I'm on my third Toyota hybrid. Drove the 04 Prius from 06 till last week when it died (see note, below). I drove an 09 Camry for a couple years, during which my son "leased" the 04 Prius. I took the Prius back 4-5 years ago when daughter got the Camry.
Since the beginning, with the first Prius, I've kept a Scangauge II hooked into the OBD port. It's on the new Prius' dash right now, already revealing some of the car's secrets. ......‹...Ž The SG-II is a very cool and useful device. It's ability to display -- and reset -- codes is fully worth the price.
From observing the SG (and a couple long-ago super clean UOAs), I've come to believe the only threat these engines pose to the oil is that they rarely fully warm up. During in town driving, coolant temp will run 135-165, rarely more! The 18 is almost the same as the 04, with the 18 maybe a tad higher (just a back to back impression). The 04 and the Camry would occasionally hit 200 on really hot days if driven a long time, or on long hot highway drives (80-85mph). Usual highway temp is 190. I sometimes switch that slot to another variable since an unchanging 190 gets boring......‹
With the cool running nature in mind, I'd have no concern using the 0w-16. Unless something catastrophic is happening, it's hard to imagine your engine getting too hot for this oil. And with what I can recall from old UOA, the oil didn't seem to suffer from the low temps (no water, acidity, or undue additive depletion). Filter? Toyota or M1. Try a UOA with particle counts. It will be very clean. Probably so with ANY filter.
Enjoy the Avalon! Our 07 is still great. Only issue -- compared to a hybrid, it's a total gas hog! ...œ
Note: I declared the old Prius done when heavy damage from a severe brake overheat would have cost 4x cash value of car to fix! It wasn't easy to decide, especially since I'd just days before changed the oil & filter. Kiss four quarts of clean, fresh Mobil-1 EP goodbye... ...¡. Ironically perhaps, the hybrid system was running flawlessly at 200k miles. Oh well...
Since the beginning, with the first Prius, I've kept a Scangauge II hooked into the OBD port. It's on the new Prius' dash right now, already revealing some of the car's secrets. ......‹...Ž The SG-II is a very cool and useful device. It's ability to display -- and reset -- codes is fully worth the price.
From observing the SG (and a couple long-ago super clean UOAs), I've come to believe the only threat these engines pose to the oil is that they rarely fully warm up. During in town driving, coolant temp will run 135-165, rarely more! The 18 is almost the same as the 04, with the 18 maybe a tad higher (just a back to back impression). The 04 and the Camry would occasionally hit 200 on really hot days if driven a long time, or on long hot highway drives (80-85mph). Usual highway temp is 190. I sometimes switch that slot to another variable since an unchanging 190 gets boring......‹
With the cool running nature in mind, I'd have no concern using the 0w-16. Unless something catastrophic is happening, it's hard to imagine your engine getting too hot for this oil. And with what I can recall from old UOA, the oil didn't seem to suffer from the low temps (no water, acidity, or undue additive depletion). Filter? Toyota or M1. Try a UOA with particle counts. It will be very clean. Probably so with ANY filter.
Enjoy the Avalon! Our 07 is still great. Only issue -- compared to a hybrid, it's a total gas hog! ...œ
Note: I declared the old Prius done when heavy damage from a severe brake overheat would have cost 4x cash value of car to fix! It wasn't easy to decide, especially since I'd just days before changed the oil & filter. Kiss four quarts of clean, fresh Mobil-1 EP goodbye... ...¡. Ironically perhaps, the hybrid system was running flawlessly at 200k miles. Oh well...
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