0W20 OK or not?

[Lou]

I just had my oil changed and thought I asked for Mob 1 which is 5w30. I guess this is my 7th or 8th oil change, and it has always been Mob 1 at 5w30. I may not have made myself clear to the dealer service writer, but in any case, they put in a synthetic oil. Turns out they used Toyota synthetic which is 0W20.

I talked to the service manager who told me that new Toyota's use 0W20 and that it was fine in my 2004 4Runner. I looked at my owner manual, and it says 5W30, but it does not say only use 5W30, but it is recomended. Service Manager again said it was OK, and that he was using 0W20 for all synthetic oil changes.

What do you think, should I drain out the 0W20 and put in 5W30, or leave the oil as is.

Lou

 

[Climb14er]

Too thin... 0W-20. :nono:

YMMV.

It might work for you but I go with what the factory specifications say.

My manual for a 2007 V8 says 5W-30. I use Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic 5W-30 and the engine just runs smoothly in all four Colorado seasons.

Why mess with what works. :

 

[MikesToy]

i bet one of these days your dealer is gonna put 10w40 and they say the same thing that it's ok. :keyboard:

 

[CJ3Flyr]

This time of year it's not a big deal IMHO. Next oil change specify 5w-20 or 5w-30.


BUT! It's not ok according to TSB EG018-06 which authorizes 5w-20 for 2006 and later. It also talks about 0w-20 only on certain engines, not ours. Get them to write that it won't void your warranty

"Engines That Can Use 5W–20 and 0W–20:
OIL ENGINE
ILSAC GF–4 SAE 5W–20
AZ series
GR series
JZ series
MZ series
NZ series
RZ series
UZ series
VZ series
1ZZ–FE
2TR–FE

ILSAC GF–4 SAE 0W–20
(Beginning with 2006 MY)
2AZ–FE Camry
2AZ–FE Solara
2AZ–FE Highlander
2AZ–FE RAV4 (ACA3#)
NOTE:
DO NOT use these oils in engines other than those listed above. These low–viscosity
oils cannot maintain lubrication effectiveness in engines with older designs and could
result in smoke emissions from the tailpipe and/or unusual engine noise.
Recommended
Engine Oils
(Continued)"


Maybe there's a newer TSB that makes it ok, I don't know.

 

[Lou]

Thanks Chris for tracking down the TSB, should be an interesting discussion with the dealer! I am going to change back to 5W30.

 

[4Funnr]

The new 2010 runners are a model that uses 0W-20 and that's a first for me. I was surprised.

 

[SkylineGTRracer]

I thought that 0 weight oils were for motorcycles. I use both 5 and 10 w30 in different seasons. being that its a synthetic oil I think its ok but not for a long time. I'm not really surprised a dealer did that. they can be careless while some aren't. weird right? you'd think Toyo techs know what kind of oils go into what engine.

 

[truckmike26]

One thing about 0w20 and 5w20 is that ambient temperature isn't really an issue anymore. Ford's been using 5w20 for more than a decade in everything from one-ton trucks to police cruisers and rental cars. Weight these these days seems to have more to do with engine designs/metallurgy than geography.

 

[Lou]

Thought I would comment on this, I did go back to the dealer and had them remove the 0W20 and replace with 5W30. The Service Manager did show me a service memo fo some sort that indicated all new Toyotas would use 0W20.

Lou

 

[00328]

My guess is that 0W20 would be just fine. It is just a guess as I'm no expert. Manufacturers are increasingly going to thinner oils.
You could always check out bobistheoilguy.com, tons and tons of great info there.
I can remember using 20W50 in an old Jetta I had.

 

[jay1981]

heres my .02: Im not an expert, but I do work for a company that delivers oil. I only use whats recommended, if the book says 5w30, use 5w30. It wouldnt hurt to use 10w30 in the summer but there's no real advantage either. 5w20 or 0w20 should not be used in vehicles that recommend 5w30 because they are thinner oils.

 

[MICA4R]

This time of year it's not a big deal IMHO. Next oil change specify 5w-20 or 5w-30.


BUT! It's not ok according to TSB EG018-06 which authorizes 5w-20 for 2006 and later. It also talks about 0w-20 only on certain engines, not ours. Get them to write that it won't void your warranty

"Engines That Can Use 5W–20 and 0W–20:
OIL ENGINE
ILSAC GF–4 SAE 5W–20
AZ series
GR series
JZ series
MZ series
NZ series
RZ series
UZ series
VZ series
1ZZ–FE
2TR–FE

ILSAC GF–4 SAE 0W–20
(Beginning with 2006 MY)
2AZ–FE Camry
2AZ–FE Solara
2AZ–FE Highlander
2AZ–FE RAV4 (ACA3#)
NOTE:
DO NOT use these oils in engines other than those listed above. These low–viscosity
oils cannot maintain lubrication effectiveness in engines with older designs and could
result in smoke emissions from the tailpipe and/or unusual engine noise.
Recommended
Engine Oils
(Continued)"


Maybe there's a newer TSB that makes it ok, I don't know.

Is there a way to determine which engine the V6 is? I thought it was the 1GF-R?

 

[simple]

The V6 is the 1GR-FE its in the manual.

Does anybody know why only the 2006 and up is allowed to use 5w-20? Was there a change from the 2003-2005 v6 engine?

 

[peter78]

My guess, they used 0W20 because that is what they now use on new 4Runners and that is what they had on hand. I use Mobil 1 when I first bought my 2001 and have been useing it for both 4Runners. I used 0W30 once and it was fine.

My guess is that with 0W20 you may get slightly better gas mileage and it should be fine in your 2004. Manufacters are now starting to like the lighter weight oil. My parents 2004 Honda recommends 5W20. Don't forget oil is getting better and my guess is that 0W20 will protect your engine just fine.

For me, I change my own oil and I think I will stick with my trusty Mobil 5W30. I do know that manufacters really don't recommend using the heavier oil, I used to use Castrol 10W40 for years in my older cars.

 

[OrdnanceMarine]

0W-20 should be absolutely fine if the engine is spec'ed for 5w-20 and meets the same standard (API SM or SL, for example). Both oils being a 20-weight at 210F will have the same 20-weight range of viscosity at operating temperature, which is what the engine manufacturer has designed the engine to operate ideally at. The difference is that as both oils cool the 0W will thicken less than the 5W. But here's the catch, both oils are TOO THICK for ideal operations at cooler temps. The 0W is closer to ideal at cold temps than the 5W and should offer better protection, lower start-up wear and better fuel economy when the engine is below operating temperature. Since the 0W-20 thickens more slowly as we descend the temperature scale we know that it in turn thins more slowly as oil temperature increases so if you were running the engine hard towing a trailer up a hill (for example) and the oil temp went up to 250F it's possible that the 0W-20 would be THICKER than the 5W-20!

 

[MICA4R]

0W-20 should be absolutely fine if the engine is spec'ed for 5w-20 and meets the same standard (API SM or SL, for example). Both oils being a 20-weight at 210F will have the same 20-weight range of viscosity at operating temperature, which is what the engine manufacturer has designed the engine to operate ideally at. The difference is that as both oils cool the 0W will thicken less than the 5W. But here's the catch, both oils are TOO THICK for ideal operations at cooler temps. The 0W is closer to ideal at cold temps than the 5W and should offer better protection, lower start-up wear and better fuel economy when the engine is below operating temperature. Since the 0W-20 thickens more slowly as we descend the temperature scale we know that it in turn thins more slowly as oil temperature increases so if you were running the engine hard towing a trailer up a hill (for example) and the oil temp went up to 250F it's possible that the 0W-20 would be THICKER than the 5W-20!

Thanks am going to go with 0W-20 full synthetic once a year from now on. :biggrin2: