Oil experiences/recommendations in Toyota Sienna??

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We have a 2010 Sienna, 2GRFE engine I believe, with almost 10K miles on it now. I have 20K miles of free oil changes with Toyota conventional, but I'm unsure about what oil to use when I'm on my own. I don't want this to turn into a brand war that can't be backed up with facts, figures, or evidence, so please only let me know if you've had experience with certain oils in this engine. I currently use M1 5W-20 in my Civic with wonderful results (from what the eye can see, body can feel, and ears can hear), but was unsure if the 5W-30 would be optimal in the Sienna or of there was something that ran smoother and kept this engine cleaner. Since the engine's been around a while, there has to be lots of data available for it. Thanks for the info!

BTW, our trips are at least 30 minutes long one-way and 99% of the time it is brought to normal operating temp. That's not much of a factor since I'll more than likely want to use a full syn. We live in south Louisiana so summer's get around 100 with high humidity and winter's get around 30. We drive the vehicle easy with occasional revving with good intentions.
 
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Toyota 0W20 is generally well regarded by knowledgeable people on the forum. Moreover, Toyota rates it for 10k OCIs for many recent vehicles. Your's may be one of those. I'd ask the dealer if this oil is acceptable for a 10k oci and give with it if the answer is yes.
 
Our maintenance indicator comes on at 5K intervals and that's what they recommend for this vehicle (that's when I would do it anyway, even if it said go to 8K like our Honda would)... It also says to use 5W-30... so wouldn't it be "best" to stick with that?
 
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They recommend 0W20 for the 2011 Sienna. Who knows if they changed the engine or just changed the oil recommendation; the dealer should know. Most people here would tell you that 5k OCI with synthetic oil is gross overkill. If you want to stay with a 5K interval and a 5W30 I'd recommend using any good brand name dino. Or you could just go with the Toyota dealer's drum oil if you wanted unimpeachable service records during the warranty period.
 
It's actually the same V6, with an additional 4 cylinder added to the lineup. I may call my dealer and see what's up with that. In any case, I will be using Toyota dino for 15K more miles. Engine does have a lot of chatter, but I hear that's just how Toyota's are. My service department tried explaining the reason to me.. something about the forged pistons expanding and blah blah and that it was normal and nothing to worry about.
 
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In your application, I'd use good conventional oil, changed at 5k mile intervals. Mobil Clean 5000, Pennzoil Yellow Bottle, Quaker State, Valvoline White Bottle. All are good. I would stick with the 5W-30 grade if it were me. I've heard that some of the 2GR-FE engines have some piston slap. It's nothing I've heard from the 1ZZ-FE or 2AR-FE engines I've owned, and I believe that it's particular to that 2GR-FE, for whatever reason.
 
I thought Toyota was now using the same OLM as Honda and GM.

I use PP 5W-30 changed at 5K intervals for a 2005 Sienna with the 3MZ-FE. It's based on the 1MZ sludge monster, I'm taking no chances.
 
Thanks for all the info with PP. Like I said already, I'll have Toyota brand dino in it for 25K miles. Anyone see any adverse affects from switching to PP or M1 after 25K miles of dino? Not too worried about it, just curious.
 
Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
Thanks for all the info with PP. Like I said already, I'll have Toyota brand dino in it for 25K miles. Anyone see any adverse affects from switching to PP or M1 after 25K miles of dino? Not too worried about it, just curious.


We have a 97 4 cyl Camry that we bought with 78k on it. To my knowledge it had never seen synthetic oil before I started it. There has never been any adverse affect. I say again, if you are commmitted to 5K ocis, there is no real reason to use synthetic oil. If you're concerned about the maintenance light, learning to reset it is pretty easy with a very simple internet search. I wouldn't go past the oem reccomended 5k so long as the car is under warranty.
 
I would stick with the viscosity that Toyota recommends.
I have a 2003 Sienna with the 1MZFE motor and do 5K mile changes with synthetic.
The Mobil 1 or Penzoil Platinum oil should give you very good service, if Toyota calls for the 5W-30, then use that.
There are other good brands that will give you good service as well.
It sounds like your driving is very easy on the oil/vehicle.
Short trip driving and lots of stop and go driving are 2 things that are hard on a oil/motor.
Cruising down the highway is VERY easy on your oil/motor.
 
Originally Posted By: teddyboy
Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
Thanks for all the info with PP. Like I said already, I'll have Toyota brand dino in it for 25K miles. Anyone see any adverse affects from switching to PP or M1 after 25K miles of dino? Not too worried about it, just curious.


We have a 97 4 cyl Camry that we bought with 78k on it. To my knowledge it had never seen synthetic oil before I started it. There has never been any adverse affect. I say again, if you are commmitted to 5K ocis, there is no real reason to use synthetic oil. If you're concerned about the maintenance light, learning to reset it is pretty easy with a very simple internet search. I wouldn't go past the oem reccomended 5k so long as the car is under warranty.


I just read all of the oil lessons on the home page which reminded me why I'm partial to synthetics... more flow on cold starts, cooler temps at normal operating temps, and just easier on your engine overall. That, be it true, false, or both, is enough to make me spend a few extra dollars every 6 months to "possibly" keep my vehicle in better shape. No, we don't sit in the driveway for 10 minutes every time we start our vehicle. Although our driving habits are nowhere near severe, I still want to best protection and lubrication possible. (within reason) I do appreciate your concern though and I'm glad I could be fine on dinos, but it sure does make me feel better, and that's usually all that matters.

The reason I read through it was not only to become more familiar with motor oil, but to also give good explanations when people (and it happened at work today BTW) ask me why I waste money on synthetic oils. Something else I gathered from it was, first of all, synthetics offer better protection (period), sticking with the recommended viscosity (or below) is optimal, and brand choice comes in a marginal LAST. My questions to most people would be... with the majority of engine wear coming at the time of a cold start and continuing until the oil is at normal temperature, why do you NOT buy a synthetic to protect against that??? After all, you do shut your engine off at some point, right?

And finally, I know I CAN go past 5k OCI especially when using a synthetic... but I really don't want to... it's not the maintenance light that annoys me. I enjoy doing the work, it makes me feel good knowing it's in tip top shape, and I just really don't want any kind of gamble when it comes to long term reliability. I do appreciate the info though.
 
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