Accidentally put in wrong oil

[5VZ-FE]

As the title says, I accidentally put 5W-20 in my 5VZFE instead of 5W-30. I've done some forum searching and talked to some friends, and I think might as well just run it until it starts to get hot here (SF Bay Area).

I understand how the change in viscosities relates to harder use/hotter areas, but is there anything I'm missing here? Of course I'll change it out right away if it's going to ruin my engine...

 

[JoeT4R]

So, I can't speak from a scientific perspective however I will say that when I purchased my truck in 2013, it came with all maintenance records prior from date of purchase until the day it was sold to me.

On most, if not all, oil changes on my truck were done with 5W-20. And this was done at a Toyota dealership every. Single. Time.

So take it for what it's worth. Probably not the end of the world. If it makes you sleep better then change it. Me being me, I'd change it. But perhaps you'll yield a bit better mpgs out of it. And, if you decide to just keep it and run it, you could take a sample at your next oil change and send it off for analysis to see how it performed inside your engine.

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[jgue467]

5-20 will not ruin a 5vz. I'd leave it for shorter OCI, maybe 3k or when weather gets really hot, which in norcal may not for a while...relax....

 

[brillo_76]

You got it. When it gets hot. Keep an eye on it. Or replace it. Very minor of an issue. No biggie.

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[5VZ-FE]

Sounds good, thanks for the reassurance.

 

[71gs3504sp]

As long as you got oil in it you're all good.

 

[Rushthezeppelin]

As long as you got oil in it you're all good.

Inb4 someone throws 80w90 in there......

 

[gamefreakgc]

I'm going to respectfully disagree. There is room to wiggle on the 5w rating but not the -30 rating. Here's why:

• The first number, sometimes called the 'winter' rating has to do with the thickness of the oil when the engine is started cold. The standard weight of 5W is for all temperatures but there's actually a second weight of 10W in the owner's manual that is approved for our 4Runners for hotter climates. It is thicker at startup but provides better initial startup protection in hot weather (when the 5W gets too thin) but cannot be subjected to sub 0 temperatures. I sometimes spend time up in the snow in the winter here in NorCal so I've kept to 5W.
• The second rating is the thickness of the oil when at operating temperature. This is the more important rating as this is the temperature your engine spends the majority of the time at. A -20 rating is thinner than the -30 and provides less lubrication and a thinner oil film on crucial parts such as the crankshaft and cylinder walls. Thinner oil can result in metal to metal contact in a worse-case scenario.

To tie it all together, yes our 4Runners are really easy on oil and there's been stories of people going way too long without oil changes to the point where the oil starts to lose its lubricating properties and still run just fine. We can also run down to just 1 quart or less in the pans and still run just fine. The long term effects and wear of running 5W-20 is unknown so it would be best to cut the oil interval short and switch back to 5W-30 (or 10W-30 if you want for better protection in hot weather) before you next scheduled oil change. If you had accidentally gone with a thicker oil this would not be an issue at all as thicker oil just slows things down but continues to provide adequate protection. Going too thin is the worse of the two options.

 

[snydmax]

Why risk it, oil is cheap


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[thegipper]

It most likely would be just fine but as others have mentioned, oil is cheap.

Do what makes you sleep better at night.

Good luck

 

[96RedRunner]

I'm going to respectfully disagree.

I'm with you [MENTION=115347]gamefreakgc[/MENTION].
When I hear Winter rating I think of marketing, it a hard sell talking how thick oil is regard to low # @ ambient temp.

5W-20 long term have wondered that myself, tracking sample I have atm 2012 Camry 185k mi Dlr serviced family drivers.
As oil nears service change engine lets you know, does not make service interval without adding oil.
Vs
22RE 300k mi 10W30 Dino oil DiY service 3-4k interval, engine wouldn't let you know, no adding.
Compo pretty much apples to apples small sample, Ya think ?

OP gtg till he changes it, what to use? You started it! 10W30 good choice.

My go to since 22RE era Rotela T4 now.