WHAT TYPE OF OIL TO USE? -----------------------------

As many of you know, there is a TSB that states we need to use 5w-20 instead of 5w-30 that was released on March of 2006.

I have a 2007 with both manual and oil cap still says 5w-30, I also called local Lexus dealerships and they did not know about the TSB and insisted that I use 5w-30. 2008 IS hasn't changed either.

Most people here are giving off different answers, some say use 5w-20 because TSB recommends it, the others say 5w-30. Due to these confusions, I went straight to the source of the matter, Japan. After all, my car was built, shipped directly from Japan, let's see what they have to say about it...


My girlfriend is Japanese, she calls Japan at least once a week. So, I had her call Lexus of JAPAN, she spoke to one of the service technicians and guess what? They use 5w30 and says IS350's comes with 5w30.

I also had my girlfriends brother go to a local dealership and he came back with the same results, 5W30.

TSB sounds sketchy to me. If Japan isn't right than who is? They are the source, they are the one's building the damn thing and shipping it over here. I am going to trust them and going to use 5w30.


JAPANESE LEXUS DEALERSHIPS USE:
Castrol SM 5w-30
7211 yen, roughly $70.00 US Dollars for oil change
10710 yen, roughly $100 US Dollars for oil change with filter



ENGINE BREAK-IN, SYNTHETIC OIL AFTER 10K? LEXUS OF JAPAN? -------------------------------------------

I was extremely worried about changing my first oil at 5K, because I heard that your first oil change should be done much earlier because of metal particles etc. And also to use synthetic after 10~15K, so that the piston rings would settle.

This is straight from Lexus of Japan technician, Lexus runs the engine BEFORE installing it in the car, to eliminate debris and metal particles and that the piston rings to settle. So, changing to synthetic is A-OKAY. He also mentioned that they did a test sample on a 2007 LS at 6K miles and the oil came out clean.

Maybe this explains why Lexus reliability is top-notch.


I hope this information can clear up some headaches. Although, 5w20 and 5w30 isn't a big deal, I just want to have the same oil thats in my car.






.

 

To put it simply, you can use either one. 5W20 is acceptable for use if the TSB says so and it may offer improved fuel economy. 5W30 is also acceptable as it is what the owner's manual calls for. I would personally use 5W30 but the only real way to know what is best is for someone to perform a UOA with two identically formulated oils except for the viscosity and identical driving conditions, within reason of course.

By the way, it's Mobil 1, not Mobile 1. Also ExxonMobil doesn't have a product sold under the Syntec name. Castrol uses the Syntec brand name. Perhaps you meant synthetic instead?

 

umm... yea seen the 5-20w tsb, BUT i live in hawaii so i'm still gonna run the 5-30w royal purple... really i dont know why your getting all futless about it... IF this is your first car or your a non-mechanical kinda guy, ok.

 

I shouldn't care, 5w20, 5w30 both will work...

I just don't feel comfortable being lost and confused... hahaha


Whats weird is that, why hasn't that TSB been informed to dealerships? My local dealerships didn't even hear about it...

That's just sketchy...

 

Thanks, I was typing very fast, since I had a lot of information to write down before I forget... hahaha, I'll go ahead and fix it... Thanx

 

I'll probably be using 5W20 because the weather is so cold most of the time where I live.

Its good to know the facts from lexus japan though, good job for pursuing this :P

 

5w20 royal purple :O, no one carried amsoil in the 5w20-30 range when i was changing. i honesty cant tell a diff, and i dont really care . all i know is my oil is purple. and that is cool

 

mmmm. japanese girls on corded phones... yum.

 

...haha. but ya real mature man

 

Use either 5W20 or 5W30 won't be that much of a difference. I personally use 5W50 Castrol Syntec on all my engines. I use conventional oil for about 400 miles and drain and refil with Castrol Syntec. I believe 400 miles is sufficient to break in an engine. I know a lot of people will argue with me on this but we don't have 4+" bores that have a lot of breakin surface. We have small bores and tolerances are kept as minimum as possible from factory. 90% of parts break in is handled by the time the vehicle has arrived to the dealership.

The LS460 has piston rings that have bee micro bead blasted to rough the wall contact area, retain oil and aid in rapid break in. The engine's tolerances are even tighter than the 2GR-FSE engine and the engine holds 9 qts of oil and has an 8-speed transmission to keep engine revs low and prolong engine life by keeping wear down to a minimum. At the 5k service, the oil in that engine still has at least 50% more life in it than the IS350 engines during tha same interval. Lexus still follows the same maintanance schedule since they would like to have the engine's internals last as long as possible.

 

thanks for the info..

 

Thanks for the information

 

With all due respect, it doesn't clear anything up, it's just another data point. Why would you think that a technician in Japan (especially a dealership technician) would have the definitive answer about the version of the IS built for the North American market? Your car may be built in Japan, but it isn't identical to those sold there. Several members have had oil analysis done on their factory fill oil, and the results were consistent with 5W-20. That jibes with what I was told by a customer care rep at Lexus of American, AFTER he made a phone call to the group that helps American dealerships solve technical problems.

 

I will continue to use 5w30 synthetic.

 

That's not a problem. According to what the customer care rep was told by the group that supports dealer technicians, both 5W20 and 5W30 are perfectly acceptable choices, though 5W20 is recommended for better mileage and cold starting performance.