Toyota Dealer uses Castrol instead of Toyota oil

[paulswagelock]

I purchased a new Toyota Corolla for my son a few months ago. It came with the "free" maintenance plan. So we finally hit 5000 miles (recommended OCI), and I had my son run it in for service. Upon his return, I see they used 5w20 Castrol Synthetic Blend, not the OEM full synthetic. I was under the impression Toyota was recommending full synthetic, 0w20 in its 4 cylinder engines these days.

I have not seen much on Castrol Blend - decent oil?
As this is our 4th car, and I have a 3 bay garage, it sits outside (Pa winter), does lots of short trips, and rarely sees 1000 miles/month. Anyone see any problems with their oil selection?

Thanks.

 

[SLCraig]

I doubt there is a problem with it.
You are doing the service there on a new car with warranty. They'll be covering anything if there are problems so I would just continue to get the service done there and not worry about it honestly.

On that note, I think the oil is fine either way, I've used Castrol products before and was always confident in them.

 

[Steve S]

Silly question, why would there be a problem with the oil?

 

[silvert4r]

Lots of Toyo dealerships around here use bulk Castrol for the free oil changes as well as oil change specials. If you want the premium stuff you have to ask for it.

 

[paulswagelock]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
Silly question, why would there be a problem with the oil?


Sitting days on end in 0 deg weather, to start and run for a 15 minute trip to school - wouldn't that qualify as harsher service? Maybe a better application for Synthetic?

I thought the purpose of this forum was to ask opinions of others that might have seen it before, or know a little more??

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
On that note, I think the oil is fine either way, I've used Castrol products before and was always confident in them.

+1
It is unusual though that they would use that, since the manual on mine says use 0W-20 also, ssys can use 5W-20 if 0W-20 isn't available, but should go back to 0W-20 at the next scheduled oil change. Even the filler cap says 0W-20 on it.
I think it just has to do with gas mileage and either is fine to use.

My manual (Tacoma 4 cilynder) also says a higher viscosity oil may be better for towing or hard driving...or words to that effect.

I get free oil changes for 2 years, so I don't care which they use, but I'm bringing my own filter.

 

[JHZR2]

Are you saying that Toyota puts synthetic in the corolla? Doubtful. I'd have to guess that the castrol is as good or better than the OE toyota oil.

BTW, shouldn't your name be spelled swagelok????

 

[paulswagelock]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
I get free oil changes for 2 years, so I don't care which they use, but I'm bringing my own filter.

Interesting enough, they did use a genuine Toyota oil filter without substituting a cheaper one.

 

[Mofongo]

My Toyota dealership uses Castrol as well and if you want a full synthetic you have to pay about double the price. Hence, I do my own oil changes now

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: paulswagelock
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Silly question, why would there be a problem with the oil?


Sitting days on end in 0 deg weather, to start and run for a 15 minute trip to school - wouldn't that qualify as harsher service? Maybe a better application for Synthetic?

I thought the purpose of this forum was to ask opinions of others that might have seen it before, or know a little more??
I if anything would worry about changing the oil more often due to condensation in the oil. Syn oil won't help with the condensation and 5w-20 is pretty good cold weather oil. Do a used oil anaylsis to see how the oil is holding up and go from there . I do not mean to do one every oil change just to see what is going on.

 

[Jim 5]

My belief based on quite a few years reading and contributing to bitog is that a modern EFI normally aspirated engine will do very well on any reputable dino oil at 5k intervals.

5k in your car on a Castrol semi-syn blend would make me sleep very well at night.

 

[infecto]

Originally Posted By: paulswagelock
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Silly question, why would there be a problem with the oil?


Sitting days on end in 0 deg weather, to start and run for a 15 minute trip to school - wouldn't that qualify as harsher service? Maybe a better application for Synthetic?

I thought the purpose of this forum was to ask opinions of others that might have seen it before, or know a little more??


You did not say that before....you stated that they used 5w-20 not 0w....you said nothing about it sitting in 0 deg weather and never being driven.

For the record at least in 2010 Corollas, 5w-20 is still spec AFAIK. I know some of the other '10 models used 0w-20 but not the Corolla. This is of course assuming they did not change it mid year and the manual is still correct.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

The Castrol blend will work just fine in your son's Corolla. Those Corolla 4 cylinder engines are solid!

 

[crazyoildude]

Castrol, BP
Makes very good oils..I have been to one of their plants serveral times and you could eat off the floor...They run A Very Very strict operation..
They have a very good product...The only reason i dont use their oil all the time is the price is on the high side but when there is a good sale i buy a few gallons

 

[mongo161]

Any good Dino oil is fine to use. The Dino oils of today are made so good that it is hard to see a difference between pure synthetic that uses Dino as base stock and conventional Dino oils.

IMO...After the warranty period is up on the Toyota, you should look into using Dino oil all of the time and save some money since the car is used mainly for short trips. Now is the time to get your son interested in performing his own maintenance on his car and the others in the household. A Father and son team for auto maintenance and bonding, while working on their own vehicles, can't be beat by any dealership or mechanic.

I love the SOPUS products in Dino and have Formula Shell 05W-30 in service now. If you want a blend, you can try to DIY with you son, by using some WM Super-tech Synthetic mixed with PYB at 50/50 with an over-sized P1, K&N, Mobil1, Wix or Napa Gold oil Filter. Just my 2 cents worth for today....

 

[2oldtommy]

The concern that I would have would be the guy that does the oil change. Many places hire the high school dropouts to man the lube rack. In my experience a free oil change at the dealership turned out to have 2 qts overfill on one ocasion and failure to replace the fill cap on another. Be sure to check everything the minute you arrive at home! The oil they say they are using for your Corrola is fine for the warranty period.FWIW--Oldtommy

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: paulswagelock
I thought the purpose of this forum was to ask opinions of others that might have seen it before, or know a little more??


Yes, that's right. Do you see something else happening?

Castrol blend is a fine oil and will serve you well.

 

[moto94536]

Don't underestimate castrol motor oil. It is the best. I start with castrol gtx, gtx high mileage, now syntec on my 2006 toyota camry v6. It is a strong oil. Castrol oil make my camry engine so much quieter, no oil consumption. Engine run like brand new.


Honda dealer use Castrol products here in Reno. afew members are saying Acura dealers also using castrol oil.

 

[moto94536]

Yes. the most important thing is put correct weight such as 5w30, or 5w20... and correct oil capacity.

I will never change my oil at pepboys. those guys put 6 qt engine oil in my 2006 camry v6. It should be only 5 qt.

but yea, now I change my oil at walmart. I am happy to do business with them.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: 2oldtommy
...Be sure to check everything the minute you arrive at home!...

I don't wait that long. I look it over in the parking lot right there.