desnard

This topic has probably been beat to death, but going through some service paperwork, I noticed that on my first 10K oil change for my 2010 RX350 the dealer used 5W30, then the next time used synthetic. Are you subject to damage of any type by bouncing back and forth between synthetic and conventional, even if you're changing the oil regularly? I now have 38K miles and car seems to be running fine, but now I'm concerned. Thanks!

corradoMR2

No issues to my knowledge so long as you change the conventional one more frequently.

RX330inFL

No worries, mate. The oils have no problems coexisting. Just have a talk with your dealer next time you are in and see about getting them to pick one and stick with it. If only so you know what your oil change interval should be. As corradoMR2 pointed out, you would not run the conventional dino oil as long as a synthetic. Personally, I would go with what is recommended in the Owner's Manual in regards to oil type and change interval. For example:

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do.../sec_08-03.pdf

desnard

Thanks for the feedback!!

fastnoypi

if you really want to get the most out of your oil, send a sample of used oil for analysis like Blackstone Labs.
You will get the breakdown of whats wearing in your engine, whether or not your oil is giving you adequate protection and a suggested oil change interval if your sample is consistent with your normal driving habits.
A standard test is around $25. Well worth the cost for piece of mind and possibly less costly maintenance down the road.

azinn

Debate all the oil facts and figures here > http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

rxsuperman

Desnard, I am curious to know what was the dealer's reason for NOT using 0W-20 oil as specified in the owner's manual? I would have thought a dealer would adhere to all the factory maintenance part requirements.

LeoDLion

This is a big thing on my other car (not going to name what model/make it is). There is a problem with breaking in the piston rings. The TSB said that if a non-synthetic oil like 10w30 is used during the breakin, the piston ring may not be seated properly. This results in excessive oil consumption. The fix is not cheap either. The engine has to be opened up the the rings replaced. The car maker subsequently changed the procedure to only use synthetic oil at 0w30.

I am not saying this can be a problem with the Lexus. But since it happened in another car, it is something to watch out for. The Lexus manual specified 0w20 synthetic oil. This should have been used by the dealer.

desnard

I'll be having that discussion with them today....

kitlz

Lexus changed to synthetic in February 2010 so early RXs may have received conventional oil instead. I wouldn't expect any problems using either one. But obviously changing the oil once a year is much easier. Stick with synthetic.

vlad_a

Did they use conventional or synthetic? Because 5W30 is available in both forms. 5W30 is still suitable for the RX, except with shorter change intervals of 5K miles. As Anita has mentioned above, the switch and certification to 0W20 for the Toyota lineup has occurred relatively recently.

niklow

I could be wrong, but them switching to 0w20 allowed for the use of regular gas?

RX330inFL

No, they detuned the engine to run better on regular. You can see it in the engine specs if you compare the model years of the change. What 0W20 does give is fractional improvement in MPG.

LeoDLion

Are you saying the newer RX models can run on regular gas? My 2011 is strictly premium per manual.

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

Yes, believe 2012 and up are all able to use 87 octane.