Oil change

Skim though the rest of their "maintenance" pages. Its pretty obviously a lot of cut/paste from generic car care articles they found online. Much of it pretty old - there are still references to cleaning out distributor caps. I just point this out to illustrate that just because somebody found it on a random Toyota dealer page it doesn't make it authoritative. Remember dealers are all independently owners and corporate doesn't strictly regulate what they say to customers....

 

It doesn’t get driven a lot. It’s my wife 4Runner and she uses her little scion for work which she drives around a lot and a whole lot better on fuel.
But the plan is to change oil every 6 months.

 

Not really applicable here, but just got mine changed at 5K miles and 10 mos of mostly city driving. Had to hear the long story from my well-meaning service writer on going the full 10K. Never going to do it.

 

Most everyone is loyal to a specific brand. I have been for many years with Amsoil. However after reading the below blog, I recently changed to Quaker State Full Synthetic 5W 30 in the 4R. Engine is much quieter than when using 20 weight oils, including Toyota and Mobil 1. Just changed the oil with 5k on the QS 5W30 and will get a blackstone test performed. Will post results when available. i live in the south so not worried about extreme cold temps.

540 RAT - Tech Facts, NOT Myths (wordpress.com)

Still using Amsoil 0W40 in the wifes GLC300 though, since it has a turbo and will most likely be traded in a year or two. Plan to keep the 4R until it no longer runs.

 

Polymers have your oil control valve filters been checked and cleaned to allow good flow with the thicker viscosity oil ?

 

Before changing them I would cross reference to see if the part number is actually any different than the part number for the OCV on a 2nd gen Taco. That’s also 1GR and takes 5w30 from the factory.


Remember a lot of the reason for going to ever thinner oils is fuel economy, and I bet most of the engine internals haven’t really changed much from the Taco 1GR to the 4R 1GR other than switching from single to dual VVTi and changing from spin on to cartridge filter.

 

I'll be honest I don't have the time to read though that seemingly hundred page long book of a blog, but before more folks start saying that the truck will explode if you deviate 1 page from the manual... take a read of the BITOG forums and specifically search for threads discussing the merits of 0w vs. heavier oils:

https://www.google.com/search?q=0w20+vs+5w30+site%3Abobistheoilguy.com

And don't forget even the manual says its ok to use 5w20 occasionally. So we know the engine has to be toleranced to handle no less than everything from a cold 5W when starting in sub zero temps in Canada; to a thinned out -20 when the engine is running hot under heavy towing loads in the summer in the desert southwest.

 

my 4runner is 7500 miles and every year is changing the oil 0-20wt synthetic SN PLUS ... mobil oil ..
every November I did it and the oil is draining 45 min and the oil is older looking good ... and the oil stick old oil is 1/4 of the QT ...
now 40K miles ...I grease the drive shafts/yokes

 

Just gonna drop this for reading: https://www.4runners.com/threads/why-is-puerto-rico-able-to-use-15w-40.18928/

 

Always use top tier Sunoco fuel, and toss in a little Lucas in the tank from time to time, 201,000 on my Tahoe and never had a fuel / injector issue. Could be the Lucas, could be because I got solid made injectors. Who knows.

 

1 year / 5000 miles…unless you have money time and are bored

 

Has 0w-20 been shown to cause premature wear in our motors?

 

10 months since my new PRO and only 386 miles. Gonna do my oil change next week. Sitting oil can degrade over time. Small price to keep it nice and fresh. Oh yea and windows never been rolled down either lol. Crazy part, 1/4 gas of tank is still from the dealer when I brought the PRO home.

 

Yes, millions of Toyota’s are currently being recalled due to blown engines due to using 0-w20.

Just kidding, April fools.

 

yeesh! I feel bad if my lawnmower has gas sitting in it that long. The ethanol in it makes for a shorter shelf life than the pure gas. And roll down your windows! Lol. You’d hate to get past the warranty and find out they dont work!

 

I’d be more concerned about the fuel than the oil.

 

The first one jives with what Ive read elsewhere about the never ending move to thinner and thinner oils. And Toyota randomly changing to thinner recommendations for diff gear oil from year to year with no design change.

The second one is interesting, especially the temperature range table. Part of the rationale may be lack of availability of ultra thin oils from vendors on the island (probably not popular due to the warmer climate) and Toyota would get in legal trouble mandating something not easy for the consumer to get.

But it does add more supporting evidence to the theory that minor deviations either way of the book recommendation are not fatal. i.e. if they tested it with 15w-40 for PR then most likely its not too think for the filters and VVTi hardware.

Absolutely. People keeping them to 400, 500k may notice a difference but most of us wont ever put on enough miles to notice either way. But there is a least some anecdotal reports from people saying the engine ran quieter at idle with 5-30 so I don't begrudge anyone who wants to give it a try.

I had my old Tacoma that used 5-30 and my wifes Honda pilot that used 0-20 at the same time. If you where to pour a cup of each into clear glasses and ask me to pick I couldn't tell the difference just from pouring/rubbing between my fingers.

 

From what I’ve read, 0W-20 oil works best when the outside temperature is around 68*. Now, I live in the Central Valley of California, and I don’t think that there’s any place in the Central Valley where the ambient temperature gets down to 68* for any length of time during the summer. Our temperatures never get low enough to need the 0W part.
Just because 0W-20 oil has been working, doesn’t mean it’s optimal. Especially with Toyota’s low friction oil rings. The only place that mandates 0W-20 oil is the USA, and that’s for CAFE(Corporate Average Fuel Economy).
If you do some research, in Australia, which has driving conditions and temperatures similar to here in CA, 15W-40 is often used.
I’m currently using 5W-30 in my 4Runner, and will be upgrading to 5W-40 in my older Tacoma.

 

Where did you find this chart?

 

Amsoil website.

https://www.selectsynthetics.com/part-3--what-oil-grade-should-i-use-.html