Hey guys, quick question.
So I've got a Toyota Corolla 2017 that's driven 50000kms. I've been doing the servicing myself and it's time for an oil change soon.
Currently, I've been using 5w-30 oils, but I'm thinking about making a switch to 10w-30. The owner's manual suggests oil grades from 0w-20 to 15w-40, and I'm a bit confused about what's the best fit for my car.
Any friendly advice or insights would be awesome! 🚗💡
Stick with 5w-30. 50k isn't much… Are you having any problems? You could put in 5w-40 and see how it goes..I never noticed a difference.
Correct
And 10w-30 wont make any difference either.
On the same page it gives the oil spec it will give the ambient temp range where to use that oil. You can then budget your oil change accordingly.
I would guess that it doesn't matter between the different viscosities mentioned, as both would be in spec with most climates in Australia.
Lighter oil (30 or 20) might have marginally better fuel economy, but less protection for the engine in the long term than heavier viscosities (e.g 40). As long as you change your oil and filter regularly it's really not going to wear the engine any differently.
But what makes a much bigger difference is to use full synthetic or semi synthetic oil, instead of mineral oil.
As this is OzBargain I would just get the cheapest and lightest full synthetic, even if it's a 40 weight.
I am no expert though and am happy to be corrected if this is wrong.
I think the synthetic will last longer before breaking down so you can increase your oil change intervals. Otherwise no demonstrable benefit in normal day to day usage.
It's more important to make sure you change oil frequently enough before it breaks down.
I used to have a Rav4 with 300k. I did the oil changes every 10k with 5/30 to 10/40 usually synthetic using OZB sales. Still was running fine when I got rid of it.
Yeah it breaks down more slowly, so it still provides more protection up until the next oil change. There's a good video on this here:
try this
https://penriteoil.com.au/product-selector#/recommendations
most brands have this type of selecter
.
Why do you want to change?
TIL that Toyota engines need oil changes. I thought they just ran forever straight from the factory.
They do actually…. Even without oil. HAHAHA
And if you get the run flat tires, they last 14 years if they have plenty of thread.
Cheers. Sense this makes.
Save cents. Cheers.
Toyotas also keep lipstick in the centre console well shielded from the heat of an Australian summer
Lip balm?
You wouldnt notice any difference switching to a 10w40/15w40. Any oil within the specs would be fine if youre not in an area of extreme climate temprements. Ive been running penrite 5w40 in my 2009 corolla that has the same 2zr engine as your 2017 and will be switching to castrol edge 5w30 cause its been on sale. whats probably most important is you keep to a regular service interval. for me its every 5000kms as my engine is now at 200k. Always do the oil filter as well.
Just use whatever is on sale within that spec.
Don't forget filter and potentially the sump gasket.
Don't forget filter and potentially the sump gasket.
Didn't know you had to drop the sump to change the oil on a Corolla!
Sorry I meant the little gasket for that little nut that opens to drain oil. No need to drop ya sump.
Sacrificial sump plug washer or do they use something else on Toyota
More important is to change the filter, and change oil at more than factory intervals.
Eg: If manufacturer says every 15,000/12 months whichever occurs soonest, do it every 10,000/9mo. If using budget oil, maybe go ~5000/6mo.
Most important to longevity is fuel (no E10, and to use the higher octane types if the car can adjust to use them efficiently), and of course, not to forget other fluids, (trans/diff/brake/power steering) and the coolant- and to use the exact correct stuff each time there.
And to adjust your schedules to your usage profile- if a lot of short trips; shortens time between fluid changes. And the same if using in dusty environments.
If you change oil every 6 months at 5k, then the car will last 40 years. This is unacceptable.
Holy shit, you sound like you work at a stealership that also backs onto a petrol station owned by the same dealer principle…
If a manufacturer says 15,000/12 months, get it done at 15,000 or 12 months, none of this 10,000/9 months malarkey. The owners manual will inform you of what "extreme duty" is and what is expected of service intervals.
Most important to longevity is fuel…
Oh, FFS. No it isnt. Tell me you know nothing about fuel buy telling me something about fuel you obviously dont know. Most important to longevity is using good quality oils and components and filters, not "fuel".
If it is a Corolla, OP should not be running e10 in it, but not for the reasons you are bullshitting on about. It's because of the price gap between 91 and e10 is not wide enough to warrant using the cheaper fuel (ie: you will use more e10 than 91 and the price difference is not great enough to be economical to use e10)
use the higher octane types if the car can adjust to use them efficiently
Another load of shit, and we have to go over this every single time this bullshit gets posted. There are no more miles or horse powers to be had from running 95 or 98 in a Corolla that only requires 91. Even if there was a slight benefit to running 98, that benefit would be quickly eaten up by the massive price difference between 91 and 98.
Also, 95/98 isnt a "cleaner" fuel, it's basically the same fuel as 91, just with more anti-knock additive mixed in. If you believe the "iT bUrNs cLeAnEr!1!!" or the "cLeAnZ wHiLe YoUsE dRiVe!1!!!" bullshit these marketing companies push, then you are their target audience.
The only thing you are doing by making your service intervals 1/2 to 2/3rd of that of the recommended schedule and using "premium" fuels, is just costing yourself money.
I was waiting for the triggered response. I wasn't disappointed. 😁😁😁
I've got a headache now from face palming myself so hard.
Every time I see "e10" or "98 Octane"… I know the rest of whatever they have to say, there is going to be a high chance that it is absolute rubbish.
You can save even more with Uncle Ian, who'll do it for a slab and a pack of darts.
FYI: @pegaxs: It is not uncommon for cars at age to have injectors that no longer atomise fuel effectively, and using a 'premium priced' (or otherwise) fuel, at least for a little bit, actually does clean them up over time. In some, we've seen it help clean up inlet and exhaust valve faces, too. 98 does it faster because of the amount of fuel cleaner in it, but if the engine isn't able to optimise for 98 octane (as I said above), I agree with you, it is money spent for little to no return over 95.
Agreed most important is oil, I actually meant to say (Next) most important thing (to oil) is fuel… so yea, FFS. Fair comment!
So how do I know? We have our own injector measuring rig and use it to resolve these issues in anger when we suspect combustion issues that aren't ignition, cooling, fuel, or wear related. We only do a few (petrol cars) each month, but it helps us catch the bad ones. And if 3/100 or 1/100 cars at 5+ years have injectors wasting fuel, burning cats, we do see that as an issue.
And (partly) why so many shops will tell customers to try some expensive fuel cleaner- or add it to the bill. Something that I seldom think about.
Yes IMHO fuel is important as cars that can adapt are often optimised with higher octane fuels. Fair point though, this does mean the customer pays a little extra for the fuel in the process. But for many with older cars, they do not do many kms each year, and probably can't buy cheaper insurance for their old car given it sits around so much and water/acid creation in tanks take their toll on performance and fuel system failures.
And yes we do notice that at 15000kms intervals are inadequate (if the engine is to last), esp. as some mechanics like to use 'one-type fits all oils' that do not last anywhere near what the manufacturer's specific oil must. Again, cheap insurance as the oil is a low input cost compared to the effort+cost of getting a car serviced.
You may have a different few decades of experience to me. Great.
and using a 'premium priced' fuel… actually does clean them up over time
No, it doesn't. Ironically, e10 on the other hand, actually would (you know, because of the amount of ethanol in it…)
98 does it faster because of the amount of fuel cleaner in it…
OMG, get off the Shell/Ampol/Mobil/BP/etc… marketing pages. "cLeAnZ aS yOuSe dRiVe!!1!!!". FFS.
yes we do notice that at 15000kms intervals are inadequate
So, you know better than Toyota, yeah? They spend billions on R&D to determine what is required, but you know more than Toyota? Have you let Toyota know this? Maybe they are missing something?
Anyway, the rest of you reply is just pure, nonsensical waffle.
@pegaxs: No, there are a lot of additives in fuel, and clean combustion is critical. The chem engineers I know all concur on that and probably know better than both of us put together. What they certainly do know is that adding a cleaner is not as simple as adding ethanol either, so I never tell people to use E10 because of the other harms it is likely to do if they do not always use it all up in one go and refill, before leave it sitting around to fester.
Surely you're not suggesting Toyota would design their service schedules to make their cars last beyond their service life?
Certainly there were not many 10 year old Toyotas at the dealer service centre last time I looked.
With that kind of loyalty, the service feedback form the field dries up pretty fast. And surely… you know this is getting much worse with time, plastics, production economies getting harder to do. The result now is cars that die at 5-7 years instead of 10-15 years.
I OTOH service a lot of the 10-15 year ones, so…
clean combustion is critical
This doesn't mean what you think it means… And I think what you are looking for is "complete combustion". A more complete combustion is "cleaner". The additives in the fuel are not there to "clean" the inside of engines, contrary to what your local petrol company rep is feeding you and what swirling waves of fluid flowing through intake manifold with wild horses running through it on the ads you watch.
But I agree with what you are not saying, "dirty fuel" is no good for you car, such as high sulphur content or contamination with dirt, water or other things that should not be in the fuel, but these things hardly affect the overall longevity of the engine.
Surely you're not suggesting…
Are you suggesting that Toyota deliberately design in longer service intervals to initiate higher failure rates to make more profit from selling new cars?? Toyota marketing planned obsolescence?? Take your tinfoil hat off champ, it's restricting blood flow.
Certainly there were not many 10 year old Toyotas at the dealer service centre last time I looked.
You think that has more to do with Toyota's shit service intervals or more to do with the fact that 10yo Toyotas are WAY outside their warranty period and that Toyota stealerships charge about double what you would expect from MyCar/Jax/Independat service centres ??
The result now is cars that die at 5-7 years instead of 10-15 years.
That, I dont agree with, and even your following statement (I…. service a lot of the 10-15 year ones) is at odds with this comment. I think, if anything, cars are lasting longer now than what they were when I started. Back when I started, warranty on a car was 3 years or 50,000km. Now we have cars with 7+ years and unlimited km warranties. They would not be offering these warranties if cars were to, quote "die at 5-7 years".
Which is ironically usually just a bottle of ethanol
Penrite petrol injector cleaner.
COMPOSITION INFORMATION
CHEMICAL ENTITY CAS NO PROPORTION
Distillates, petroleum, hydrotreated light 64742-47-8 >60 %
Solvent naphtha, petroleum, light aromatic 64742-95-6 1 - 3 %
Ingredients determined to be Non-Hazardous - Balance 100%
Not classified as Dangerous Goods by the criteria of the "Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods
by Road & Rail" and the "New Zealand NZS5433: Transport of Dangerous Goods on Land".
Classified as a C1 (COMBUSTIBLE LIQUID) for the purpose of storage and handling, in accordance with the
requirements of AS 1940. Refer to State Regulations for storage and transport requirements.
i change my oil on my corolla every 10k or one year, don't follow the maintenance schedule that says every 6 months. Waste of money changing the engine oil too soon.
50K isnt much. You can still use 5W30
Also 5w30 is probably the most common oil you can get at good price. Stick to synthetic and regular oil change you will get to 200Kms no problem.
Maybe ask your mechanic. If your engine is old he might recommend one over than the other.
The w number doesn't matter with our temperate climate. Just get the cheapest oil that ends with 30. IE. 10w-30. Don't waste money on fancy synthetic oils. It's mostly marketing wank. Most oils marketed as synthetic are just group 3 hydro cracked oils these days, which is really just a highly refined mineral oil. Toyota engines are not hard on oil.
InB4: someone tries to school you that the "W" in oil grades means "weight"
I don't mind paying for premium synthetic mineral oil. Anyway if you buy during the half price promo you can get them under $50 for 5L.
Be aware of what the manufacturer classes as high stress (or similar words). This often includes stop/start and short trip city driving. So if you commute in your car it may be that the shorter time/mileage change interval is better for your use.
This can play out in terms of temperature range too. Idling through city light changes on a hot summer day may find you more into the higher temperature range, depending where in this wide brown land you drive.
Literally doesn't matter
It’s important to know there is only one correct answer in this situation.