prevent the rings from letting oil go at higher rpms,it seems that the rings have a fairly light tension to them.
Using 10W40 dino oil helped out a bunch with the compression,but I have switched to 0W40 Mobil recently,we'll have to see how that works out.
Both types of oil get contaminated by combustion by-products,but the synthetic seems to not break down,or become acidic as fast.Still cheaper to just buy dino oil and change a little more often as the Mobil isn't as cost effective really.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

synthetics also offer the advantage of remaining more liquid at lower temperatures. Cold start-ups are not as damaging over time with synthetics as they can be with dinos. This was especially comforting to me over this past winter here in New England.