kqt2ktval

Went in for my first oil change 1 month ago. I put almost 1500 miles in it so far. I just notice the sticker saids 5w30. I recently read some post and it said the new recommendation is now 5w20. Should I go in and have them redo it or just wait for my next oil change? I have a 2007 IS250 and the oil cap say 5w30.

PNice972

iTrader: (6)

just wait till your next oil change. its not gonna really hurt anything

Bichon

When I mentioned to a customer support rep at Lexus that most of the dealers in our area were still using 5W30, he indicated that although the recommendation was changed to 5W20, 5W30 is still considered a perfectly acceptable alternative.

mason2006

as long as you change it every 5k you should be fine.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

Although I think 5W-30 is okay, I would go ahead and fight for a free oil change with 5W-20. The dealership should know better.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

BTW, you should print out the TSB to take with you...

Cleric

Why go through the trouble to get your oil changed out to 5w-20 when you have perfectly good 5w-30 in already? The engine was tested and developed with 5w-30 so no harm will come from leaving what you have in the engine. Additionally, the viscosity difference will not yield significant improvement in mpg or wear rates and as you rack up miles the oil will actually become "thinner". I've seen countless oil analysis reports that support this behavior of oils.

Evitzee

Who's got time to go back to the dealership and fight for such a trivial thing? I don't have an abundance of spare time to take the car back a second time for something like that. Car won't be hurt by using 5w30.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

What time does it really take, and how much time does it save others that would have similar situations with the same dealership later down the road? I've done used oil analysis on every oil charge I've had over 18K miles with 5W-30 and 5W-20, and I believe whole heartedly that 5W-20 is a better choice for our engine. It is also obvious from that same testing that Lexus used 5W-20 as the factory fill LONG before they officially changed their recommendation.

Evitzee

You can wholeheartedly believe that 5W-20 is 'better' than 5W-30, but you really don't have any experience to back that up other than some oil analyses, which doesn't indicate or predict if your Lexus engine will have any problems before its useful life is over or not. Unless you were on the design team of the engine it is just a feel on your part of how the specs of each oil interact with the engine design. And you don't know what the real reason for the change was. Lab tests are not a valid predictor of how your engine will behave in the real world over the long haul.

How much time does it really take to take the car back? For me, a lot of time. The dealer is 10 miles in the opposite direction of where I work, and my day starts at 6:30am. If it's a matter of changing out a completely acceptable oil for another one I'll live with the oil for this cycle and change it next time. Perhaps your schedule is free and clear, or you live close by your Lexus dealer where you can drop the car off at anytime. I'm not in that situation so I have to pick my issues accordingly. This is one not worrying about.

And if I may ask for my own edification, why are you so concerned with your oil specs to get each drain analyzed? What do you hope to find? Unless it is your full time occupation, or a personal hobby, it just seems being way too digital. My opinion only.

Here is an interesting thread by Technique concerning oil analyis. Makes for interesting reading:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=261722

Ramon

QFT, I could hardly be bothered by such things myself... Different strokes for different folks I guess, it all depends on how valuable your time is.

rhsmd

just because the silly window sticker says 5 w 30 or whatever, who knows if thatys what they use. these may just be an overabundence of these window stickys.
relax and drive the car.

Drunkebuda

wow drive all the way back to have your oil change from 5w-30 to 5w-20 lmao...it wont hurt. I thought they put like some major difference in oil in the car and messed it up hella bad lol...this is just nothing to worry about.

Jeff777

Maybe the 30 wt oil had something to do with the two VVTI things that seem to need replacing on some cars. They have a reason for everything they do and it may not be made apparent to us, the consumer.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

I would expect that the OP lives or works close to his dealer, or he wouldn't have gotten his oil changed there in the first place. I know I would never go somewhere inconvenient for an oil change. Although, I do my own oil changes anyway...

It may seem strange that I do oil analysis each time, but I'm just trying to study how the engine breaks in over time with different viscosities and oil change intervals. Once the analysis results stabilize, I'll quit doing the analysis.