Use 5W30 instead?

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forkian

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Maryland, USA
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20. Concerned that maybe the 5W30 get too thick to travel to all parts of the engine.
My other cars use 5W30 and will just be easier to keep one kind of oil on hand, if completely safe to do so.
 
What engine is it? 2.4, 2.5, 3.5? Not that it matters. 5W30 flows pretty good for any temp above what, 0F? and even then, it's still quite liquid. I use it for the rare drops to -20F without a thought.

Anything critical seems to be oiled under pressure (mains, rods) and will get oil pressure very quickly. Stuff that is splash lubed (valve train) can handle "slow" oiling.

I bet if you pull up the manual you'll find that in other parts of the world 5W30 (and thicker) is allowed.
 
Originally Posted by supton
What engine is it? 2.4, 2.5, 3.5? .


It is the 2.5 engine, will be driven primarily in Delaware/Maryland. Usually never gets below 20 degrees F in winter and sometimes over 100 degrees in summer.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by forkian
Originally Posted by supton
What engine is it? 2.4, 2.5, 3.5? .


It is the 2.5 engine, will be driven primarily in Delaware/Maryland. Usually never gets below 20 degrees F in winter and sometimes over 100 degrees in summer.


Perfectly fine. Not that it's scientific proof but my 2.5 has been getting 10W30 for summers, and 5W30 for winter, for the last 2 years. It's content. It's a Toyota, it barely cares, as long as it gets changed more than never.
 
Originally Posted by forkian
Originally Posted by supton
What engine is it? 2.4, 2.5, 3.5? .


It is the 2.5 engine, will be driven primarily in Delaware/Maryland. Usually never gets below 20 degrees F in winter and sometimes over 100 degrees in summer.


I'm in your exact area and you will have no issues with 30 weight oil
 
It won't hurt a thing to run a 5W30 in your engine. The 0W20 that Toyota specifies is fine, too. I've been running a 5W30 in my Tundra - which also specs a 0W20 - and the UOA was great. As others have said, your engine probably specifies a 5W30 when sold overseas.
 
Originally Posted by forkian
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20.


Won't hurt a thing. It really isn't much thicker than xw20 at normal operating temp. (10-15% depending on brand) You might notice a small decrease in fuel economy if you keep track of such things.
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
Originally Posted by forkian
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20.


Won't hurt a thing. It really isn't much thicker than xw20 at normal operating temp. (10-15% depending on brand) You might notice a small decrease in fuel economy if you keep track of such things.


cool.. thanks for all the responses, I will make the switch to 5W30 next OCI
 
Originally Posted by forkian
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20. Concerned that maybe the 5W30 get too thick to travel to all parts of the engine.
My other cars use 5W30 and will just be easier to keep one kind of oil on hand, if completely safe to do so.
We'll they both get honey thick oil in extreme cold and the engine is (should be) designed to handle cold starts so the "5w30 is too thick" worry - promulgated and perpetuated by Subaru and their sevice advisors is just so much jibber jabber with no basis in fact.

Ive found modern engines are somewhat sensitive to viscosity, especially those with variable valve timing. Most like to go as thin as you can before excessive engine racket starts. Many will losses low end torque and the auto trans will not work well givin the loss of torque.

Its a harmless experiment, but I would proceed with knowledge of the fallout from such a choice. .
 
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted by forkian
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20. Concerned that maybe the 5W30 get too thick to travel to all parts of the engine.
My other cars use 5W30 and will just be easier to keep one kind of oil on hand, if completely safe to do so.
We'll they both get honey thick oil in extreme cold and the engine is (should be) designed to handle cold starts so the "5w30 is too thick" worry - promulgated and perpetuated by Subaru and their sevice advisors is just so much jibber jabber with no basis in fact.

Ive found modern engines are somewhat sensitive to viscosity, especially those with variable valve timing. Most like to go as thin as you can before excessive engine racket starts. Many will losses low end torque and the auto trans will not work well givin the loss of torque.

Its a harmless experiment, but I would proceed with knowledge of the fallout from such a choice. .


If modern drivetrains are this sensetive they just would not work in winter versus summer.
 
Originally Posted by forkian
Will it hurt anything to use 5W30 in a 4 cy Rav4 that calls for 0W20 or 5W20. Concerned that maybe the 5W30 get too thick to travel to all parts of the engine.
My other cars use 5W30 and will just be easier to keep one kind of oil on hand, if completely safe to do so.

5W-30 will be 100% fine in that engine.
If it weren't for fuel economy regulations it would spec 5W.30
wink.gif
 
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Why don't you just use what's recommended?
What's with these Toyota people recently running all kinds of heavier duty oils? One guy's running SAE30 in his lexus, another 15W30, this fella want sto run 5w30 do you guys not have any confidence in Toyota engines? Weird how they're getting all the good stuff like they need it or something
wink.gif
 
My Jeep's 3.6 runs smoothly with 0w20, so I just don't see the reason for the thicker oil. This engine runs cool, too, even when rock crawling. It certainly runs cooler than the 3.8 in my JK, which has done fine when I've run 5w20. I'm still waiting to see hard evidence that newer engines running quality 0w20 oils changed at the manufacturer's recommended intervals don't last as long as they would on 5w30. While the oils are thinner, I also think they've been improved. I see a number of engines with over 200k that run great and have done it on 5w20, so I expect 0w20 engines will do just as well.

I remember when engines would croak around 100k miles on 10w40.
 
Originally Posted by IndyFan


I remember when engines would croak around 100k miles on 10w40.


Me too, and on 10W30, straight 30, and 20W50 too. Carburetors and fuel dilution were big contributors to their demise.
 
There's nothing wrong with xw20 . I'm personally aware of a few vehicles with over 300k miles and have run 5w20 exclusively.

But the OP was asking if it would hurt to run 5w30 in his Toyota in the interest of simplifying his oil inventory.

The short and simple answer is: no.
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
There's nothing wrong with xw20 . I'm personally aware of a few vehicles with over 300k miles and have run 5w20 exclusively.

But the OP was asking if it would hurt to run 5w30 in his Toyota in the interest of simplifying his oil inventory.

The short and simple answer is: no.

I agree, I can't imagine how it would do any harm. I'm just curious what good it would do?
 
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