Oil Type

There is little difference between a full-syn 0w20 and full-syn 5w20. However, I would stay with full-syn 0w20 until the powertrain warranty expires for documentation reasons.


iPhone ?

 

to get the most mileage out of your vehicle, use full synthetic 0w-20. if mileage is secondary to you saving a few bucks up front for the oil, then use full synthetic 5w-20. i wouldn't use conventional oil.

Stock up on M1 synthetic at Walmart | PriusChat

 

Also you can get 10k miles on synthetic which usually means 1/2 the oil changes. At Walmart the synthetic change is around $50 vs $25 for conv.

Another BIG difference is the reduced wear on the engine. 150k on conv may go to 300k on synthetic. I would use it.

 

Another big difference is that if an oil change "tech" only touches your car 1/2 as many times, that is only 1/2 as many times for them to screw something up.

 

I have yet to see any evidence or read any technical explanation, that verifies synthetic oil meeting the same specifications and grade, will provide any material improvement in engine life.

Sad but true.

 

5-20 is fine as long as it's full synthetic.

 

I have. It has to do with the way the long carbon chain polymers are synthesised to resist shearing which happens quite rapidly in mineral oils.

 

It's pretty obvious that Toyota believes in Synthetics since they are now standard in most cars and allow a 10k change cycle. It's also clear all car manufacturers use synthetics in their transmissions to reduce temperatures and extend transmission life.

It's known that high temperature applications can only be served by synthetics, such as over 275F.

It's true that today's API standards for oils force additive qualities that prevent most wear with 3K change intervals. The problem is the additives burn off and people are not always compliant with 3k changes. Synthetics, which start with natural hydrocarbons, are far superior in real world experience including extended engine life without extra oil consumption, much less wear based failures.

While an old test, and possibly countered with a Consumers Report test, the following adds information.

Amsoil test where NYC taxis were run for 60k miles, some with conv changed at 3k, some with synthetic not changed for 60k although the filters were changed at 12.5k:

Synthetic Oil: Rx For Long Engine Life, by Curt Scott - GETAHELMET.COM
Following the year-long demonstration, each of the engines was disassembled, both to determine the levels of sludge, varnish, and rust that had accumulated inside the engine, and to carefully measure the amounts of wear experienced on critical engine components....

To summarize the findings and conclusions, the test facility responsible for the demonstration submitted this statement: “The data presented in this report indicates that the Amsoil synthetic SAE 10W-40 passenger-car motor oil formulation…provided protection of the test engines from excessive wear and deposit formation, far beyond the normal 3,000-mile change interval.” In fact, the level of protection was such that those engines in which the original synthetic oil was run for the entire duration of the (60,000-mile) test showed less wear than did the Control Group vehicles using premium, 10W-40 petroleum oil and 3,000-mile drain intervals.

 

I don't think there's a correlation between synth and the (US) 10,000 mile oil change interval. All the (North American) Owners Manual says on the subject is a recommendation to use 0W20 (no mention of synth, though it very likely will be), or 5W20 in a pinch.

And in Canada Toyota still sets oil change interval at 8000 km (5000 mile).

 

The correlation is in the fact that the Toyota oils are fully synthetic.

 

According to the manual, you should use full synthetic 0w20 oil. You can also safely use 5w20.

If you also look on a page 39 of your warranty and maintenance guide there is a note that says "If 0w20 WAS NOT used at the last oil change, replace engine oil or oil filter." In other words you can pay twice as much for 0w20 every 10,000 miles or you can save half as much using 5w20 every 5,000 miles.

 

I don't recall synthetic oil being mentioned in the owner's manual, but it's more than likely you'd be buying a synthetic anyway if you find 0w-20 in a store.

 

I'm not an oil guy but my understanding is that 0w20 is synthetic. I've never seen 0w20 dino oil but that doesn't mean the flying spaghetti monster doen't exist. These guys claim to have seen it in the wild, though.
Is 0W-20 only available in synthetic - Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

Right, with the auto parts stores around here, if you find 0w-20, it's a synthetic.

 

The Genuine Honda 0w20 that is supplied to Honda dealerships in bulk, is marketed as a synthetic-blend.


iPhone ?