Oil Change - 5w-20 or 5w-30? What everyone is using?
#121
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So after reading this whole discussion, the conclusion for the recommended oil if I want to go synthetic for my 2006 IS250 AWD is 5w-20?
Oh, and I found this in the official Lexus Drivers website regarding changing your oil every 5,000 miles:
"Lexus recommends obtaining maintenance for your vehicle every six months or 5,000 miles, whichever comes first.
For example:
* If at six months you have driven less than 5,000 miles, you should obtain maintenance at six months; don't wait until 5,000 miles.
* If you drive 5,000 miles in less than six months, you should obtain maintenance at 5,000 miles; don't wait until six months.
Be sure to keep an eye on your mileage so that you obtain maintenance when recommended. If you are a low mileage driver, mark your calendar to remind yourself to obtain maintenance every six months.
In addition to standard maintenance items, vehicles that are driven under special operating conditions require further maintenance service. These special operation conditions, which put added demands on the vehicle, include:
* Driving on dirt roads or on dusty roads
* Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F or 0°C.
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances, such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use
If you drive primarily under any of the conditions noted above, you should replace the engine oil and oil filter every six months or 5,000 miles. Some of these special operating conditions require other maintenance items; these items are indicated in each maintenance chart.
Note: If you drive only occasionally under any of the special operating conditions noted, it is not necessary to change the oil every six months or 5,000 miles or to perform the additional services listed in the charts. This added maintenance is required only if you drive primarily under any of the special operating conditions."
Oh, and I found this in the official Lexus Drivers website regarding changing your oil every 5,000 miles:
"Lexus recommends obtaining maintenance for your vehicle every six months or 5,000 miles, whichever comes first.
For example:
* If at six months you have driven less than 5,000 miles, you should obtain maintenance at six months; don't wait until 5,000 miles.
* If you drive 5,000 miles in less than six months, you should obtain maintenance at 5,000 miles; don't wait until six months.
Be sure to keep an eye on your mileage so that you obtain maintenance when recommended. If you are a low mileage driver, mark your calendar to remind yourself to obtain maintenance every six months.
In addition to standard maintenance items, vehicles that are driven under special operating conditions require further maintenance service. These special operation conditions, which put added demands on the vehicle, include:
* Driving on dirt roads or on dusty roads
* Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F or 0°C.
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances, such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use
If you drive primarily under any of the conditions noted above, you should replace the engine oil and oil filter every six months or 5,000 miles. Some of these special operating conditions require other maintenance items; these items are indicated in each maintenance chart.
Note: If you drive only occasionally under any of the special operating conditions noted, it is not necessary to change the oil every six months or 5,000 miles or to perform the additional services listed in the charts. This added maintenance is required only if you drive primarily under any of the special operating conditions."
Last edited by nitrotang; 12-02-10 at 02:00 PM.
#122
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Yes it does have 5w -30 on the oil cap. However, I asked the service manager at the dealership and he said 'they' use 5w -20 Mobil non-synthetic ONLY. I don't know why the dealership doesn't use 5w - 30, he didn't explain. Personally I've used MOBIL1 since it was introduced and never regretted it. I've used MOBIL 1 5w - 30 since it has been available. Long mileage between changes, more miles per gallon, saves money, it's great for cold weather starts, etc..
#127
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I requested the Toyota service guy to use 5w-20 (because that's the newest recommendation from Lexus), and he said that's the only kind they have, even though they put 5w-30 on my sticker. For all I know, they could've put 10w-40 in it, and I'd never be the wiser. Unless you provide your own oil (in cans to be returned empty), you can't know for sure what they use.
#131
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You don't need to drain all the oil out to change the filter... (nor would you re-use drained stuff anyway)
Generally at worst you'll have to top it off a bit after the change as you lose whatever was in the filter.
And yes, I'd expect your UOA to come back just fine with 11.5k on synthetic assuming normal driving.
Generally at worst you'll have to top it off a bit after the change as you lose whatever was in the filter.
And yes, I'd expect your UOA to come back just fine with 11.5k on synthetic assuming normal driving.
They had said the following:
"Some excess wear and silicon turned up in the first sample from your Lexus, and these may or may not be a concern. If this is just the third oil change this engine has seen, we may still be seeing some lingering wear and sealers (silicon) from the initial break-in period. If not, then silicon may show dirt contamination, so check your air filter. Universal averages show typical wear levels after about 4,300 miles on the oil. This oil was run longer, so that explains a lot of the extra wear. Stay with a ~11,000 miles oil run
for now and check back. Hopefully things improve."
I'm pretty sure the oil was mobil 1 5w-30. At the time, the car was at around 32,900 miles. This was the 4th oil change the car had seen. First one around 5k miles, second around 11k miles, 3rd one around 21k miles and this latest one was 32,900.
I sent them back a follow up message asking if I caused any damage to my car by pushing the oil almost 12k miles. Also, their thoughts on if it would be good to change my filter maybe earlier and then push the oil longer or around the same point?"
Here was their reply:
"Thanks for the e-mail. Since your at the fourth oil change, it's hard to blame these findings on wear-in anymore. I don't think you did any damage to the engine by running the oil this far, though I don't think it would be a good idea to run the oil any longer, at least for now. An early oil filter change may be a good idea. Try changing the oil filter at 5,000-6,000 miles and running the next oil to 11,000 miles and lets see what happens to wear."
I'm doing my next oil change tomorrow and my car is at 44,500+ miles. I'm pushing close to same interval, just never had a chance to do it earlier.
#132
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Yup... I suspect if you changed the filter at 6k it'd be fine changing the oil at 12... (I wouldn't be surprised if the oil was ok changing at 15k if you changed the filter at 7500 either... at least with something like Amsoil, and maybe even with just M1)
As I said though unfortunately nobody makes a higher-end synthetic media filter for the 2IS, so 7500-10k and the stock filter is about done... which your UOA seems to back up. (if we had an 11.5k drain with a filter change along the way that'd be even stronger confirmation of the idea)
As I said though unfortunately nobody makes a higher-end synthetic media filter for the 2IS, so 7500-10k and the stock filter is about done... which your UOA seems to back up. (if we had an 11.5k drain with a filter change along the way that'd be even stronger confirmation of the idea)
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Anyone running valvoline nextgen oil? I own a 2007 IS350 (just got it) and since being in the Caribbean where there is a constant 32 degree Celsius weather, we normally use 10w-30. Just want to check what others are currently running.
Thanks!
Thanks!
#135