Hi l want to buy some 5W-30 synthetic engine oil to top up the oil on my 2003 Camry that's done 340,000 kms.
What is the best oil to buy for my car, one that might help protect the engine and make it last longer.
Best Synthetic 5W-30 Engine Oil for High Milage Camry
Jackdawson79 on 06/03/2024 - 17:52
Last edited 06/03/2024 - 23:19 by 2 other users
Last edited 06/03/2024 - 23:19 by 2 other users
Comments
With that car I'd go 10w-40 high mileage oil. There are additives in those oils that help with leaks…. Plus a decent mechanic to fix the obvious leak(s).
It’s a Camry, no owner ever fixes the leaks and not would it ever be economical to do so lol
10w-40 is fine, I haven’t had any additional success from HM stuff and personally think it’s snake oil but it’s doesn’t cost any extra so doesn’t hurt to try.
Going up -10 increments has always lead to a noticeable reduction in smoking on startup
Its done 340k km. Just get whatever reputable brand is the cheapest. Getting super special oil wont make it last longer - except maybe if it spends most of the time near redline. Just make sure it's serviced regularly.
Outside that, a decent mechnic may recommend a different grade oil for an old engine.
Any oil that you change often(every 12 months or 10k km whatever comes first) and a new oil filter will be better than most expensive oil that you don't change for 30k km.
Does it burn oil?
Do you need to top it up often?
If not, stick with the manufacturer recommended 5W-30.
The cheapest one is the best. 10w-30 would be fine as well. How much does it burn/leak. V6 or 4 cylinder?
Had a 1999 by Camry. Use mineral oil like 10w40/50. The thicker the better. I tried 5w30 once and it started leaking.
Penrite semi synthetic 10w-40. Goes on sale often enough at repco and supercheap.
For that high a mileage I don't think you want to be using full synthetic.
THe current oil is there is full sythethic 5w 30 and its half way on the dip stick, does that mean l have to top it up with the exact same oil or could l use a 10W 30 part sythethic, or should l not mix a different oil with the oil thats already in there
It doesn't really matter. Oil is oil, they all mix unlike coolant.
If you want cheap full synthetic 5w30, gulf western is $30.49 at supercheap
If you are topping up, it would be best to use the same brand and specification 5W-30 if you know what went in there. Ask your mechanic which spec oil was used, if the oil change was done while you owned the car.
If you don't know, then another 5W-30 oil would likely be fine. The additive packages between the brands can be different (even between oils from the same brand), so the mixed oil may or may not perform exactly the same. It would be difficult to tell what the difference may be, though it would likely be negligible.
THanks the oil they said they put in was "EURO FULL SYNTHETIC 5W-30"
what is EURO oil? is that a good oil or a cheap bad one? where do l get that, and do l need to use EURO oil to top up or would any sythetic 5W 30 be okTheir "Euro" oil is possibly something that complies with VW/AUDI/SKODA spec. I'm guessing they use a 5W-30 Euro Synthetic that meets those european car specifications, and still works with other korean, japanese car. Makes sense if you are a mechanic, buy one oil in bulk.
They didn't provide the brand so the info is of limited use. Nulon has a "EURO" oil for example but it may not be the one they used.
In most cars, the difference between low on the dipstick and high on the dipstick is approx 1 litre. As you said, the oil is halfway up the dipstick, so you likely only need 500mls. That's not a lot of mixing really given there is still approx 3-4L in the engine+sump.
I would go with a Fully Synthetic 5W-30 oil that is of an API spec recommended for your car. Enter your car details into SuperCheap/Autobarn, etc and choose one of those oils.
thanks
TRY Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start 5W-30. Premium-oil, seems to hold it viscosity well, & USED-oil looks 'NOT-too-degraded' after 6mths/5K km of use: cheap FS oil stain (oil-cap/dipstick) & have a sludgy looks.
A few time a year, major-retailers have it on-sales for 50% OFF & some are captured below. Stock-up: should last 5yrs + with good-storage.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/castrol%20magnatec%…Looking at oil isn't really a reliable indicator. An oil test is way more accurate, but probably unnecessary/overkill for most people
For a complete picture-> https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1983592#r73978217
Both cars are manuals (not-auto) & try to read-through my comments.
l my oil goes from Full top notch on the dipstick to the bottom notch every 5,000 kms, would that be normal for such an old high mileage car. IS that 1 liter from top notch to bottom
Seems like you have a major oil-leak: likely to have oil-leak around your engine & oil-drip on your drive-way. Pls visit a mechanic to diagnose. Good luck.
Its gone from Full to half way on the dipstick after 3,000 kms so does that mean theres a leak and not just high oil burn on a 20 year old camry
Correct, oil-leak should be visible around the engine & under it.
IF oil-lost via high-burn, your exhaust-pipe will have oil-deposit & lots of white-smoke when driving.
Good luck.Look for leaks but a engine with that many km's on board can burn 5/30 pretty rapidly. That type of oil consumption would be acceptable in a VW or Audi with one quarter the km's haha….
do you do short trips or country km's? The first number in oil viscosity is the cold viscosity. Car manufacturers specify that to suit all climates so will play on the safe side for those people who live in places where it snows. If you are in most places in Australia you could use 10/30. As the engine wears that 5w oil gets past rings and valve seals when the engine is cold and gets burnt.
Car manufacturers are more thinking of new engines stuffing up in the north of Japan when they're new rather than one in Australia with 340,000km hence they tell you to use a 5w and if you don't like it then maybe Sir would like to purchase a new Camry?
If its taken 3 months and 3,000 km to go from full to half then does that mean its a small leak, if l keep an eye on it and keep it topped up could the leak still do any harm to the engine
As a minimum, you should have inspect as per noted above.
if l keep an eye on it and keep it topped up could the leak still do any harm to the engine
No.
May want to search the internet for other people experience & risk of excessive oil lost, eg engine-fire (oil leak near exhaust-manifold), block catalytic-converter (get worse with time?), wet-spark plugs (easy clean), extra pressure in crankcase (oil leak ?) etc.
You want to to consider the impact on the environment, eg extra burnt-oil in the air, & oil leaking on roads.
my 2c.
not a -30 oil, you'll get marginally better fuel economy at the cost of increased wear.
too thin for any car with the wear of 340k let alone one with >20 year old engineering.
I'm nearly certain that the logbook wouldn't specify -30 oil but more likely a -40 (i may be wrong but if its a -30 that was purely for fuel economy/cooler weather)
thicker oils can handle greater tolerances and will leak/burn less too (I'm sure your car is burning oil with that mileage) and is for our warmer climate.
How often are you willing to change the oil? if its once a year (like id assume a normal Camry driver would do) then Full Syn, if every 5-7.5k km/6 months then any Sem-Syn would be sufficient (can get FS, if a sale makes them price comparable). I'd recommend a -50 weight (and I think they commonly come in 10w/15w-50).