Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2006 RGT 5w20 3MZ-FE 3.3L 5940 miles

[paulri]

Here is the latest UOA done on my hybrid Highlander, for about 6000 miles:

This is a link to the first UOA done on this vehicle.

I want to give a thanks to Gina Fishbeck & Pennzoil, as they provided the test kit for this sample. Currently in the sump is Pennzoil Platinum HM 0w20, which they have also provided a test kit for.

Given how low wear metals were in the first UOA, I wanted to extend this OCI farther than 6000 miles, but I noticed for the first time with this vehicle, oil consumption. It had lost around a quart in 6000 miles. I know this is not much at all, but it felt kind of silly, adding an extra quart so the oil wouldn't drop below the add line (it was about 3mm above that mark when I drained the oil), to extend the OCI another 1000 miles or so. If you are replacing 20% of the sump (1 quart out of 5 quarts overall) how great a picture does a UOA give you of the oil's condition? So after I get the next sample (with the current fill), I'll decide how far I want to take this in the future. If I do want to continue sampling & UOAs beyond this current fill, I might extend the OCIs to 10K, but I might just limit it to 7-8K if I decide to not pay for more UOAs to support a 10K OCI. FWIW, Toyota corporate recommends 5K on this engine, regardless of whether synthetic or conventional is used. But 3 of the 6 nearby Toyota dealerships when I called them, told me they recommend 10K on synthetic oil changes for this vehicle.

As an irrelevant bit of trivia, I'm glad to see silicon was not off the charts. After being careful to take the oil sample midstream, and then taking the tube of oil over to my porch where it could cool before placing the lid on it, I dropped the lid onto a dusty object before tightening it down. Silicon was 19 in the previous sample and 18 here, so I guess there wasn't much dust contamination from the lid, if any.

 

[Propflux01]

I wonder if that consumption has anything to do with that 2.6% fuel dilution?

 

[paulri]

Not sure what to make of the fuel dilution. That sounds kind of high, esp. given that the previous UOA had next to none. The vehicle was not short tripped any more than the previous UOA, that's for sure, with plenty of 25 minute drives, mostly freeway, from work to home at this time, so one would think that the fuel would have burned off.

But given the fuel dilution--how would an increased amount of fuel in the oil cause more consumption?

I wonder if that consumption has anything to do with that 2.6% fuel dilution?

 

[Propflux01]

Not sure what to make of the fuel dilution. That sounds kind of high, esp. given that the previous UOA had next to none. The vehicle was not short tripped any more than the previous UOA, that's for sure, with plenty of 25 minute drives, mostly freeway, from work to home at this time, so one would think that the fuel would have burned off.

But given the fuel dilution--how would an increased amount of fuel in the oil cause more consumption?

By diluting the oil and making it easier to slide by the rings. If you didn’t have much if any consumption on the last OCI, and now you have consumption with noted fuel dilution, you might have a faulty injector dumping fuel in one or more cylinders.

 

[paulri]

I know in the past I have looked at oil in between OCIs and not detected any oil consumption with this vehicle, so it is probably safe to say that during that first UOA (which was in the fall of 2019, some 30K miles ago) there wasn't any, although I don't know for a fact. I'm pretty sure I was checking oil levels in between oil changes at that time.

If your connection between these two is right, until I replace the fuel injector, I can move up to a 30 grade, although the oil here had a viscosity of 8.3 at 100C, which is well within the boundaries of the requirements for the 20 grade, which my car was back specced for.

By diluting the oil and making it easier to slide by the rings. If you didn’t have much if any consumption on the last OCI, and now you have consumption with noted fuel dilution, you might have a faulty injector dumping fuel in one or more cylinders.

 

[FZ1]

I know in the past I have looked at oil in between OCIs and not detected any oil consumption with this vehicle, so it is probably safe to say that during that first UOA (which was in the fall of 2019, some 30K miles ago) there wasn't any, although I don't know for a fact. I'm pretty sure I was checking oil levels in between oil changes at that time.

If your connection between these two is right, until I replace the fuel injector, I can move up to a 30 grade, although the oil here had a viscosity of 8.3 at 100C, which is well within the boundaries of the requirements for the 20 grade, which my car was back specced for.

Good easy freeway run. Fwiw 0w-20 Ultra platinum is more dense than the regular platinum and feels thicker/quieter in the motor.

 

[paulri]

Are you recommending PUP in general, or as a solution to my oil consumption in particular?

Good easy freeway run. Fwiw 0w-20 Ultra platinum is more dense than the regular platinum and feels thicker/quieter in the motor.

 

[FZ1]

Are you recommending PUP in general, or as a solution to my oil consumption in particular?

It's noticeably thicker running in my Camry 2.5 than AFE 0w- 20. I'm on my first run with it will know in about 4,000 miles re the slight burning vs. my previous AFE run.