2015 Toyota Yaris 5w30 recommended

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R1jake

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Nov 2, 2019
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Location
Independence Ky
Recently bought a really nice 2015 Toyota Yaris from my parents, with dad retired they just don’t need 2cars anymore and wanted that payment gone. Perfect car for the wife, she wanted and liked it much more than her current 09 Pontiac vibe which is a rebadged Toyota Matrix. The Yaris is the SE Which is the sport model. Wow that thing handles so amazingly well. It stays flat to the ground and the steering is so precise and has that really touchy steering feel where you barely turn the wheel and get sharp results. We are absolutely loving the car. Anyway to my point of the topic.
I was very surprised when I was searching the oil grade recommendation being 5w30?? When even my 2009 Pontiac vibe
AKA (Toyota matrix) specs 5w20. Heck Ford has even back specified my 94 E150 conversion van 5.8L 351 windsor to 5w20 which it will never see. I run mobile1 0w40 euro blend in it. I guess my point is with these manufacturers specifying 5w20 even in old pushrod V8 engines that have been around since well before I was born in the early 70s, why would Toyota choose to stick with 5w30 in such a newer model vehicle specifically built as a gas saver?? I know the little 1nzfe hasn’t been around nearly as long as the 5.8 windsor so I’m just kinda wondering why Toyota has not specified 5w20 for it unless they know it will fail on 5w20. This engine is well known for its reliability and so was the 1.8 in the vibe/matrix. Just thought I would post a thread to discuss and hopefully find that someone has already researched and possibly knows why Toyota has stuck with the 5w30 recommendation. Thanks in advance to anyone who contributes to the conversation. I was actually excited to see it specified 5w30 so I feel comfortable running 0w40 in it where I didn’t with the vibe so always ran 5w20 in winter and 0/30 or 5w30 in summer. So now I have 3 vehicles I believe my mobile 1 0w40 should be great for. 94 351 Windsor 1990 Toyota 4x4 22RE and now the 15 Yaris.
 
Oil is oil, pick an oil with the proper specs from any of the major oil companies . I have M1 0W-40 in the 4X4 2006 Toyota tacoma 4 cyl and the wifes 2018 4X4 Ford F350 gasser. . In the 2015 Ford F150 with the 2.7 and the 2010 Ford Focus I am running Rotella Truck and SUV in 5W-30 for no other reason that they were bought on sale, though I really like the M1 0W-40.
 
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Does it really matter why toyota didn't spec a 20 weight oil? I had an 03 echo (1nzfe) and ran 20 weight in it for years.

Frankly of greater interest to me is using an oil capable of long OCI and maximizing that OCI; I ran Castrol 0w-40 in my yaris for 15K and the oils i choose to use are 15K oils for my type of driving; maybe not for your type.

I generally believe that with the vehicles I own and my driving regimen oil changes are far too frequent for the mfg interval specified

OT: funny thing is everyone who reviews it pans the Yaris, but everyone who owns one loves it; they are probably one of the most reliable vehicles on the road.
 
Here's Toyota recommendation for Yaris 2015. I'd use Kirkland or ST 5W-30 and change it every 4K-5K miles due to low oil sump volume.
Yaris Oil.jpg


The only Yaris I'd ever buy though is this GR. But I doubt it'll ever come here. We'll see.
Yaris GR.jpg
 
Does it have an oil cooler?
Or variable oil pump?

Oh the humanity... think of all the resources wasted with that overly thick honey 5w30/10w30 recommendations.... Didn't Toyota know that 0w20 and 0w16 were available?

Yes, the 0w40 grade is useable for your entire fleet. High HTHS 0w30, 5w30, 10w30 are usable too.
 
That’s the same engine as my xB, the 1NZFE, and they seem to be good at shearing oil-mine turned M1 0W30 AFE into a low 20 weight pretty quickly, I wouldn’t risk 20 weight in mine. Of course, hopefully your Yaris isn’t turning 4000+ RPM in 5th cruising the interstate at 70 either!
 
Greasymechtech said:
Does it have an oil cooler?
Or variable oil pump?

Oh the humanity... think of all the resources wasted with that overly thick honey 5w30/10w30 recommendations.... Didn't Toyota know that 0w20 and 0w16 were available?

Yes, the 0w40 grade is useable for your entire fleet. High HTHS 0w30, 5w30, 10w30 are usable too.
Click to expand...
Not sure how well the 40 weight would play with the VVT-I, and it’s going to cause a little frictional loss. The xB has documented, via UOA, the ability to go 10K on M1 EP 5W30, has now cleared 110K, basically still zero oil consumption.
 
Toyota doesn't have any VVTI issues with thicker oils.
0w40's would shear into a 30 grade quick enough.

Not all care for owner's manual with no choices. Some automakers stripped 'choice' concerning grades for weather patterns and driving styles.

But, Toyota gives you this:
An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

The automaker doesn't define "high" or "extreme". So, it could be loosely defined as 'excess drive-thru driver weight' and/or '1mph over the speed limit' 🤣
 
bullwinkle said:
That’s the same engine as my xB, the 1NZFE, and they seem to be good at shearing oil-mine turned M1 0W30 AFE into a low 20 weight pretty quickly, I wouldn’t risk 20 weight in mine. Of course, hopefully your Yaris isn’t turning 4000+ RPM in 5th cruising the interstate at 70 either!
Click to expand...
It runs 3,000 rpm at 70ish or so and I believe it was 3500rpm at 80mph. May have been a bit higher. I’ll have to check next time I’m on the highway. But it’s definitely not 4000rpm at 70mph. Wow!!
 
Greasymechtech said:
Does it have an oil cooler?
Or variable oil pump?

Oh the humanity... think of all the resources wasted with that overly thick honey 5w30/10w30 recommendations.... Didn't Toyota know that 0w20 and 0w16 were available?

Yes, the 0w40 grade is useable for your entire fleet. High HTHS 0w30, 5w30, 10w30 are usable too.
Click to expand...
Not sure if it has a oil cooler or a variable oil pump.
 
simple_gifts said:
Does it really matter why toyota didn't spec a 20 weight oil? I had an 03 echo (1nzfe) and ran 20 weight in it for years.

Frankly of greater interest to me is using an oil capable of long OCI and maximizing that OCI; I ran Castrol 0w-40 in my yaris for 15K and the oils i choose to use are 15K oils for my type of driving; maybe not for your type.

I generally believe that with the vehicles I own and my driving regimen oil changes are far too frequent for the mfg interval specified

OT: funny thing is everyone who reviews it pans the Yaris, but everyone who owns one loves it; they are probably one of the most reliable vehicles on the road.
Click to expand...
Guess it doesn’t matter at all but I was just curious being lots of manufacturers are specifying many of there older vehicles to 0w20 while most of the newer vehicles are going thinner and thinner. And the Yaris is basically a lone wolf still calling for 5w30.
I prefer not to run anything under a 0w30 and only for winter use at that. Definitely absolutely loving the car. It’s just a fun car to drive. My interest is in what’s best for the engine and being the car will probably see less than 5,000 miles per year I usually change the oil before 3,000 mile mark.
 
bullwinkle said:
That’s the same engine as my xB, the 1NZFE, and they seem to be good at shearing oil-mine turned M1 0W30 AFE into a low 20 weight pretty quickly, I wouldn’t risk 20 weight in mine. Of course, hopefully your Yaris isn’t turning 4000+ RPM in 5th cruising the interstate at 70 either!
Click to expand...
Also I was thinking this could possibly be the very reason Toyota specified 5w30. The hwy RPMS for anyone who runs 80 plus your 4,000RPMS or even more in the manual version with a motor that redlines at 6,400 RPMS. So it’s seeing fairly high rpms at freeway speeds. I feel like they could easily pull another gear saving much more in gas. The car feels to have plenty of power to pull another gear.
I definitely wouldn’t consider a 20w, I don’t like using it in cars that do call for it.
 
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