Toyota Dynamic Force four-cylinder “electronic” oil pump

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I saw this topic came up again recently. I recall a long thread last year that I thought put this to bed. But I guess not. The electronic oil pump speculation appears to be based on a video by the Car Care Nut saying the oil pump was electronic and calibrated for 0w-16. This being the reason for strict adherence to the 0w- 16 oil (not here to debates that specifically.)

Searched YouTube to try to find this video and figure out where this came from, but instead found this.
A video of the Car Care Nut assembling the A25A in question and talking about the oil pump chain (9:59.) I think people might just be confusing something he said at some point or he misspoke. Moreover here is link to the engine breakdown (see: lubrication system diagram) explaining that it is driven by a short chain and operates with pressure control valves via ECM. https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/18-03-20_faq_df_r4_eng.htm#A25A-FKS

So there you have it. Not electronic but yes pressure is electronically controlled.
 
....... The electronic oil pump speculation appears to be based on a video by the Car Care Nut saying the oil pump was electronic and calibrated for 0w-16. This being the reason for strict adherence to the 0w- 16 oil........
If that was the case, Toyota would have had to put differently calibrated oil pumps on each and every car they sold with that engine in foreign countries. (Read Australia and Russia). Where the manual says oil up to and including 15W-40 can be used in the A25A-FKS 4 cylinder engine. They don't. The same oil pump is used throughout the globe on that engine.
 
Thank you^^^ I've too have seen this video before and will watch it again. I like thecarcarenut.

My BIL is on his 4th Camry(2018 XLE 4cyl.), purchased new. This is the first Camry that he doesn't like.
Not for the engine but the "CHEAP FEELING" of overall build quality, noises(lack of sound insulation) tinny feeling of the doors, cheapness of controls etc. I drove it and though it was nice! NOT particularly loud but I also though it was less Camry-like and any other generation..."No more boring cars". < But I didn't think it was that either. I've driven every Camry generation since they were RWD.

The other generations had a softness-smoothness, refinement & quiet of a car costing more money. Especially from 1987-2006 models.
Once 2007 came around, they lost some Camry-ness(or BUICK-ness). I drove a new 2015 Camry when I was looking for a new car that year and though it was getting better but still not tops for the class for Toyota-ness.
 
I'm not sure exactly where this whole, "oil pumps that are specially calibrated for 0W-16 oil" nonsense got started, but none of it remotely begins to pass the smell test.

For example. If you have a Camry parked outside in January in Fargo, with a crankcase full of 0w-16, it's going to have a much higher startup viscosity, than the same vehicle sitting outside in Palm Springs in July, with a crankcase full of 15W-40.
 
This story has really gotten legs for some reason
Because if you go to the Toyota boards people with 1 million posts who pretend to be authorities but is obvios they have likely never changed oil, tell everyone else that its in the manual and Toyota would only put that there if it were right and if you use anything else a meteor will hit the earth and kill us all.

Then you point out that the same engine in Australia is spec'd to anything up to 15W-40, they come up with "its programmed differently".

Thats why it has legs.
 
Thank you^^^ I've too have seen this video before and will watch it again. I like thecarcarenut.

My BIL is on his 4th Camry(2018 XLE 4cyl.), purchased new. This is the first Camry that he doesn't like.
Not for the engine but the "CHEAP FEELING" of overall build quality, noises(lack of sound insulation) tinny feeling of the doors, cheapness of controls etc.
I drove it and though it was nice! NOT particularly loud but I also though it was less Camry-like and any other generation..."No more boring cars". < But I didn't think it was that either. I've driven every Camry generation since they were RWD.

The other generations had a softness-smoothness, refinement & quiet of a car costing more money. Especially from 1987-2006 models.
Once 2007 came around, they lost some Camry-ness(or BUICK-ness). I drove a new 2015 Camry when I was looking for a new car that year and though it was getting better but still not tops for the class for Toyota-ness.
This. We had a 2021 Camry rental and I was shocked at how cheap it felt. Light, hollow feeling doors and interior bits that were very loose are two things that come to mind. The drivetrain and ride quality were pleasant though. I’d even consider one in the future as it’s not a bad looking car, drives well and is reliable. I told my wife I was ready to get back in my 10 year old Accord as it feels more solid than the brand new Camry!
 
This. We had a 2021 Camry rental and I was shocked at how cheap it felt. Light, hollow feeling doors and interior bits that were very loose are two things that come to mind. The drivetrain and ride quality were pleasant though. I’d even consider one in the future as it’s not a bad looking car, drives well and is reliable. I told my wife I was ready to get back in my 10 year old Accord as it feels more solid than the brand new Camry!
I will say, it’s heads and shoulders about the 2011 that I totaled! but I also have a base model, so…? The cloth seats are seats, that’s about all the good that can be said about them. Well, not nearly as beaten down as in my ‘99, so they have that going for them.

In good news: both my ‘99 and my ‘21 Camry’s take the same oil filter. I haven’t decided yet when they will get the same motor oil though… what might pass as door hinge lube for the ‘99 is apparently what the ‘21 ”needs” in the engine.

[That last bit was a joke.]
 
I'm not sure exactly where this whole, "oil pumps that are specially calibrated for 0W-16 oil" nonsense got started, but none of it remotely begins to pass the smell test.

For example. If you have a Camry parked outside in January in Fargo, with a crankcase full of 0w-16, it's going to have a much higher startup viscosity, than the same vehicle sitting outside in Palm Springs in July, with a crankcase full of 15W-40.
Sure 0w16 is going to be much thicker at cold temps, but 15w40 will be MUCH MUCH thicker.
 
I will say, it’s heads and shoulders about the 2011 that I totaled! but I also have a base model, so…? The cloth seats are seats, that’s about all the good that can be said about them. Well, not nearly as beaten down as in my ‘99, so they have that going for them.

In good news: both my ‘99 and my ‘21 Camry’s take the same oil filter. I haven’t decided yet when they will get the same motor oil though… what might pass as door hinge lube for the ‘99 is apparently what the ‘21 ”needs” in the engine.

[That last bit was a joke.]
They just need to get the price down. I see them going for $25k on a user base model with 75k miles! Crazy.
 
They just need to get the price down. I see them going for $25k on a user base model with 75k miles! Crazy.
The used market is just nuts. It is getting a bit better, for a bit if it had 4 tires and ran it was $5k. Now I’m starting to see the same junk sit on CL.

But I bet stuff over $10k or so is going to stay high for a while. The new car sales aren’t there, and even the ones that are, are in the “whaddya nuts?” level of pricing. Anything new for under $30k is a unicorn, or perhaps more precisely, not all that desirable (to most). “Good” vehicles are going to stay expensive for a long time to come. :(
 
We have a 2019 Rav4 with this engine. While I would agree its not a Lexus (and was never intended to be) its much larger inside than its predecessor, has more comfortable seating, and gets better gas mileage. It also has GDI+MPI, no turbo, no CVT. Its about the same price as its competitors but will likely hold its resale batter.

It does feel a bit "tinny" due to lighter weight materials and aluminum panels to get to the mileage number. Everything is a trade off. We like ours - you just need to remember - its a cheap CUV not a luxury vehicle.
 
I've said this several times although this is admittedly outside my wheelhouse and just I'm thinking this through on a Saturday morning drinking my coffee.

An oil pump in any vehicle has to be able to pump oil effectively over a HUGE viscosity range. Think about the oil pump pumping oil at -20F, 0F, 32F, 50F, 100F, 180F, and operating temperature. Over the course of the oil coming to operating temperature, the oil pump MUST be able to pump the oil sufficiently well to satisfy the lubrication demands of the engine. Now consider the TINY difference that 8, 16, 20, 30, 40, and 50 weight oil represents as far as their differences in viscosity at operating temperature.

It makes little sense that the oil pump can pump oil that is 100x more viscous when cold but there is some how a problem at operating temperature when the viscosity difference is 5%. (Ball park numbers - I don't care enough to get real numbers but you get the idea - there is a tiny difference in viscosity between different weight oils at operating temp compared to the viscosity difference between cold and hot oil).
 
Oil pressure takes horsepower to happen. Excess oil pressure and volume reduces fuel economy. Variable oil pressure fixes that. Expect that electrically controlled pumps will also be used. Hopefully enough safety margin is present to allow for wear and wrong oil.

Rod
 
Oil pump/control and map here:

Pretty broad range and nothing I'd worry about concerning grade. Since the RAV4 and Camry are always considered when replacing vehicles here, if another finds it way into the driveway, I won't fill it with the mpg grade recommended.
Its always high speed/load/temp around here :ROFLMAO:

I don't bother watching youtube videos because too many are full of misinformation that clueless watchers think are facts. Many think wasting time to create a video makes the creator a reliable trusted source of info. The world is full of village idiots with cameras too. Be careful with what you absorb from a video by some self-crowned Zen master magician.





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I’m not sure why the oil pump is all the buzz with this 0w16 discussion. But since I have one of these engines and use 0w16 I wanted to find out.

I think it’s perfectly fine to use higher viscosities. And see no evidence as to why it would be harmful. I only choose to use 0w16 because I trust Toyota did their due diligence designing the engine to handle it, I don’t put the engine to heavy or extreme use, I typically only keep vehicles for 200K or so, and I want the fuel economy increase however small. If any one of those things change I’d have no qualms going up in viscosity.
 
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