Oil choice!
Let's put aside the other manufacturers and look at Toyota and Lexus...just to keep this simple.
How many engines and how many years had Toyota/Lexus used 0W20?
Now...out of all that, how many have heard about a rash of engines exploding on those vehicles?
My point...Toyota/Lexus has been using 0W20 in the vast majority, if not all, of their engines for the last decade...at least.
Some of the vehicles racking up hundreds of thousands of miles (or kilometers)...yet...no earth shattering reports of catastrophic engine failures have been reported.
As soon as someone mentions carbon buildup, everyone here is thinking 2IS 250 guaranteed....see what I mean.
As for long term testing...the proof is still in the cars that are on the road right now after a decade with 0W20 oil.
For me the jury is out until I can put my finger on hard evidence that supports me switching to 5W20 or 5W30, or anything else for that matter.
Let's put aside the other manufacturers and look at Toyota and Lexus...just to keep this simple.
How many engines and how many years had Toyota/Lexus used 0W20?
Now...out of all that, how many have heard about a rash of engines exploding on those vehicles?
My point...Toyota/Lexus has been using 0W20 in the vast majority, if not all, of their engines for the last decade...at least.
Some of the vehicles racking up hundreds of thousands of miles (or kilometers)...yet...no earth shattering reports of catastrophic engine failures have been reported.
As soon as someone mentions carbon buildup, everyone here is thinking 2IS 250 guaranteed....see what I mean.
As for long term testing...the proof is still in the cars that are on the road right now after a decade with 0W20 oil.
For me the jury is out until I can put my finger on hard evidence that supports me switching to 5W20 or 5W30, or anything else for that matter.
Let's put aside the other manufacturers and look at Toyota and Lexus...just to keep this simple.
How many engines and how many years had Toyota/Lexus used 0W20?
Now...out of all that, how many have heard about a rash of engines exploding on those vehicles?
My point...Toyota/Lexus has been using 0W20 in the vast majority, if not all, of their engines for the last decade...at least.
Some of the vehicles racking up hundreds of thousands of miles (or kilometers)...yet...no earth shattering reports of catastrophic engine failures have been reported.
As soon as someone mentions carbon buildup, everyone here is thinking 2IS 250 guaranteed....see what I mean.
As for long term testing...the proof is still in the cars that are on the road right now after a decade with 0W20 oil.
For me the jury is out until I can put my finger on hard evidence that supports me switching to 5W20 or 5W30, or anything else for that matter.
Everytime I change my oil Lexus says that.
Everytime I change my oil Lexus says that.
Unfortunately this topic will remain a hotly debated area of conversation because all oils are more or less the same but with different additive packages- this is what stops the oil from wearing down. You dont want the oil to thin out and break down which is why you dont want to start with an excessively thin oil to begin with.
Also these oil analysis reports arent helpful because Blackstone for example does not have an accurate method of calculating how much fuel is in the oil. Looking at the wear values is mainly going to tell you about the health of the motor, not so much the quality of the oil.
In my opinion the general consensus is to just your search and find an oil with a good additive package and stick with a heavier weight because it will help with piston ring seal ensuring you do not get excessive oil consumption in the combustion chamber and excessive fuel getting into the crankcase. And change your oil often! That's the single most important thing you can do regardless with which oil you are using.
Clearly temperatures and climates dont have much bearing on what sort of oil weight should be used because 5w30 is used in cold places like russia or Siberia and United States has lots of areas with a very warm climate such as Florida or Texas.
From what I have gathered 5w40 is a good all around weight suitable for cold weather, thinner than 5w40 is good for -20c or colder, and then for +40c or warmer you want 5w50/10w50.
Then 20w50 is more for high mileage worn engines experiencing oil consumption but can be used at temperatures slightly below freezing if necessary.
So clearly oil brand and weight doesnt have too much meaning just dont go too thin to avoid deposits and change oil frequently like every 3000miles.
"Syntheric oil can last longer" blah blah blah we will never hear the end of it try smelling your oil and seeing what it looks like even after 3000 miles let alone twice that and understand that this is the lifeblood of your engine, the only thing helping to keep your emissions and efficiency reasonable is the seal between the cylinder wall and the piston rings. Rings need a good oil of sufficient weight to do their job.
CAFE requirements and manufacturer recommendations to me serve a clear purpose. That would be to expose the naivety of the general consumer. The manufacturer tells you that your transmission is "sealed" and should not be serviced. It's not sealed, and anybody with even the most basic mechanical knowledge should understand that a transmission is a wear item meaning it must be regularly serviced if you want it to last. This means whatever the manufacturer "recommends" clearly is not in the best interest. Use your logic accordingly to make the right decision.
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe
1. Follow what your owner's manual says on what type of oil to use.
2. It will be all up to you (on how deep your pocket is) when it comes to oil change intervals. In addition to this, they also said that don't go over the required maintenance interval (obviously).
3. If you want to be a smart-*** and experiment, i.e. putting 5w30 on an engine with 0w20 recommended oil, and you get a check engine for example, then put it back to 0w20. Simple as that.
What's obviously funny is whenever I bring these questions to them, they all seem to shrug the question and answer them in a very simple way.
Now that tells me a couple of things.
1. Either they are tired of answering questions like those that's why they just make it very simple.
2. They knew something they could not share to "idiots" like me.
3. They don't know what the **** I'm talking about.
4. They wanna get rid of me, coz the next customer is waiting.







