Oil Recommendations for 03 Corolla ?

[Daboa]

Hi all,

I recently got a 2003 Corolla S with 70k miles and I want to treat it right. I want it to last. My Toyota manual indicates I should use 5w30 dino every 7.5k. Cool. But would synthetic be better? And what about this engine apparently being "backspec'd" to 5w20? My dipstick has some staining on it. Does that indicate anything about what oil I should use? These are my questions.

My info as per the sticky:

1. 2003 Corolla S, 70k miles
2. Oil specs from manual: SAE 5w30, "API grade SL "Energy-Conserving" or ILSAC multigrade engine oil is recommended"
3. I live in FL but will travel to NC this winter (lows down to 20 F)
4. I'm an easy driver, cautious and economical
5. My daily commute is 9 miles round trip, but I sometimes take a 500 mile weekend round trip.
6. My car has no known problems.

My questions:

1. My dipstick has some staining on it. Does this indicate I should use a certain kind of oil? Maybe something with high mileage or cleaning additives?
2. According to Bob's Oil 101, lower start-up viscosity can only be advantageous, so is there any reason for me not to use 0w30 instead of 5w30?
3. With the whole "backspec'd to 5w20 issue, I get the feeling that 5w30 may still be the way to go. Toyota also recommends to stick with 5w30 for my year.
4. Finally, it sounds like synthetic is better for engines. Any arguments for/against spending the extra $12 at Walmart to get a decent synthetic?

If no feedback suggests otherwise, my plan is to go to Walmart and get some Pennzoil Platium (5qt) or some Mobil 1 High Mileage (5qt) 5w30 for ~$27. I'll be using a Purolater PureONE filter.

 

[panthermike]

We just recently sold our '03 Corolla, great car. I always used synthetic in ours due to some not being sure about the carbon buildup/oil burning issue on some 1ZZFE's. I believe friendlyjacek's '03 started burning oil well before 100K. Sold ours with 127K and ZERO oil burning. Used synthetic almost exclusively the whole time. 5-6K OCI's, which is overkill but worked fine for me.

I personally would stay with the 5w30, don't think you'll see any benefit from running 5w20. Unless of course you were in a really cold weather state. BTW, your plan is a good one. I once got the dipstick staining with Edge, but went away when I went to Schaeffer's. Don't think it's harmful, just sharing my experience since you have it as well. Ours had the staining also when purchased at 25K, but it went away quickly with synthetic usage.

 

[Astro14]

Platinum would be a great choice. My 2006 is quite clean inside. It's been run on Platinum, M1 and Edge...whatever was on sale at the time. I have stuck with 5W30, and I live in a relatively mild climate.

 

[Rolla07]

I have used a combination of different oils in mine. 0w20, 5w20,5w30. I have used conventional and syn in this engine without issue. Im at 110k miles, and no oil burning. Currently Im running Pennzoil Ultra with a PureOne filter. My OCI by MFR is listed as 7500kms (5k miles) but with the combo I am using I am running 10,000kms (7500k mile) intervals. PP, PU or M1 are all good choices. If no issues now, I would get some 0w30 or 0w20 PP or M1 and use that. This engine is not picky. I did have an impression that it seems to run better with 0w30 or 5w30 over the 0w20 or 5w20. My next OCI is going to be with PU 5w20 as it is currently using right now. When I need to buy more oil, I will be trying out a 0w30 oil, im still experimenting. It ran great on the TGMO 5w30 oil (non synthetic).

 

[LazyPrizm]

The 2003 model was supposed to correct the 98-02s deficiency in the piston oil return holes, but as friendly_jacek discovered on his car, that wasn't the case for all '03s.

My car is a 2002, the best advice I can give you besides oil suggestions (which have already been covered) is to keep an eye on the oil level in case it starts consuming it. In my car, it loses 1qt about every 2000 miles, which is enough to send the level from full to low on the dipstick. I top off and motor on.

FishExpo on Corolland has run synthetic for the entire life of his '01 (?) and had no burning, so there may be something to that. Also, many people with 98-02/03 have noted that oil consumption is greater when the car is run at higher RPM (ie, long highway trips).

On the other hand, IIRC, Bill in Utah here always ran whatever 5W-30 was on sale, lots of highway miles, and never had burning/consumption. YMMV!

Good luck!

 

[SatinSilver]

I'd stick with a 5w30 or 0w30. I have a 2005 Matrix with 72k miles and no staining on the dipstick and no measurable consumption. When I went from 5w20 to 5w30 I liked how the engine seemed a bit quieter and smoother. I'll stay with a 30 weight from here on out. I use either Motorcraft syn-blend or the Toyota bulk oil from the dealer.

I remember my 99 Accord 4 cyl had staining on the dipstick. I bought the car new and had dealer oil changes every 4-5k miles. I attribute the staining to the cheap generic bulk oil they used.

You can also try some Valvoline MaxLife to possibly get rid of the staining. That oil helped corral some oil consumption in the Accord that I caught early on.

 

[genynnc]

270K+ on my parents '03 Corolla... I've used every kind of oil brand in 5w-30. Changed at 6K with dino...9K with synthetic. Simply put... the car doesn't care.

 

[Finn]

Bought 2003 Corolla new back in the day and used M1 0W-40 as long as I owned the car.

 

[mikered30]

Originally Posted By: Finn
Bought 2003 Corolla new back in the day and used M1 0W-40 as long as I owned the car.


Was that in Finland with the 1zz fe engine? Just curious what they called for in overseas models.

 

[Finn]

Originally Posted By: mikered30
Was that in Finland with the 1zz fe engine? Just curious what they called for in overseas models.


Mine was the 1.6 litre 3ZZ-FE.

According to Internet the engines were as follows:

Engines available in Finland were

1.4 (4ZZ-FE) (1398 cm³) DOHC, VVT-i, 95 hp
1.6 (3ZZ-FE) (1598 cm³) DOHC, VVT-i, 109 hp
1.8 (2ZZ-GE) (1796 cm³) DOHC, VVTL-i, 192 hp
1.4 D (1ND-TV) (1364 cm³) DOHC, D-4D, 90 hp
2.0 D (1CD-FTV) (1995 cm³) DOHC, D-4D, 90/116 hp

in rest of the Europe

1.4 (4ZZ-FE) (1398 cm³) DOHC, VVT-i, 95 hp
1.6 (3ZZ-FE) (1598 cm³) DOHC, VVT-i, 109 hp
1.8 (2ZZ-GE) (1796 cm³) DOHC, VVTL-i, 192 hp
1.8 Compressor (2ZZ-GE) (1796 cm³) DOHC, VVTL-i, 225 hp, 230 Nm
1.4 D (1ND-TV) (1364 cm³) DOHC, D-4D, 89 hp
2.0 D (1CD-FTV) (1995 cm³) DOHC, D-4D, 114 hp

 

[zeuloa]

Originally Posted By: mikered30
Originally Posted By: Finn
Bought 2003 Corolla new back in the day and used M1 0W-40 as long as I owned the car.


Was that in Finland with the 1zz fe engine? Just curious what they called for in overseas models.


Here is the one for my car with the 3ZZ-FE engine, but all the Toyota manuals Ive seen here are similar:

To OP: I would stick to 5w30. If synthetic I would do 7500, if conventional I would do 5000 miles. Toyota has a 5w30 that I understand is very good.

 

[zeuloa]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I have used a combination of different oils in mine. 0w20, 5w20,5w30. I have used conventional and syn in this engine without issue. Im at 110k miles, and no oil burning. Currently Im running Pennzoil Ultra with a PureOne filter. My OCI by MFR is listed as 7500kms (5k miles) but with the combo I am using I am running 10,000kms (7500k mile) intervals. PP, PU or M1 are all good choices. If no issues now, I would get some 0w30 or 0w20 PP or M1 and use that. This engine is not picky. I did have an impression that it seems to run better with 0w30 or 5w30 over the 0w20 or 5w20. My next OCI is going to be with PU 5w20 as it is currently using right now. When I need to buy more oil, I will be trying out a 0w30 oil, im still experimenting. It ran great on the TGMO 5w30 oil (non synthetic).


10,000 KM is actually 6200 miles.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
The 2003 model was supposed to correct the 98-02s deficiency in the piston oil return holes, but as friendly_jacek discovered on his car, that wasn't the case for all '03s.


The problem with 2003 MY it started production in early 2002 and the piston fix didn't happen until year later sometime in early calendar year 2003. Even the 2003 MY made in 2002 have improved rings, so that's a bit better than the 1998-2002 ones, but not as good as later 2003 and + MY.

Knowing what I know now, I would only use synthetic oils. I would not even try those older 7,500 mile intervals. They were later revised down to 5,000 miles.

 

[default]

I run M1 0w40 in my 99, based on how hard I run it and how everywhere else on earth the 1ZZ gets 40 weight. Any 5w30 full syn would be good though.

 

[Daboa]

Thanks for all of the replies. To be safe, I think I'll stick with 5k OCI for a while. I wasn't aware that the recommended OCI had changed for 2004, which has the same engine.