Previously, the 2006 TSB offered a choice of 5W-20 or 0W-20 for many of Toyota's engines.

Now, The owner's manual for the 2010 Toyota Camry specifies 0W-20 ONLY for the 2.5L 4-cylinder (2AR-FE) engine.
- (The 6-cylinder specifies 5W-30)

The 2010 owner's manual specifically calls out 0W-20. Here is the exact wording: (see attached file)

If SAE 0W-20 is not available,
SAE 5W-20 oil may be used.
However, it must be replaced
with SAE 0W-20 at the next oil

change.

 

As with the current crop of Toyota's however, you CAN use a higher viscosity if needed. The 0w-20 oils are recommended for the mileage and to help Toyota’s CAFÉ numbers. 5w-20 oils are ALMOST the equal at cold startup temps and ARE the same at operating temps. If you are towing, in extreme heat, making high speed runs, etc. you might benefit from 0w-30 or 5w-30 oils.

The use of 0w oils mandates synthetic oil. For those wishing to use dino oil, the 5w-20 and 5w-30 oils will work just as well and will not "void" the warranty on the car. Look at the bottom of page 4 on the engine oil spec PDF file you reference.

 

I believe you are reffering to the last sentence: "An oil with a higher viscosity may be better suited if the vehicle
is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load condition."

Here is the full context, verbatim from Toyota:

If SAE 0W-20 is not available,
SAE 5W-20 oil may be used.
However, it must be replaced
with SAE 0W-20 at the next oil

change.

The 0W portion of the oil viscosity rating indicates the characteristic of the
oil which allows cold startability. Oils with a lower value before the W allow
for easier starting of the engine in cold weather.

The 20 in 0W-20 indicates the oil viscosity when the oil is as its operating
temperature. An oil with a higher viscosity may be better suited if the vehicle

is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load condition.

 

Skoh,

We just need to agree to disagree on this issue. The governing spec (for the first number) is SAE J300 which tests the ability of the oil to be pumped at low temps. The difference here is that 0w oil is tested at -35C, 5w oil is tested at -30C and 10w at -25C.

The first number is ONLY a concern when starting your cold engine. Once the engine is warmed up to operating temps, the second number is your main concern. That number rates the viscosity of the oil at 100C. A higher number here indicates the resistance of the oil to "shear" and protect the engine. If you are doing heavy duty towing or high speed runs or run in a consistently high heat environment (30w oil can shear down to 20w in high heat conditions), you might need to use an oil with a different viscosity.

I happen to use 5w-20 oil and will continue to use it. I also know quite a few well informed people that run 5w-30 oil in their cars. One in particular runs 10w-30 in his. He lives in Indonesia with some unique problems (never gets colder than 90F for one and tows for another).

Each car is different, each situation is different. Toyota can not "void" your warranty for using 5w-20 oil on the new Camry unless they can PROVE that your oil use caused the engine problem. I don't think that has EVER been done. They have denied warranty claims for NOT changing your oil (one local went 30,000 miles+ before his engine seized) but to my knowledge never on oil that was a different, reasonable weight and that was changed in a reasonable oil change interval.

I understand that you are promoting Eneos oil and you are promoting the use of synthetic oils. No problem as I use synthetic also and think that it is a more stable choice than dino oil. I also recognize that others will not use synthetic oil and prefer dino oil. Their choice can not be had in synthetic, as 5w oil is the thinnest weight you can buy in non-synthetic oil. To those people I say go for it. The difference is minimal, only occurs at VERY low temps and will not make a difference in your warranty.

 

GeorgiaHybrid: Agreed. We each respect each other's opinion.

My personal opinion is that since the oil recommendation is generally specific to the engine, I would follow the recommendation of the engine manufacturer. In this case, Toyota.

Note that Toyota does not say use 0W-20 across the board, they recommend the oil based on the specific engine. For example, Toyota specifies 5W-30 in the Camry (6-cylinder) engine.

And yes, I do promote ENEOS as a distributor. However, there are many choices of API approved 0W-20. All of which satisfy Toyota's recommendation.
http://eolcs.api.org/FindBrandByVisc...iscosity=0W-20

 

BTW just as a random note, not having come through the forums much lately so not seeing much in the way of motor oil discussions... my Toyota dealership, when I pointed out that they'd apparently put in 5w30 in my TCH, advised me that they consider the manufacturer-recommended 5w20 to be "too thin" currently. They said they'd put a note in my file if that was what I wanted, and that when it improved to their satisfaction they'd switch to it, but otherwise that was their preferred grade.

That kind of confused me. I had this crazy idea that maybe Toyota engineers designing the cars might in fact know what's the best grade to use, heh.

 

Yes. The dealerships may not be fully aware of the movement to 0W-20.

I would bet that if you took a survey of Toyota dealerships on the recommended oil, you would get a vast array of responses including 0W-20, 5W-20, 5W-30, and even 10W-30. But, keep in mind that these are the personal opinions of employees of the dealerships and not necessarily those of Toyota engineers.

My personal opinion is that since Toyota designs & manufactures their own engines, I would put more weight on Toyota's recommendation which is reflected in the owner's manual.

 

From the Toyota "New Car Functions" document, it does mention changes to the engine to allow for thinner oil. See screen capture from page 197 of the document attached here:

 

Fthebault - Is there any way I can get that document?

 

You bet, here it is:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/%7Enash/TC...0Functions.pdf

But dont give me the credit for it, take a look at this link thread which has a whole bunch of other articles.

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...nt-tsbs-11193/

The one particular to the document linked above, is #34 from NASH

Cheers