Toyota dealership oil changes

[WALLOP]

Just interested to know what brand of oil your Toyota dealership is using. I am yet to have my first sevice but would assume that they use Toyota branded 0w16. Now i have just been stunned by the price rise for this oil over just the last six months. I bought 5l in June at £39.95 and the cheapest now on eBay is £69.99 a 75% increase and rising to some clowns wanting £109.99.

Other quality brands however such as Motul hybrid 0w16 recommended for Honda,Toyota and Suzuki seem to have remained stable in price.

I have to question whether Toyota are taking the p*** and just taking advantage based on the current economy and punters expectations of prices rising, and also should we accept a dealership using an inferior brand in order to retain their profit margins. I paid upfront for 4 services back in March and i am sure the dealership had no idea of how the prices would rise since then, but obviously they cannot pass this increase onto the service plan customer.

I am very cynical when it comes to garages due to past experience and am pretty sure that the service documentation will just say 0w16 oil with no confirmation of brand. I will wait and see and hope i am wrong.   

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota don't recommend a brand of oil, and dealers don't necessarily use Toyota branded oil for servicing as they would buy in bulk.

[forkingabout]

Friend of mine owns a cafe - his cooking oil costs have risen significantly in the last 12 - 18 months & he is buying in bulk.

[TonyHSD]

I will highly recommend to you to speak to your dealer service advisor prior to leaving the car for an oil change as some garages are using 0w20 instead. It could be Toyota own brand, or anything else. In older hybrids they even use 5w30 , which is not right but I believe it’s still the case. Good quality oil 0w16 is also Petronas Syntium or Millers XF 0w16  if you would like to buy the oil yourself. 

[Cyker]

I must say this is one area I can't fault my dealer as they've always used the correct oil. (At least on paper!)

 

[Gray86]

My dealer uses 0w20 in my 2.0. Can’t say it runs any differently since. Will be changing dealers after next service so will see what the other place uses 

[WALLOP]

3 minutes ago, Gray86 said:

My dealer uses 0w20 in my 2.0. Can’t say it runs any differently since. Will be changing dealers after next service so will see what the other place uses 

The owners manual does say 0w20 can be used in an emergency but states that you should switch back to 0w16 at the earliest opportunity. There must be a good reason for this although the difference between the two oils viscosity when warm must only be marginal.

[AisinW]

You can use 0w-16 Ravenol, Toyota/Mobil1, Motul, Addinol that is actually have API SP ILSAC 6B. 

Mannol also have 0w-16 without API approval. I emailed API directly and they confirm that.

If you doubt you can always contact API, they reply with details if particular oil is actually had been certified and tested. The 2.0L and 2.5L has variable oil pump and is better to use 0w-16, nothing else. 0w-20 may be still fine but not thicker like 0w-30. The 1.8L is more tolerable to any oils thickness, 0w-40 is also fine for a long term use in 1.8L, just higher unnecessary viscosity and energy lost.

 

[Gerhard_Corolla]

On 12/17/2022 at 2:35 PM, Cyker said:

I must say this is one area I can't fault my dealer as they've always used the correct oil. (At least on paper!)

 

I would say that the difference can be felt indeed. I've done two oil changes, on the first one they used 0W20 and returned to 0W16 for the second change, but on the latter one they over filled the car by quite a lot. The mark was almost 200 mm above the maximum level allowed, and you could feel the engine starting after being in EV mode or when the car needed the ICE to recharge the Battery. In both cases the engine was quieter and less rattling, but you could feel how the RPM were above the 1500 mark all the time when cruising at low speeds and that was not the case when new...

 

I went to the dealer and asked them to pump out a little bit of oil, they needed to pump out at least 600 ml; the level now is at the maximum mark and all the sensations from the car when it was new returned: rattling and noisier engine, but smoother overall and doesn't struggle to run at 1500 while cruising, I noticed immediately as well that the gas mileage improved instantly. Then the car was new and as well after the first oil change, it had at least 100 mm above the maximum mark, which in theory is not that much of an issue, but more than that is way too much...

 

I spoke with Toyota Germany directly and they said that even 5W30 oil is allowed to be used in services and oil changes. I'll guess that in both cases they over filled the engine because they waited to service the car at the time of arrival, the engine cooled down, and a few hundred ml of oil remained inside, because I'm sure they changed the oil filter, I saw it, and they were quite thorough with the amount of oil they putted in: 4.3 L.

 

But I don't know why they can be so thorough with the amount of oil they filled the car with, but do not check the levels again after the job is finished. 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

I would say that the difference can be felt indeed. I've done two oil changes, on the first one they used 0W20 and returned to 0W16 for the second change, but on the latter one they over filled the car by quite a lot. The mark was almost 200 mm above the maximum level allowed, and you could feel the engine starting after being in EV mode or when the car needed the ICE to recharge the battery. In both cases the engine was quieter and less rattling, but you could feel how the RPM were above the 1500 mark all the time when cruising at low speeds and that was not the case when new...

 

I went to the dealer and asked them to pump out a little bit of oil, they needed to pump out at least 600 ml; the level now is at the maximum mark and all the sensations from the car when it was new returned: rattling and noisier engine, but smoother overall and doesn't struggle to run at 1500 while cruising, I noticed immediately as well that the gas mileage improved instantly. Then the car was new and as well after the first oil change, it had at least 100 mm above the maximum mark, which in theory is not that much of an issue, but more than that is way too much...

 

I spoke with Toyota Germany directly and they said that even 5W30 oil is allowed to be used in services and oil changes. I'll guess that in both cases they over filled the engine because they waited to service the car at the time of arrival, the engine cooled down, and a few hundred ml of oil remained inside, because I'm sure they changed the oil filter, I saw it, and they were quite thorough with the amount of oil they putted in: 4.3 L.

 

But I don't know why they can be so thorough with the amount of oil they filled the car with, but do not check the levels again after the job is finished. 

Dealers always overfill with oil, perhaps get paranoid that customers will return to ask why the oil is slightly below the max mark , something that they do in the pubs if the beer is not filled to the top 🍺🍻😂

[Cyker]

It seems that is Jemca's specialism then! Their communication is terrible but they've always had the oil and other fluid levels dead-on!  

 

[Gerhard_Corolla]

50 minutes ago, Cyker said:

It seems that is Jemca's specialism then! Their communication is terrible but they've always had the oil and other fluid levels dead-on!  

 

They have pretty good reviews on Google maps...

[Gerhard_Corolla]

I read again my long message and I can say: Jesus *****, my English is declining quite fast!

 

German is messing around with my brain...

 

🤪

[TonyHSD]

17 minutes ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

I read again my long message and I can say: Jesus *****, my English is declining quite fast!

 

German is messing around with my brain...

 

🤪

Nothing to worry about , until you get replies like I had : “ sorry but I don’t understand you “ 😂👌

 

[Mojo1010]

3 hours ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

I spoke with Toyota Germany directly and they said that even 5W30 oil is allowed to be used in services and oil changes. I'll guess that in both cases they over filled the engine because they waited to service the car at the time of arrival, the engine cooled down, and a few hundred ml of oil remained inside, because I'm sure they changed the oil filter, I saw it, and they were quite thorough with the amount of oil they putted in: 4.3 L.

They know how to change oil, but do not always do it correctly, shortcuts. 

The only way to be as sure as possible is to do own oil changes or bring your own oil, pay a mechanic and watch it going in the car. Since I cannot do it myself, will pay the labour fee and bring own oil after warranty period. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

46 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Nothing to worry about , until you get replies like I had : “ sorry but I don’t understand you “ 😂👌

 

Entshuldigen ,Ich nicht verstein.

Is that right?

[Cyker]

1 hour ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

They have pretty good reviews on Google maps...

I find reviews for companies, esp. bigger ones that have large marketing budgets, need to be taken with a pinch of salt on the big review sites, e.g. trustpilot, google, yelp etc.

 

1 hour ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

I read again my long message and I can say: Jesus *****, my English is declining quite fast!

 

German is messing around with my brain...

 

🤪

I can tell - You're doing that thing my euro buddies do, i.e. apologising for their perfectly legible english that is often more comprehensible than ours  

[Rhymes with Paris]

Yes, it's best to keep a large sack of salt handy, it's needed to dole out a pinch at a time, to counteract the bull that is spewed out.

Even then, you still run out quickly.

And I agree, the English as spoken/written by our European neighbours is often more comprehensible than the the grunting, gutteral threats uttered by the natives.

As the thinking people say,alles klar.

 

 

 

[AisinW]

4 hours ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

I would say that the difference can be felt indeed. I've done two oil changes, on the first one they used 0W20 and returned to 0W16 for the second change, but on the latter one they over filled the car by quite a lot. The mark was almost 200 mm above the maximum level allowed, and you could feel the engine starting after being in EV mode or when the car needed the ICE to recharge the battery. In both cases the engine was quieter and less rattling, but you could feel how the RPM were above the 1500 mark all the time when cruising at low speeds and that was not the case when new...

 

I went to the dealer and asked them to pump out a little bit of oil, they needed to pump out at least 600 ml; the level now is at the maximum mark and all the sensations from the car when it was new returned: rattling and noisier engine, but smoother overall and doesn't struggle to run at 1500 while cruising, I noticed immediately as well that the gas mileage improved instantly. Then the car was new and as well after the first oil change, it had at least 100 mm above the maximum mark, which in theory is not that much of an issue, but more than that is way too much...

 

I spoke with Toyota Germany directly and they said that even 5W30 oil is allowed to be used in services and oil changes. I'll guess that in both cases they over filled the engine because they waited to service the car at the time of arrival, the engine cooled down, and a few hundred ml of oil remained inside, because I'm sure they changed the oil filter, I saw it, and they were quite thorough with the amount of oil they putted in: 4.3 L.

 

But I don't know why they can be so thorough with the amount of oil they filled the car with, but do not check the levels again after the job is finished. 

Don't just say yes to German dealership. They don't understand Toyota mindset, they are stuck with their complicated German cars and no clue how long term effect of 5w-30 on 2.0L and 2.5L engines. It is written in german owner manual. You can use 5w-30 but must change it back to 0w-16 on the next oil change. In USA it makes the interval to 6 months/5k miles if you use 5w-30. 

Germans have no clue how to maintain Toyota which philosophical so different from German cars. 

Advance technology yet really simple, easy maintenance and robust vs ancient technology, complicated, break all the time. 

[TonyHSD]

10 hours ago, AisinW said:

Don't just say yes to German dealership. They don't understand Toyota mindset, they are stuck with their complicated German cars and no clue how long term effect of 5w-30 on 2.0L and 2.5L engines. It is written in german owner manual. You can use 5w-30 but must change it back to 0w-16 on the next oil change. In USA it makes the interval to 6 months/5k miles if you use 5w-30. 

Germans have no clue how to maintain Toyota which philosophical so different from German cars. 

Advance technology yet really simple, easy maintenance and robust vs ancient technology, complicated, break all the time. 

I bet they try to change timing chains at 150k and looking for a filter in the auto transmission of Prius as part of the service 😂 

[Gerhard_Corolla]

14 hours ago, Cyker said:

I find reviews for companies, esp. bigger ones that have large marketing budgets, need to be taken with a pinch of salt on the big review sites, e.g. trustpilot, google, yelp etc.

 

I can tell - You're doing that thing my euro buddies do, i.e. apologising for their perfectly legible english that is often more comprehensible than ours  

Indeed, everything needs to be taken with a pinch of salt and try to discern between the tree and forest, specially with the anonymous reviews...

 

-

 

Well, everyone needs a few nice words from time to time! That is to say, if you're a little bit down, through yourself to the ground and if you're worth something, maybe someone will help you up.

 

😁

[AisinW]

I just found very interesting certification of engine oil minimum requirement tools.  It is interesting that our toyota only need API SN, which is renewed by API SP standard.  However, those standard are not as high as Dexos or 508/509 Oil for 0W-20.  it proofs my hypothesis why 508/509 certified oil are always more expensive for the same brands than API SP or SN engine oil.  

We can see also that 0W-20 European C5 standard is better than API SP and comparable to GF-6.  Fortunately, most API SP are also GF-6 certified. So, newer batch Toyota Genuin 0w-20 with API SP-GF6A are better than older batch API SN.  Shoot Thickening is not required being tested in ILSAC GF6 , Dexos, or API standard. Therefore, it does not mean that GF6 oil are not good at it. They are just not graded/tested but i assume it is as good as any ACEA C5 oil. 

[Bozz]

On 12/17/2022 at 11:22 AM, WALLOP said:

Just interested to know what brand of oil your Toyota dealership is using. I am yet to have my first sevice but would assume that they use Toyota branded 0w16. Now i have just been stunned by the price rise for this oil over just the last six months. I bought 5l in June at £39.95 and the cheapest now on Ebay is £69.99 a 75% increase and rising to some clowns wanting £109.99.

Other quality brands however such as Motul hybrid 0w16 recommended for Honda,Toyota and Suzuki seem to have remained stable in price.

I have to question whether Toyota are taking the p*** and just taking advantage based on the current economy and punters expectations of prices rising, and also should we accept a dealership using an inferior brand in order to retain their profit margins. I paid upfront for 4 services back in March and i am sure the dealership had no idea of how the prices would rise since then, but obviously they cannot pass this increase onto the service plan customer.

I am very cynical when it comes to garages due to past experience and am pretty sure that the service documentation will just say 0w16 oil with no confirmation of brand. I will wait and see and hope i am wrong.   

At my first service I was surprised to spot the technician replenishing mine with Carlube R-Tec 1 0W-16 and when I challenged the dealer they said that they couldn't get hold of Toyota oil at that time but that the oil used was an equivalent (cheaper they meant!). At second service the dealer (a different one) advised that they only used Toyota consumables and parts at the service however when I read the invoice it showed Castrol SS but I'm waiting for their response regarding the grade used. Frustrated TBH.

[WALLOP]

I don't know if your service centre was at a Toyota dealership but if it was i feel that we should insist on genuine Toyota products being used as this is what they always advertise. If they are able to use a cheaper brand of oil then what is stopping them using a cheaper brand of oil filter? where does it end unless we stand up to them and insist on them sticking to their promise of using genuine parts.

I started this topic having had bad experiences with garages in the past and now do all out of warranty servicing myself but with the price of oil rising this is one area where we cannot easily prove that they have cut corners to save money.

[TonyHSD]

There is nothing wrong with it using non Toyota packaging consumables for service as long as they are within the specs. Especially the engine oil which Toyota does not make themselves. They use in their own label anything from cheap chevron texaco to premium Castrol or mobile one.
Parts though should be only original Toyota, although some aftermarket are as good but if used they should note it.