2022 Camry 2.5 fuel dilution/viscosity selection question

[donnyj08]

We have a 23 with 30k miles on ours. Engine oil doesn’t seem to get diluted much at all. It’s usually fairly clear when I change it a 7500 miles. Been using TGMO 0w16 with no measurable oil usage either.

I don’t think this engine is a known diluter, certainly not like a poorly designed and fueled Kia/Hyundai engine which will have the oil black with 3-5% fuel dilution in 3k miles.

 

[6.7 CTD]

We have a 23 with 30k miles on ours. Engine oil doesn’t seem to get diluted much at all. It’s usually fairly clear when I change it a 7500 miles. Been using TGMO 0w16 with no measurable oil usage either.

I don’t think this engine is a known diluter, certainly not like a poorly designed and fueled Kia/Hyundai engine which will have the oil black with 3-5% fuel dilution in 3k miles.

Thank you, this is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Good morning, long time reader, first time poster. I’m curious as to whether anyone has any insight regarding the Camry 2.5 A25A (2022 Camry SE 2.5 Awd) engine in regard to fuel dilution. The engine is both direct and port injected.

I also am curious as to everyone’s opinion regarding viscosity selection in relation to vehicle usage, ambient temp, and of course fuel dilution; which is the main point of this thread. I recently purchased the vehicle for my wife. She will likely start it and drive away in the summer, or let it idle for 20 minutes in the winter, in addition to being heavy on the gas between stop signs and lights. This car will see both city and highway usage and I am located in southwestern PA for temperature reference. The vehicle specs 0w16 and I purchased it with 40k miles and Carfax reported 10k OCI at the dealer who may or may not have used a 16 or 20 weight (would assume 0w20 bulk but cannot be sure). I do not want to run a 16 or 20 weight given the vehicle will be operated at higher speeds and under load which meets Toyotas criteria for increased viscosity usage; however, not clearly defined. I spoke with David from HPL to pick his brain and he inquired about this engines fuel dilution as I was leaning toward 0w30 premium plus (don’t really need a 0w in my temp zone but liked the hths of 3 and the fact that it’s not as large of a jump from 0w16 as say a thicker 30 may be) or use the 5w30 no VII. In turn, I’m posting this to gain some input from you guys regarding this question. Oil change intervals would likely be 7500+, circumstance permitting, after the initial 4K run with whatever HPL I choose. I searched for this info prior to posting and only found a few threads and one informative post which had a 0w16 uoa showing minimal fuel dilution for this motor. Thanks for your time!

PS. I run HPL 5w30 pcmo in my Tundra (178k miles) and in the first 300 miles of use it all but eliminated my timing chain tensioner “clacking” that occured about 6 minutes into idling and then subsided once warm.

What does Toyota recommend for oci’s? Guy I know told me Toyota puts 5,000 or 6 month sticker for oci’s that’s on a 22’ rav 4 same engine takes 0w16.

 

[6.7 CTD]

What does Toyota recommend for oci’s? Guy I know told me Toyota puts 5,000 or 6 month sticker for oci’s that’s on a 22’ rav 4 same engine takes 0w16.

10k oci but there’s not a chance I’d do that on 0w16 under the conditions the vehicle will be driven (would be inclined to do so with a 30 weight or high end oil such as HPL). Their recommendation for 5k is more in line for what most vehicles endure daily driving yet some still follow the 10k oci.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

I would be comfortable with the 5-6000 or 6 month whichever comes 1st. That’s what I followed since my 1st auto been driving 21 yrs. I’m still under the impression 0w8 and 16 are factory fill i would think bulk 0w20 goes in at dealer performed svc’s.

 

[CharBaby]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, I genuinely appreciate it. The 20 minute idling was a slight exaggeration, made in jest, to better portray her vehicle habits. It’s prob more like 10-15 but nonetheless excessive.

My wife is the same way. She wants her vehicles warm in the winter time before she gets in to drive off. Often the car is idling for longer than the trip will take. She'll warm the car for 10+ minutes and drive it for 5 minutes. That's just the way it is and I don't care! My baby wants to be warm.
She's done it all of her life and it's never hurt our vehicles even though it may not be the optimal thing to do. We've had vehicles for 15-18 years with several hundred thousand miles on them and it didn't matter! Maybe it mattered for fuel economy at that moment but not for the duration.

 

[6.7 CTD]

My wife is the same way. She wants her vehicles warm in the winter time before she gets in to drive off. Often the car is idling for longer than the trip will take. She'll warm the car for 10+ minutes and drive it for 5 minutes. That's just the way it is and I don't care! My baby wants to be warm.
She's done it all of her life and it's never hurt our vehicles even though it may not be the optimal thing to do. We've had vehicles for 15-18 years with several hundred thousand miles on them and it didn't matter! Maybe it mattered for fuel economy at that moment but not for the duration.

Exactly! I’m not trying to change her habits, I’m trying to mitigate wear based on her habits.

 

[ATex7239]

My wife is the same way. She wants her vehicles warm in the winter time before she gets in to drive off. Often the car is idling for longer than the trip will take. She'll warm the car for 10+ minutes and drive it for 5 minutes. That's just the way it is and I don't care! My baby wants to be warm.
She's done it all of her life and it's never hurt our vehicles even though it may not be the optimal thing to do. We've had vehicles for 15-18 years with several hundred thousand miles on them and it didn't matter! Maybe it mattered for fuel economy at that moment but not for the duration.

It sounds almost as though she prioritizes her comfort and wellbeing over the machine which will inevitably be disposed of anyways…

Quite a foreign concept around here.

 

[CharBaby]

It sounds almost as though she prioritizes her comfort and wellbeing over the machine which will inevitably be disposed of anyways…

Quite a foreign concept around here.

Yeah!
We've never had any issues with engines while doing this. She's let the car idle sooooo long that the driveway was melted too and I didn't have to go out and snow blow. ... JK!

However, I have let my cars (that were left outside), idle for ~45 minutes while I snow blowed the driveway, and I'm not kidding!
Funny thing is, I forgot they were running while I was running the snowblower. When I got back in the cars to move them back into their spot in the driveway, they were toasty!

I may have other issues with cars but drivetrain's isn't one of them.

 

[Ride_Red]

I had a friend that had his wife move the car out of the driveway so they could get their boat out of the garage. They hitched the boat to the truck and she pulled the car back up the drive before they left for the lake. When they got home after a long day at the lake, they found the car still idling in the driveway! 10hrs just sitting there running unattended.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I had a friend that had his wife move the car out of the driveway so they could get their boat out of the garage. They hitched the boat to the truck and she pulled the car back up the drive before they left for the lake. When they got home after a long day at the lake, they found the car still idling in the driveway! 10hrs just sitting there running unattended.

Sounds like a stunt my wife could be capable of doing.

 

[Cherrybomb]

Sounds like a stunt my wife could be capable of doing.

Your telling us this because you don't dare tell her that.Thats probably wise!I've been there.L.O.L

 

[nthach]

10k oci but there’s not a chance I’d do that on 0w16 under the conditions the vehicle will be driven (would be inclined to do so with a 30 weight or high end oil such as HPL). Their recommendation for 5k is more in line for what most vehicles endure daily driving yet some still follow the 10k oci.

My recommendation for Toyotas is no more than 5-6K. With the price of OTC oil, it’s foolish to do long drains IMO. Now, it was HPL, Amsoil SS, Red Line “premium” series, high-capacity filters and you’re regularly doing UOAs to find a sweet spot for long drains, send it.

We have a 25 Camry that calls for the “thin” stuff, it sees gig work but Toyota hybrid engines live an easy life with no WOT. I’m debating sticking with 0W-8 in case of warranty issues or 0W-16. When the warranty is up, it’s 5W-30.

 

[dkryan]

I am looking forward to seeing more UOAs on this particular engine. Particularly as it relates to fuel dilution and OCIs.

I’m told it has both port and direct fuel injection and the port injection remains in play until the oil reaches normal operating temperature. Unfortunately, other than a post on Toyota Nation, I can’t find any substantive confirmation of that claim.

And I can’t find anything that details what Toyota defines as “normal operating temperature” in that engine.

 

[benjy]

oil is pretty cheap!! engines are NOT!!! your ride your choice!!

 

[ATex7239]

I am looking forward to seeing more UOAs on this particular engine. Particularly as it relates to fuel dilution and OCIs.

I’m told it has both port and direct fuel injection and the port injection remains in play until the oil reaches normal operating temperature. Unfortunately, other than a post on Toyota Nation, I can’t find any substantive confirmation of that claim.

And I can’t find anything that details what Toyota defines as “normal operating temperature” in that engine.

It is based on RPM and load.

“Fuel injection - combined: directly in the combustion chamber and multipoint in the inlet ports. At low to medium loads - combined injection is applied - homogeneous mixture increases the stability of the combustion process and reduces emissions. Under a heavy load use direct fuel injection - the evaporation of the fuel in the cylinder filling mass improves and reduces the tendency to knock.

​

​

1 - injection in port, 2 - injection in cylinder + port, 3 - injection in cylinder.​

- Stratified combustion mode. Fuel is supplied in the intake ports on the exhaust stroke. On the intake stroke after the opening of the valves in the cylinder receives a homogeneous lean mixture. At the end of the compression stroke, additional fuel is injected directly into the cylinder, allowing to enrich the mixture near the spark plug. This facilitates the initial ignition, is then distributed on the all lean mixture charge in the remaining volume of the combustion chamber. This mode is applied after a cold start to retard ignition timing and to increase the exhaust gas temperature for accelerate catalyst warming up.

- Homogenous mixture mode. Fuel is supplied in the intake ports on the expansion, exhaust and intake strokes. At the beginning of the intake stroke, additional fuel is injected directly into the cylinder and evenly mixed with the incoming charge. Homogeneous air-fuel mixture is compressed and then ignited. Due to the evaporation of injected fuel, air charge in the cylinder is cooled improves cylinder filling.”

https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/18-03-20_faq_df_r4_eng.htm#A25A-FKS

 

[Titan]

This 2.5 Dynamic Force engine has the highest power per displacement and highest efficiency of any non-boosted engine I've owned in 50+ years of driving. Toyota did a great job making this one...

 

[dkryan]

ATex7239 -

Thanks!

 

[dkryan]

Then again, after reading all of that info, then falling asleep (sorry), only to have the dog wake me up and point out where the snoring began, only to fall asleep again to find the cat marking where I had left off……..

……I found myself immersed about 85% of the way into the section under “Experience.”

And if I read that entire section correctly, in between scratching the cat’s ears and rubbing the dog’s belly, I have deduced that motor oil is one of the least concerns
of that engine!

 

[Ride_Red]

There is a lot going on in this engine. The cooling system is complex as well. So far it is running great in my RAV4 with good power and good mpg.

With mixed driving, I got about 23 mpg on my 2010 2.4L CR-V. I'm getting 35 mpg in the 2024 2.5L RAV4 (LE gas version, ECO mode). It also tows my 16ft fishing boat so much better than the CR-V. I'm currently running 0W-20 PP instead of the recommended 0W-16.