For a 2010+, always use synthetic oil. If for some reason you can't find any anywhere, you could use conventional oil ONCE and change it at 5,000, but it is an emergency procedure. http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47674U/pdf/sec_06-01.pdf Page 5 of the PDF, page 498 of the paper manual. 0W-20 is only available in synthetic.
I do synthetic every 10,000 miles, per owner's manual. Even at 10k and driving in LA, it still comes out relatively clean using the OEM filter + dealer supplied synthetic oil (it's a japanese brand, the name is at the tip of my tongue).
I like synthetic 0W20 at 5000 mile interval. In Canada the Owners Manual calls for 0W20 at 8000 km (roughly 5000 miles) or 6 months, whichever comes first. I'm in the south west corner of the country, temporate coastal climate. Drive maybe 100 km to the south, into Washington State, same climate, but the interval is double.
synthetic at 5k interval is not wise, 10K intervals based on driving style/conditions. I use synthetic blend in other car with 6k interval without any issues. Nothing wrong with syn. blend I will go with 5K during "free maintenace" and stick to 8-10K interval
How come everyone on here uses 0w20? Does it really make much of a difference compared to standard synthetic?
From what I have been able to find there is no technical reason having to do with engine life etc. The reason is based on an EPA rule that the oil required by the manufacturer must be the same viscosity as the oil used during the EPA mileage and emission tests.
Where I work, we overhaul diesel fuel injection as well as most major makes of import diesel engines. The newer engines have much closer tolerances between pistons and cylinder bores due to hydrocarbon emission standards (they do not want the oil that lubricates the cylinders to be burned in the combustion stroke and come out the exhaust), and the bores are no longer honed with stones, but are computer machined with diamond hones. The honing marks are also diamond "de-burred" in a process which no longer requires rings to have to "seat" into the cylinder walls as they did in older engines. The angles of the honing marks in the cylinder walls are set in at such an angle that it provides the proper piston/ring lubrication when using the exact specified weight of oil, not leaving too much oil left in the honing marks on the cylinders which would be burned. You'll see that technology sometimes on the shows such as "How It's Made", "How'd they do that?", etc...
