Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
The new fill is Toyota Genuine Motor Oil 0W-20 SN/GF-5 (made in USA by ExxonMobil). I got if for $5.50 a quart at my local dealer, after some good negotiation. It seems to be a pure Group IV / Group V oil (no Group III) from its nauseating odor. In contrast Mobil 1 0W-20 has a much milder odor of the same kind, probably indicating less Group IV or V and more Group III in it.
I'm surprised others didn't jump all over this statement, but do you honestly believe this to be true? Why would Mobil 1 make their own oil with a lower quality base oil than the oil they make for Toyota? If anything, the opposite is true, which is why Toyota 0w20 costs less.
First of all, $5.50 is only after hard negotiation. Good luck in getting this price. I was asked as much as $12 per quart. They usually ask for close to $10 per quart.
Well, no one knows for sure the base oils used in M1 or Toyota. M1 costs a lot partially because it's heavily advertised. Toyota is not advertised at all and also cuts down the costs by directly buying the oil from the manufacturer.
Also note that Toyota has a much higher viscosity index than M1, but this doesn't necessarily mean that it's more Group IV/V than M1.
Regarding the odor, M1 0W-20 (which I still have half a bottle of) has a similar odor but it's very weak. Toyota's odor is nauseatingly strong, and it's certainly not a dino-base-oil odor. Perhaps chemists here can tell which base oil produces this strong odor. Or, perhaps, it's coming from the additive package.