I bought a 2022 Toyota 4Runner and want to change my oil early to get rid of any break in material that may be in the oil. I understand that Toyota specs their oil and Mobil makes it and that it has a high ppm of moly in it. I’m wondering if there would be any advantage to using something like amsoil rather than the Toyota oil. I would be doing 5k mile changes.
What would you recommend?
Congratulations on your new 4Runner! And welcome to the forum.
A couple of things:
- Nothing wrong with changing your oil early. I usually do that at about 2-3K on our new vehicles.
- Toyota factory fill, like factory fill oils from many other OEMs, does usually show high PPM of moly, but you can't really infer a lot from that, because there are different forms of moly, and some are able to provide excellent friction modification properties even at lower PPM amounts.
- A premium brand like Amsoil might provide some benefit, but, for it to be measurable, I'd suggest getting a used oil analysis.
- Heavier grades than the 0W-20 that's printed on the cap are allowed (your owner's manual contains language to this effect, on the page where it has the engine oil information).
I'm running Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10W-30 in our 2021 (we now have over 15,000 miles). The engine exhibited some valvetrain noise running 0W-20, and this M1-EP 10W-30 has quieted it down and it's running smoother. I plan to run it for 10,000 miles. However, I do have some great quality 0W-20 (Valvoline Modern Engine and Mobil 1 Annual Protection) that I plan to run in it during colder weather. I just won't run a 0W-20 for 10,000 miles.