IS_Mine

Soooo..

I am getting my oil changed at my Toyota dealership for $30 bucks instead of $140(which I was quoted at my Lexus dealer. LOL!).

They carry my oil filter part and for those of you who are curious the IS350 oil filter part is 04152-YZZA3.

I asked if they carried the Toyota oil in 5W-20, they do not.. only 5W-30.

I was told that Toyota oil is manfactured by Mobil 1. They carry Castrol Oil GTX 5W-20. So my question is.....

Castrol.. Mobil... I imagine they are up to the same specs? As much as I'd like to have my car serviced at Lexus I can't be hit a $140 oil change, filter, balancing of my tires, break inspection, and battery inspection. Thats just ridiculous! If I have problems in accordance to those inspections at only 10k miles we have a problem!

So.. what do you all think?

GoHuskers

For my other cars, i have been using Mobile1 SuperSynch (synthetic) and change it every 5000 miles. I'll do the same for the IS and I'll do it myself.

Let's see: Mobile1 SuperSynch costs about $26 for 6qts plus the filter is about $6. I bet that Lexus will charge at least $70 for Synthetic oil and Toyota will charge about $55.

DIY All the way.

IS_Mine

Right.... But I don't want to run Syn. as I haven't read anything that is too earth shattering about it, and.. like I said I can get the work done for $30 instead of $140. :P

However, Toyota is definately 1/2 the price or more than Lexus.

TunedRX300

Mobil 1 is a brand EOM designated for synthetic Mobil oil.
Regular dino oil uses Mobil Clean brand, not Mobil 1
My suggestion is to spend 30 minutes and do the oil change yourself. $30 will cover a 5 quart jar of synthetic oil (M1 or Castrol) at Walmart, and the cost of OEM oil filter at Toyota Parts Dept.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Well, Mobil 1 is a synth oil, I'll assume you meant Mobil makes Toyota's dino oil. Castrol GTX is a pretty darn good dino oil. I've always regarded Mobil dino oil as average. For dino, I'd go with Castrol GTX. But, either one would be fine for regular OCI. Oil grade is what you should be concerned with. I use synth in my car and I always seem to hear more valve chatter with Mobil1 than with Syntec, grade for grade. I usually just use 5W-40 Castrol Syntec.

IS_Mine

Oops, excuse my mistype there.

So.. bascially whether I use Castrol or Mobil.. everything should work out the same? I just didn't know quality wise if there was a difference.

Over all I don't see how there could be a huge difference. And, I am not climbing under my car to change my oil (being that I am female!) and I definately don't want my friends touching my car!

So 30 bucks is reasonable for whatever they need to do.

daydr3am

lol, I wouldn't want to get under the car either... that's what bros are for

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

If you're getting your oil changed regularly (every 3-4k miles) with a good filter (Toyota OEM ones are fine), I would just use 5W-30 of either Castrol or Mobil. You should be fine.

Very true, I change the oil in all the cars in the family, including my sister's.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

um, at our place, we charge $25 for Castrol GTX, standard oil change, with tire rotation, full inspection (brakes, battery, filters, etc)...

Synthetic Blend may be worth an extra couple bucks, but personally, I still opt for Mobil1, a Mobil1 oil filter (or K&N), and it costs me $30-$35...

If you were to bring in your own oil to us, we only charge $10 labor plus $1 disposal of the old, you might find someone that does that around you...

I'm just not a big fan of standard dino oil...

Bichon

That 5 quart jug will leave you dangerously low. The 2nd generation IS takes a bit over 6 1/2.

Be aware that Lexus has changed the recommended oil (and the factory fill) to 5W-20 for the '06 and '07 models (see TSB EG006-06), although many dealers are still using 5W-30 which is also acceptable.

Carson-Lex

German Castrol only here. Great for domestics and imports as well.
http://home.comcast.net/~dsmphotos/gcdc.html

And if you want to learn more than you ever wanted to about oil, here is the place.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

TunedRX300

Thanks for the correction, I always like oil sump with higher capacity. So buy two more quarts
Only thing I don't like to go to dealer is 1) mark up of cheap bulk dino oil, possibly recycled (guess where do all those used oil go?) 2) inflated labor rate 3) spend time and gas to drive to the dealer and back

GoHuskers

I do oil changes for all the cars included my sister's (and she's married and moved out). It's fun doing that, though but it's probably not for ladies, tho.

socalJD

Go with the Castol GTX dino oil, its fine for normal OCI. If you were to go for extended OCI, than you may want to upgrade to synth. I've used GTX for the last 15+ yrs, (including a V6 Supra & Avalon) and with normal OCIs, never had the 'sludge' problem . . .

dreyfus

I taught my kids to do brakes and oil and all the routine maintenance themselves. My daughter can spin a filter with the best of them.

My wife, OTOH, isn't allowed anywhere near the engine compartment. When we were dating she put a quart of 10W-30 down the transmission tube of my car. She said it was a dipstick...