0w20 for a 2nd gen Prius

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4IsWEm

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Hi all,

I am thinking of using a 0w20 oil in my 2004 Prius. I want to have the fuel economy but not lose anything at all in terms of engine longevity (aiming at several 100nds of thousands of miles).

The car is on lpg and is used daily for my trip to work and back, 17.5 miles each way. I also do some longer trips per month, around 125 miles long, sometimes more. I drive conservatively at speeds not exceeding 75mph. There are some mountains around here. Temps range from 15 F to 110 F. I am currently using a 5w40 and have no oil consumtion at all in a 10k mile OCI.

Toyota Hellas suggests using oil no thinner than 5w30, but in 2004 when the vehicle was sold, xw20 oils were totally unknown here.

What would you people suggest that I do?
 
Stick with a 30-weight, but go with a 0W-30.

Did Toyota back-spec this model to a 20-weight? IF they did, feel free to use a 0W-20...if not, see above.
 
Id run a 0-30 in it. Get a uoa done at 5000 and see what it looks like.

Posted at the same time addyguy. I didnt know they possibly had a back spec. +1 on that idea.
 
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I'm in Europe and xw20 oils are very new here, very unlike the US, so, no backspec. That's why I'm asking.
 
does LPG decrease the power output a lot? If so, you could get away with 0W20.

But, if you drive mostly hwy speeds, I would not switch as the fuel difference will be minimal if any, and the small 1.5L engine will be working hard at those speeds (= hot oil).

If you are using 5W40 now, you can step down to 5W30 or 10W30 (will work as well in your climate). Jumping from 5W40 to 0W20 seems a lot.
 
No, lpg doesn't decrease the power output, at least with the latest systems. If fact, it might increase power at low rpms and decrease top speed (which is totally irrelevant for me) by maybe 2mph.
 
I would not. On some of the higher mileage Gen 2s, you will read about oil consumption problems. On a few of the used Gen IIs I have seen on the lot, I pulled the service history and a few of them had oil consumption problems.
 
^^Coming from a Saturn driver lol... anyway, the Prius in Montreal is where you should be IMHO.

The States has slightly cheaper gas... Don't laugh at a Prius until you drive one for 2 years... You'd probably die of a stroke the next time you had to regularly gas up anything else.

Edit, sorry , the States has MUCH cheaper gas... We are paying 5.53$ a gallon right now in Montreal.
 
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I use Mobil 1 0W30 in my 2005 Gen2. However this next change I am going to blend 50/50 with Mobil 1 0W20 and 0W40. I would like to go 100% 0W20 but it has not yet been backspeced here in the US, although in Canada it has.
 
Is this the 1NZ-FE engine? If it is, It has been back spec'd in the US to run 5w20. I am going to try 5w20 in my next OC, so im not sure how it will work. If you go to a Prius forum, you could probably find out what others use, and what has worked for them.
 
It is the 1NZ-FXE engine, a variant of the 1NZ-FE with the atkinson cycle.

Has the 1NZ-FE been back specced to use 5w20 over all areas of the US? Even the hot ones?
 
I don't understand. You have Prius that is one of the most fuel efficient cars already. You converted that to LPG to cut your cost and you still can't afford fuel?

Move from 5W30 to 0W20 will get you minimal if any fuel saving on highway driving. If you drove short trips or in city, yes there could be some measurable difference.

Given your climate and speeds you drive on highway, I would not recommend it. I don't think what Toyota Canada recommends applies to you.

And finely, if you are so hellbent to switch to 0W20, why you use 5W40 now?
 
It's not that I can't afford its fuel, it's just that i won't
spankme2.gif


Salaries have gone down a cliff while fuel is always climbing.

The 5w40 is an old habit that just kept going on.
 
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Originally Posted By: alexeft

Has the 1NZ-FE been back specced to use 5w20 over all areas of the US? Even the hot ones?

Yes. So any light 0W/5W-20 oil will work fine in your '04 Prius.
And if it isn't readily available for a reasonable price in your area a light A1/B1 0W/5W-30 would be a definite improvement over the 5w-40 you're running now.
 
I asked Toyota Europe and Toyota USA. Toyota USA answered with the following:

-----------------------------------------------
Toyota recommends using oil viscosity 5W-30 in the 2004 Prius. You're free to use oil viscosity 0W-20, however, please keep in mind that this will not increase the recommend oil change interval. The 2004 Prius is still recommended to have the engine oil and oil filter changed at every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first, regardless if you use 5W-30 or 0W-20.
------------------------------------------------

Considering that there are parts of the US that are hotter than Greece, I will give it a go in the future and see what it does about FE.
 
Well that is interesting response you got from Toyota USA. At least they are not saying "NO!" to 0W20 here in the USA.

I am using 0W30 now with 10 OCI's. My 2012 Prius C, also with a 1NZ-XFE, is specified for 0W20 at 10k OCI's.

When Toyota Europe responds to you, if they do, please post that too.

Thanks!
 
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