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The oil in those engines do not take long to heat up. Go take you a 2 mile drive and com back, pull the stick and try to touch the oil. Your going to burn yourself.
Toyota / Lexus A25A-FXS Hybrid engine oil questions
- Thread starter scubapr
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I have same engine in Sienna and same oil weight is recommended per manual. I plan to use 0w-16 until engine warranty is over. Then switch to 20 weight and 30 later on. I have lots of oil in my stash, gotta use it up…
My parents have this engine in a 2025 Camry… but it now calls for 0W-8, says 0W-16 is OK for “temporary” use. There’s about 1500K on 0W-16 on it now and that’s what I’ll use if 0W-8 isn’t available.
The critical factor is going to be driving conditions, grocery getter vs long commute.
As I postulated years ago, 0W8 is here, and the world has not come to an end.
The data from my gradually extended UOAs tends to support this.
TGMO 0W8 @ $21/qt makes highest quality HPL PP w/GREATLY extended OCIs a no brainer for me.
Some motorists might find that an off the shelf 0W20 with frequent oil changes is a good idea, but I would want to take full advantage of the efficiency of Toyota's 5th generation hybrid system.
As was the case with my 2019 Lexus UX 250h, there is never anything exciting to smell on my dipstick, here at ~ 5k vehicle miles, with factory fill replaced by HPL PP 0W8 at 500 miles per LSJ protocols.
As I postulated years ago, 0W8 is here, and the world has not come to an end.
The data from my gradually extended UOAs tends to support this.
TGMO 0W8 @ $21/qt makes highest quality HPL PP w/GREATLY extended OCIs a no brainer for me.
Some motorists might find that an off the shelf 0W20 with frequent oil changes is a good idea, but I would want to take full advantage of the efficiency of Toyota's 5th generation hybrid system.
As was the case with my 2019 Lexus UX 250h, there is never anything exciting to smell on my dipstick, here at ~ 5k vehicle miles, with factory fill replaced by HPL PP 0W8 at 500 miles per LSJ protocols.
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I have the 2024 Rav4 gas version. Pretty much the same engine and it calls for 0W-16. I'm running 0W-20 in it without issues.
I've been running 0W-20 in my CR-V for 14 years and it's still going strong at 150K miles, so I'll probably stick with 0W-20 in the RAV.
I am curious... Is there a reason, other than fuel economy, for using thinner oil in a hybrid system. Could it be beneficial during all the start/stop cycles?
I've been running 0W-20 in my CR-V for 14 years and it's still going strong at 150K miles, so I'll probably stick with 0W-20 in the RAV.
I am curious... Is there a reason, other than fuel economy, for using thinner oil in a hybrid system. Could it be beneficial during all the start/stop cycles?
Thanks. I have one on order, will collect some data and report back once it arrives.
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I'd say climate is a factor too.. my 2024 Prius Prime seems particularly talented at destroying motor oil around here.
And this is with 60km daily commutes to/from work (120 combined..) at well under 0°f.
The fact that you have incredibly low wear rates on the same engine with 0w8 reassures me, what i see on my car worries me however..
Yeah, I think the oil just isn’t getting warm enough.
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That would be my guess too. I can put some heat in it by letting the battery go low and then forcing the engine to run continuously in Recharge mode. Problem is, fuel consumption then goes thru the roof and it kind of defeat the purpose of having bought a Prius Prime in the first place. I bought an oil pan heater that i plan to install before winter. A 125w unit from Canadian Polar. Might help.. If it doesn't, i might try and go creative with an oil cooler sandwich plate and run "hot" coolant thru it. Basically, helping oil reach it's operating temperature faster would be the goal...
UOAs are clearly in order for you, and much further scrutiny.
I have been driving the 2.0L version, M20A-FKS and M20A-FXS.
That is hybrid and non-hybrid, on three vehicles, 310k total miles.
My oil does not look anything like that, after 30k mile OCIs, even on highest quality 0W8.
There was a Sienna on here with high fuel dilution.
I will stay tuned for further information.
My UOAs were posted with YMMV caveats.
Might I suggest a Mityvac and 3k mile OCIs ?
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Last oil change was after 10k km with maybe 4 or 5 with the gas engine actually running. It was better but still...
I'll put the trusty Scangauge back in to try and monitor engine temps.
I'll put the trusty Scangauge back in to try and monitor engine temps.
I remember running MOS2 back in the day and it looked like that initial and time after.
Yep. That stuff made your engine oil look like something was terribly wrong!
And now, for MY2025, the A25A in the Camry recommends 0w-8, with 0w-16 being the thick and goopy option permitted for one OCI use if 0w-8 is not available.
Bottom line with respect to this thread, the 0w-16 a safe choice, IMO.
What my temps look like after 2.4 mile drive to work:
I keep a ScanGauge-3 hooked up to my OBD port at all times, and have Oil Temp on the primary screen. Around town, the oil temp rarely rises above 170-180. With sustained highway driving (85-ish), I'll see 200-210. In other words, even on the highway, running nearly constantly, the ICE is barely challenging the oil at all.
Bottom line with respect to this thread, the 0w-16 a safe choice, IMO.
What my temps look like after 2.4 mile drive to work:
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Also, I used to keep transmission temp in the upper left block, but it always just climbs to the low 170s and NEVER moves from there. I’m experimenting with other variables in that slot, figuring that trans temp isn’t telling me much. I’ll probably put it on page 2 or 3 just in case I ever suspect something is off.
My honest opinion and years of experience is that oil viscosity doesn’t matter, within reason of course.
What matters is how often you change it, check the level and who is doing the maintenance.
If you’re really so worried about this vehicle and its maintenance, don’t let others touch your car unless absolutely necessary, which would be warranty work.
The chances of a dealer, or some other tech screwing up an oil change is an order of magnitude greater than the chances of oil choice causing an issue.
Pick whatever oil you like, do your own changes, document for warranty reasons and don’t worry so much about it. It’s just a car, a tree may fall on it next year and your plans for keeping it forever will be foiled.
Drive it, maintain it and most importantly enjoy it. The rest is just useless stress IMO.
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It's a shame that my Scangauge 2 does not show the oil temps on my 2024 Prius Prime but one thing for sure, if i'm not on charge mode or on hybrid mode at highway speeds, coolant temps stays low (between 160 / 140ish) as the engine starts a couple of km then stops, starts again, then stops, and so on.. I figured 0w8 might give a minimal fuel economy gain and wanted to try it but then i remembered the fuel might be getting heavily diluted due to it not quite reaching operating temps (during winter anyway..) and decided against it. Might try it next summer anyway as the engine rarely gets on due to the battery having more capacity. When my engine gets on during summer, more often then not, i'm on a longer trip and the engine will be in for a long time anyway so fuel dilution would then (almost) be a non issue.
IIRC from a couple years back when I still had the ScanGauge-II, you MIGHT be able to get Oil Temp to display, but it would involve some very cryptic work with what the company calls X-gauges. Whether that’s worth attempting, up to you. The III isn’t just prettier than the II, it’s also a whole lot easier to work with, especially with respect to customizing.
Thanks for this. ScanGauge III substantiates what I projected and experienced. The temps are low and under control.
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