Best engine oil for car - Toyota genuine? Honda genuine? 0w-20 5w-30?

is it dino or syn?

 

a lot of people use mobil 1.

 

yes, they make whatever your prius calls for. it should say on the oil fill cap.

 

If you like the Honda 0W-20 then every other brand of 0W-20 should deliver the same performance. I would shop on price. I don't know who Toyota or Honda buy their oil from for distribution in the UK but they certainly don't operate their own refineries.

I would use the recommended viscosity especially if you are burning oil.

 

I'm using Toyota 0W20, over 5 years now, purchased through local dealership parts department. Their bottled liters are currently $5.91 (Can), and lately I switched to bulk purchase, bring my own container: it's $4.50 per liter.

I've bought Honda 0W20 for our son's Civic, since I was at their parts dept getting filter/washer, but their prices are climbing too much: this Saturday the civic's gonna get Toyota bulk 0W20 too.

 

How much is it then, for you at the parts counter of a dealership?

 

Don't overthink it.
Proper weight.-recommended
Proper Grade.-recommended

Dealer or name brand quality, and you should be OK.

As long as you aren't buying some oil made in some guys bathtub....just read your owners manual concerning recommended weight and grade...and nearly any option you pick is going to be OK.

 

I personally use Amsoil Signature 0w20. Doing 10k mile oil change intervals, using an Amsoil oil filter. This oil would be fine.

Mobil 1 would also be fine. So would the Toyota Synthetic, which is made by Exxon I believe.

I also believe that Toyota may have back-approved the 2nd gen Prius engine for 0w20. 0w20 is relatively new to the oil world and wasn't around much when the 2nd gen Prius was designed and tested.

 

Toyota oil is Mobil 1 with Toyota's own additive package.

 

My dealer uses Mobil 1 0 W 20

 

Note that a lot of those posting have 3rd gen Prii. The 3rd gen is rated for 0W-20 oil, while the 2nd gen is rated for 5W-30 oil (Edit: In the US, may be different in UK). I would only use an oil that's rated -30 or higher in a 2nd gen Prius, otherwise the engine could experience additional wear when at operating temperatures. I would want to see a lot of data that thinner oil (0W-20) doesn't reduce engine life in the 2nd gen before putting an oil in that doesn't meet 5W-30 specification (exception would be a very hot or cold climate, eg. Alaska winters or Death Valley summers).

However this doesn't preclude you from using a synthetic that's thinner when cold, but still meets the -30 spec when warm, (reduce engine friction a bit when cold and squeeze out another half a percent FE ). For this reason I use Mobil 1 0W-30. It's easy to pick up at Wal-Mart for around $23: Mobil 1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy Full Synthetic Motor Oil, 5 qt. - Walmart.com (Included here as a reference, those not in US will need to see what's available in their location) IMO, this is probably the best oil out there for 2nd gen Prii that's not crazy expensive (I've done lots of searching around trying to answer this same topic). The German fully synthetic Castrol 5W-30 is probably an even superior oil, but it's twice the cost. There's also 0W-40 synthetic out there, but it is "thicker" (there's a fancier term needed here technically) than it needs to be when at operating temperatures, and so will cost you a bit of fuel economy (No more than a percent or two). The Mobil 1 0W-30 is slightly thinner at operating temps than most 5W-30 oils, but still comfortably meets the -30 spec, so is safe to use in the Prius, and likely provides a percent or two boost to fuel economy.

Keep in mind that standard or synthetic blend 5W-30 oil will work great in a Prius and is half the cost.

 

Toyota "Genuine"....isn't.

According to the interwebs, it's (allegedly) made by Mobile-1, or at least it was (allegedly) once upon a time.

If you're only going to change out the oil every 10,000 miles (or whatever OCI is recommended abroad) then I'd probably use something like Mobile-1, or some other fully synthetic bland and assiduously check my oil volume every other fill-up or so.

In the end, it's the oil that's in your sump, NOT the label on the plastic bottle that matters.

Good Luck!

 

nonsense for many reasons.
one of the reasons is the additive package is developed, tested, and made by additive companies (like Lubrizol) and not by toyota or even ExxonMobil.