notes from 3500 mile trip to Yellowstone - Sienna

[wwillson]

All,

We just returned from a trip to Yellowstone NP in our 2008 Toyota Sienna. The total mileage for the trip was about 3500 while the highway driving to/from home to Yellowstone was almost exactly 3000 miles. Of the trip to/from we had headwinds for about 2700 miles - ouch. The average MPG over the 3000 miles traveling to/from was 24.5. Temperatures ranged from 105F to 70F on the to/from trip. The total oil consumption was 0 (Mobil 1 10w30).

Wayne

 

[Johnny]

Wayne,

Thanks for sharing. Is 10w30 what Toyota recommends for the Sienna? If not, why did you choose that weight.

Welcome back

 

[ekpolk]

That's pretty good mileage for a minivan of any description, is it not? What speeds were you maintaining?

Just curiosity, but why are you using a 30 wt flavor of M1? As you know, Toyota has re-speced the 2GR-FE engine to use Xw-20 oils. Of course, it's a little distracting that even for a year after the change, the engines came from the factory with oil caps that still called for 5w30... I'm going to be trying a 20 wt in my wife's Avalon next fill, and it will be interesting to see if it makes any discernable difference in how the engine behaves.

Welcome back.

 

[wwillson]

Toyota recommends 5w30 year around. I'm going to run Mobil 1 10w30 in the summer and 0w-20 in the winter. I figure that 10w30 with less VII's would be better for our high-speed driving trips in the desert heat would be best. For the winter, I always run the thinnest oil I can find, Mobil 1 0w-20 fits the bill for thin pretty well. Change the oil twice/year with about 8,000-10,000 mi/change and I'm done...

Wayne

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
That's pretty good mileage for a minivan of any description, is it not? What speeds were you maintaining?

Just curiosity, but why are you using a 30 wt flavor of M1? As you know, Toyota has re-speced the 2GR-FE engine to use Xw-20 oils. Of course, it's a little distracting that even for a year after the change, the engines came from the factory with oil caps that still called for 5w30... I'm going to be trying a 20 wt in my wife's Avalon next fill, and it will be interesting to see if it makes any discernable difference in how the engine behaves.

Welcome back.


Gene,

In MT & ND - 77MPH, MN - 72MPH, WI & IL - 68MPH.

My 2008 Sienna still calls for 5w30 with the 2GR-FE. Do you know if they changed to 20wt in the 2GR-FE van?

Wayne

 

[Johnny]

That's a good logical reason but I bet you would be surprised how well that 0W-20 or even the 0w30 would hold up for year round use.

Neighbor down the street has a new 2008 Sienna and it seems to be a really nice van.

 

[ChiTDI]

Originally Posted By: wwillson
All,

We just returned from a trip to Yellowstone NP in our 2008 Toyota Sienna. The total mileage for the trip was about 3500 while the highway driving to/from home to Yellowstone was almost exactly 3000 miles. Of the trip to/from we had headwinds for about 2700 miles - ouch. The average MPG over the 3000 miles traveling to/from was 24.5. Temperatures ranged from 105F to 70F on the to/from trip. The total oil consumption was 0 (Mobil 1 10w30).


Wayne


How crowded was the park? Were you able to drive or was the shuttle bus service employed?

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: ChiTDI


How crowded was the park? Were you able to drive or was the shuttle bus service employed?


The park was moderately crowded, but didn't have to wait in traffic around Old Faithful which is the norm. We drove all over the park and didn't see or hear anything about shuttle buses.

Wayne

 

[ekpolk]

Wayne:

The TSB involved, EG018-06 is the one you should look at ( click here to see a copy) . It's odd for a number of reasons, when you read it and consider the implication of several of the statements made therein.

But on point, as you will see, it's not vehicle specific, except oddly enough, for the Prius exception on the first page, which points you to yet another TSB (which says that though the NZ series is on the 5w-20 list, Prii shall remain 5w30 cars). In effect, they declare 5w-20 to be Toyota's "default" oil choice for all of the series of engines listed. Since your van is a post-06, 2GR powered vehicle, I read the TSB as indicating that 5w-20 is preferred for the Sienna.

One of the very strange things about the TSB is that on its face, it states it's for MY 06 and on, but on the list, there are engine models that have been out of production for years, particularly the VZ series V-6 engines. Baffling.

And just to get you thinking, note the ominous statement at the very end, which perhaps should put a damper on getting too frisky about experimenting with thin oils in engines that weren't meant for thin oil. Or maybe it's just a CYA by Toyota -- who knows.

 

[XS650]

Wayne, that was my impression when I was there a few weeks ago. We parked relatively close to old faithful, walked up to a viewing area and got front row seats about 15 minutes before scheduled display. It was about 1 minute early and put on a good show. Much better than last time I was there.

There sure were a lot fewer road whales on the road on our trip this year.

Closest we came to a traffic jam was when we got stuck behind three bison strolling down the road with traffic stopped going to other way to look at them. The bison couldn't get off the road to the left (at least they chose not to

) because of the bumper to bumper cars and couldn't get off to the right because of the steep terrain. After about 20 minutes the shoulder widened and they walked off the road.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
That's pretty good mileage for a minivan of any description, is it not?


I'd say that's not too remarkable for tank length trips with one warm up. It looks really good compared to 20-25 mile commutes ..and way better (typically) than soccer parent duty. That's what amazes the owner the most. YMMV.

 

[javacontour]

Probably a little of both. That's still pretty good mileage for headwinds.

Having just visited the Chicagoland area myself last week, it probably does look good after sitting in traffic for close to 2 hours trying to get from Shedd aquarium to Geneva, IL. It took just under 2 hours to travel that 38 miles. OUCH! If Wayne experiences that everyday, then 24MPG looks like magic.

For reference, our 2002 Sienna managed about the same on the all highway trip up from the STL area somewhere in the 24.x range, IIRC, and then managed 19.4 including the 2 hours sitting in traffic and some around town driving in Geneva and Batavia. We put about 350 miles on that last tank, and I was shocked that it was as high as 19.4 given how it had been driven from Pontiac, IL to the aquarium, then to oilBabe's grandma's house.

I think 24 is very good for a loaded minivan traveling.

 

[Gary Allan]

Oh, I think that it's very good too. It's just at the shock level most minivan types experience with the (again, tyipical - ymmv) spread between daily driving (even reasonable length commutes) and exceptional/excursion driving; where warm up events are, for the most part, eliminated.

 

[ChiTDI]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
And just to get you thinking, note the ominous statement at the very end, which perhaps should put a damper on getting too frisky about experimenting with thin oils in engines that weren't meant for thin oil. Or maybe it's just a CYA by Toyota -- who knows.

That discouraged me too, ('07Rav4) along with the fact that they moved to a six+ quart sump for some reason.

 

[ChiTDI]

Good to hear the trip was a goodie, thanks for the data on the park. That oil filter is fun, no?

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk

And just to get you thinking, note the ominous statement at the very end, which perhaps should put a damper on getting too frisky about experimenting with thin oils in engines that weren't meant for thin oil. Or maybe it's just a CYA by Toyota -- who knows.

I find it interesting that Ford recommends 5W-20 for the 1993 Mustang GT 5.0L V8.

That is, as far as I'm aware, the oldest engine design for which 5W-20 has been recommended.

 

[1sttruck]

'We put about 350 miles on that last tank, and I was shocked that it was as high as 19.4 given how it had been driven from Pontiac, IL to the aquarium, then to oilBabe's grandma's house.'

Last weekend we took a trip from the Portland area to Mt Vernon above Seattle, and took over an hour to get thru Seattle because one of the bridges was out. 1st and 2nd gear stuff, lots of idling, but it was lots better coming back as it was 2nd thru 4th gear for not quite an hour on a different route. I got 20.9 mpg in my 3/4 ton diesel pickup. I use Delvac 5w40.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: ekpolk

And just to get you thinking, note the ominous statement at the very end, which perhaps should put a damper on getting too frisky about experimenting with thin oils in engines that weren't meant for thin oil. Or maybe it's just a CYA by Toyota -- who knows.

I find it interesting that Ford recommends 5W-20 for the 1993 Mustang GT 5.0L V8.

That is, as far as I'm aware, the oldest engine design for which 5W-20 has been recommended.


That's hilarious!

I actually ran 0w20 in my Mustang (87 GT) for the one winter it saw.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: wwillson
Toyota recommends 5w30 year around. I'm going to run Mobil 1 10w30 in the summer and 0w-20 in the winter. I figure that 10w30 with less VII's would be better for our high-speed driving trips in the desert heat would be best. For the winter, I always run the thinnest oil I can find, Mobil 1 0w-20 fits the bill for thin pretty well. Change the oil twice/year with about 8,000-10,000 mi/change and I'm done...

Wayne


I'm aware that your vehicle will live a long, happy life on this regime, but doesn't Toyota now require oil changes every 5,000 miles OR six months, whichever comes first?

Brand-new, $30-40K minivan, and you'll be up the creek on any warranty work you need...I wouldn't do it. Just me!

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: javacontour

Having just visited the Chicagoland area myself last week, it probably does look good after sitting in traffic for close to 2 hours trying to get from Shedd aquarium to Geneva, IL. It took just under 2 hours to travel that 38 miles. OUCH! If Wayne experiences that everyday, then 24MPG looks like magic.


I mostly work from home, so my commute is short.