I'm about to change my oil for the first time on my IS350, what oil weight should I use? I read somewhere to use 5W-20, is this correct. I live in phoenix metropolitant area (Chandler, AZ to be exact) and it hardly freeze here, may be two to five times a year if we are lucky.

 

I did read the manual and it does say 5w30, but there was suppose to be a TSB that they started using 5w-20 starting last April '06. I just need to verify. And yes, I do use synthetic.

FYI, Autozone is having a sale for 5qt synthetic Mobil One oil and a Mobil One Filter for $29.99, a great deal. I know they do not have filter yet for the IS350 but will instead use the filter for my 06 vette.

 

If you are uncertain about what viscosity oil is recommended, call your Lexus dealer's service department. They should have all updated info from Lexus. Puzzled why you have not done this instead of asking CL members.

Also if Lexus does not specify synthetic oil, why would you spend the extra money. Keep in mind the most important reason to change oil is to drain deposits (carbon, metal particles and dirt) that normally accumolate in engine oil. If synthetic manufacturers suggests longer change intervals because of longer oil life properties than regular oil, it means that these abrasive paticulates have more opportunity to damage your engine.

Hope this helps.

 

I did call the dealer this morning and but have not returned my call. I think I will use 5w-20...thanks guys.

 

Had my first (free) oil change at Sewell (Ft. Worth) done a few weeks ago, and they used 5w30. Maybe they didn't get the TSB? It doesn't freeze much here in central TX, and 30 is better for high speed driving, so I'm not concerned about whether they used 20 or 30. Just drove it back from a trip to Montana, so now I need the next oil change, already. Think I'll have it done at my local Toyota dealer.

 

In Phoenix, I would definately use 5W-30 year round. No need to have such thin oil in that climate, the thicker 30 weight is better for warmer climates anyway. My dealer in Chicago used 5W-30 on my first change also.

If you go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and search the forums for 5W-20, you will see that 5W-20 is a highly political topic and is really more for car companies to be able to claim slight fuel economy gains than engine performance or protection.

 

With a new filter; 6.4 Quarts engine oil capacity.

Without a new filter; 6.0 quarts engine oil capacity.

 

I called my dealer and they said to use 5w-30. Then I used the "Contact us" section of the Lexus website, and they told me that the recommendations have been updated to 5w-20. Though I used 5w-30 for my first two changes, I plan to take the word of Lexus over my dealer and use 5w-20 from now on.

 

Sigh... another thread where one person is asking a simple question about which viscosity oil to use, and the synthetic oil "experts" start coming out of the woodworks. This guy didn't mention anything as to whether synthetic is better or whether he should even use it... He simply wanted to know what weight oil to use. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now

To the original poster, I'm not sure how repeating something in this thread would "confirm" or "verify" what you read in earlier threads, but I have a better solution... Why don't I answer your question definitively, with a copy of the TSB from Lexus Oh, and whatever oil you do wind up using, you'll need 6.6 quarts of it with the filter change.

Javier

 

I have read the TSB and I, like many others, think it is just to increase fuel economy slightly and offers negligible or no benefits to actual lubrication.

I am curious though, since the TSB said 5w20 is now standard, could an 07 owner tell us what their owner's manual and oil-cap say? My guess is that both still read 5w30, which contradicts this TSB if you read the Note at the top of it.

 

What both the cap and the owner's manual say are irrelevant in this case - that's the whole point of issuing a TSB. The repair manual states:
In this type of situation, you would use the most recently published instruction, the Technical Service Bulletin (i.e. update to the repair manual). The TSB then goes on and specifically mentions the GR engine series. And somebody explain to me how the specified reasons of being "superior in terms of fuel economy, engine protection, and cold starting performance" is a bad thing... I'm not trying to tell you what type of oil to use, I'm just stating the facts as they appear in the Lexus repair manual.

Javier

 

I think Javier's point is well taken regardless of what oil anyone chooses to use in their car. Why would the engine manufacturer (Toyota) select an oil for their engine that is inferior to the point that it would hurt their reputation of reliability?! i.e. long term engine wear and performance.

 

Also keep in mind we've had some complaints about valvetrain noise on startup, particularly after an oil change. These engines have hydraulic lifters. You might find using 5w-30 makes a little more noise on startup, but I doubt running the originally specified oil will damage anything.

And for sure, read the TSB. If you do what they recommend, any failure is covered by warranty. Thanks for posting it JavyLSU!

 

I called both Newport Lexus (Newport Beach, CA) and Westminster Lexus (Westminster, CA) concerning two issues. First, how much do you charge for an oil change and what oil do you use. Neither dealership has heard anything about switching to 5/20 weight!

Answer: Newport Lexus charges 89 bucks for 5/30 Castrol; a little more
for synthetic.

Westminster Lexus charges 49 bucks for 5/30 Union 76 and 89 bucks
for Mobil 1 synthetic.

I live in Westminster so guess where I'll be going after my freebie...?

 

Use either oil, the difference is trivial... It's just lubricant, sheesh...