Oil for 2003 Corolla Verso 1.8 vvti 1ZZ-FE

[NGRhodes]

Just put a deposit down for a mint 2003 Verso, full history, main dealer serviced for first 50k miles.

Firstly, am I right in thinking as this car is made in 2003 it wont have the dreaded Oil eating issue that my old 2000 Corolla 1.6vvti had (oil control rings issue) ?

Its currently on 75000 miles, we will be doing approx 10000 a year, 5 days a week doing 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic (3 kids to school/nursery) and gets a good run most weekends.

It will be serviced properly once a year, I am thinking that valid options would be to use a synthetic changed once a year or use a blend and do my own interim oil change.
Near me (in the UK), a good blend is pretty much half the price of a synthetic (Castrol Edge, Fuchs Titan Fuchs Titan Race Pro S GTI Turbo NOS).

Not sure which would be the better option, I plan on using 5w30.

Cheers, Nick.

 

[JC1]

Nick,

Since it's more raining in the UK, I'm wondering if leaving the oil in the crankcase for a whole year is a good idea. I would stick with 6 month oil changes at 5K OCI for you. Not all Toyota engines are bad. Not sure about your engine, but I have a 98 Sienna with the dreaded 3.0 sludger that they talk about. They only develop sludge if they are abused and the PCV valve is never changed. How many corolla 1.6's had the actual problem?

Regards, JC.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: NGRhodes
Just put a deposit down for a mint 2003 Verso, full history, main dealer serviced for first 50k miles.

Firstly, am I right in thinking as this car is made in 2003 it wont have the dreaded Oil eating issue that my old 2000 Corolla 1.6vvti had (oil control rings issue) ?

Its currently on 75000 miles, we will be doing approx 10000 a year, 5 days a week doing 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic (3 kids to school/nursery) and gets a good run most weekends.

It will be serviced properly once a year, I am thinking that valid options would be to use a synthetic changed once a year or use a blend and do my own interim oil change.
Near me (in the UK), a good blend is pretty much half the price of a synthetic (Castrol Edge, Fuchs Titan Fuchs Titan Race Pro S GTI Turbo NOS).

Not sure which would be the better option, I plan on using 5w30.

Cheers, Nick.



LM list 5/30 and 5/40 HC synthetics and part synthetics with a 15K km OCI. If you like Castrol then Edge 5/40 if you have no oil leaks and low oil consumption with a 10K mile or annual OCI, BUT it's worth doing a Blackstones UOA with TBN at 7.5K miles before deciding on a long term plan.
If you do have a few oil drips or burn some oil, then a 5K mile OCI with a major brand part synthetic like Castrol GTX or Magnetec 10/40 would be good, but there is no need to change the oil filter until the main annual service.
As you have an older car I would lean towards the 40 grade. The 30 grade would be fine for a newer car and if you are fussy about oil, stick to a major brand (Castrol, Mobil, Shell and Liqui Moly), not companies that make very cheap oil for truckers and farmers.
I've only looked at the LM oil finder, so DYOR as Mobil and Shell both have good oil finder pages.

 

[randomhero439]

If your using full synthetic, do 7,500 miles or 12 months.
If your using conventional or synthetic blend, do 5,000 miles or 6 months.

 

[bigjl]

I would use 0w40 Mobil 1 New Life and be happy to leave it in for the entire year or 10k.

Get a quality Bosch filter from EuroCarParts, £4:30 - 25% pre order for collection or online discount.

If you want to go down the 5w30 route then go for Castrol Edge FST 5w30 C3 or the cheaper Magnatec 5w30 A1/B1 A5/B5 as listed on Castrol site.

I don't see any reason to change at 6 monthly intervals unless you are doing it yourself and like to get under the car every so often.

If you aren't a member of Costco then try to join as you can get Mobil 1 for under £30 for 5 litres. Also Castrol Edge for under £30 and Magnatec for £22.

As I have learned from the forum one of the reasons for shorter OCI in the US may be to do with more sulphur in the fuel leading to quicker depletion of TBN.

Have a look on Opieoils as they have good offers on Fuchs at the moment.

Specifically the Fuchs Titan XTR 5w30 for £16:99 for 5 litres. There is a charge for delivery but delivery free for orders over £35 so might aswell buy an oil filter, they sell UFI filters I believe, never used them but not heard anything negative either.

Personally is don't see that savings as being worth it to put in semi synth of a blend.

You car takes 4.5 litres so for around £35 you have two oil changes and a litre of top off, add a Bosch filter for around £4 and there you go.

 

[Trav]

You might want to look at Shell Helix Ultra 5w30 with 7,500 OCI.
The 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic 5 days a week are a killer on oil, the weekend runs probably wont offset that significantly.

In your climate under these conditions a 40w might not be the best choice.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: Trav
You might want to look at Shell Helix Ultra 5w30 with 7,500 OCI.
The 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic 5 days a week are a killer on oil, the weekend runs probably wont offset that significantly.

In your climate under these conditions a 40w might not be the best choice.

Did you read the OP's post before replying?

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Try the syn-blend and perform a used oil analysis in confirming to stay with the syn-blend or move to a synthetic.

and....

Welcome!

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: Trav
You might want to look at Shell Helix Ultra 5w30 with 7,500 OCI.
The 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic 5 days a week are a killer on oil, the weekend runs probably wont offset that significantly.

In your climate under these conditions a 40w might not be the best choice.

Did you read the OP's post before replying?

Yes i did. Whats the problem?
Did you? He said he wants to use 5w30!

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: JC1
Nick,

Since it's more raining in the UK, I'm wondering if leaving the oil in the crankcase for a whole year is a good idea. I would stick with 6 month oil changes at 5K OCI for you. Not all Toyota engines are bad. Not sure about your engine, but I have a 98 Sienna with the dreaded 3.0 sludger that they talk about. They only develop sludge if they are abused and the PCV valve is never changed. How many corolla 1.6's had the actual problem?

Regards, JC.


Just a general reply, but I have never seen a UOA with enough water contamination to cause a problem, unless it was from a failed head gasket etc. The 6 months mentioned in some documents is just some gimmick to sell oil. One year is a very standard figure for oil changes in the UK.
A lot of folks worry about sludge and if you have concerns about sludge formation then get an annual UOA with an initial TBN figure done, because if you are not showing high insolubles, the TBN is above one third of the VOA figure and no traces of anti freeze are detected you won't be forming sludge but dissolving it, assuming you are using a good quality oil. Head gasket leaks and snake oil additives (Thickners in particular) are the two main causes of non OCI related sludge cases where a good oil was used.
The oil finders list both 5/30 and 40 for this engine, but because it has a lot of miles a 40 grade makes more sense in terms of reduced oil consumption.
The comment about the Bosch oil filter was good, as oil filter quality is very important and if you don't want to use OEM then BOSCH or Mann are readily available and are both good. If you are in the US, make sure it is a filter marked made in Germany if it is not an OEM one, due to quality control reasons.
Don't pay more just because an oil is marked part synthetic or synthetic blend, because those terms are more marketing gimmicks used to get away from the conventional dino image. There is nothing wrong with conventional oils used for shorter OCI's unless you have a race car or your manual insists on full synthetics. What is much more important is the quality of the oil and if you want to play it safe stick to the major brands. If you are buying a full synthetic it is worth knowing that some bad HC synthetics exist (Mostly on Fleabay in the EU), but oddly enough it is tough to make a German standard (G4 or 5) bad synthetic because only the major oil companies can supply the base stock.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: Trav
You might want to look at Shell Helix Ultra 5w30 with 7,500 OCI.
The 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic 5 days a week are a killer on oil, the weekend runs probably wont offset that significantly.

In your climate under these conditions a 40w might not be the best choice.

Oddly enough I used to think that some years ago, BUT if you do longer faster trips at the weekends as the OP says it makes a big difference in terms of evapourating fuel contamination and burning carbon from the cylinders and exhaust system. If you only do short trips and never do a long fast one it is real bad news.
The only way of figuring out the effects of useage is a few UOA's with TBN, although for a petrol engine the spark plugs can give a good indication from the correct light grey colour.
If you have a short trip related deposits and contamination issue and don't want to go for Sunday (Once a month absolute minimum??) blast down the nearest highway for at least an hour, think about fitting a big sump heater and use it any day the AC is not needed. They only cost about a hundred dollars for a big one or several around the block and sump if possible (Fleabay from the US) and the cost in electric is about the same as the fuel saving. Cooking up the oil and block will make a big difference in reducing cold start wear and deposits from the initial rich fuel mixture, it's also nice in winter to get the heater working faster.
My own useage is very similar to the OP and my UOA's seems to indicate about a 25% reduction in potential oil life in comparison with other similar engines. If you get stuck in traffic a lot and don't do hours based OCI's as some big city taxis do, then half the recommended normal or max OCI figure, as too much time at idle is a worse oil killer than short tripping in winter.

 

[Brule]

At least in the US there were no complaints of the 1.8 vvti 1ZZ-FE engine concerning oil use. I had that engine in my MR2 Spyder. I used Mobil 1 5w30 and it never consumed oil.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: Brule
At least in the US there were no complaints of the 1.8 vvti 1ZZ-FE engine concerning oil use. I had that engine in my MR2 Spyder. I used Mobil 1 5w30 and it never consumed oil.


Good engines that are not pushed too hard should burn very little oil between OCI's, for a normal car engine 1 quart in 10K miles should be the maximum if the main block and oil are working well together, but the new generation engines often list 1 quart in 1K miles as the warranty limit.
If you burn more than that it's often worth looking for a reason and not just accepting it as old age and thinking about a 40 grade or even HM oil if they are recommended in the oil guides etc.

 

[Hokiefyd]

The 1ZZ-FE engines are pretty easy on oil, and should be able to safely run extended intervals on good quality oil. 10,000 miles/15,000 kilos should be doable on a top-notch synthetic, provided a good filter, but I would validate that with a UOA afterward.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: Trav
You might want to look at Shell Helix Ultra 5w30 with 7,500 OCI.
The 2 to 5 mile journeys in light/medium traffic 5 days a week are a killer on oil, the weekend runs probably wont offset that significantly.

In your climate under these conditions a 40w might not be the best choice.

Did you read the OP's post before replying?

Yes i did. Whats the problem?
Did you? He said he wants to use 5w30!


But you have stated a -w40 might not be the best idea when he clearly stated he wants to run 5w30.

Thus your comment is pointless.

 

[NGRhodes]

Going to try and collate my replies to everyone:

JC1, I don't leave the bonnet open, so no worries about rain diluting the oil
I think only a low amount of Corollas got oil eating problems, no idea on specifics beyond what I read on here.

skyship, Im not too bothered about brands for standard car use, I picked Castrol as a common example. The car had a service one month ago and currently has 5w30 in, unless oil consumption is high I see no reason to change to a somethingW-40.

randomhero439, Trav: 7.5k OCI is not convinient as service book interval is 10,000 miles or 1 year.

bigjl, Yes, I have family with a Costco card, so getting Mobil 1 is an option - I forgot how cheap they sell it !
Yes got a ECP and an Andrew Pages local. Is the Bosch filter superior to a good OEM spec ?
I am quite happy to get the car on the ramps for a 6 month oil change, TBH I tend to help do the servicing of our cars with my brother (a Vintage car restorer by trade) at his garage.

LargeCarManX2, as much as a few UOA would be useful, I would of thought I could just put M1 in and change twice a year.

My current Mazda and my previous Corolla (with the 1.6 VVTi), both stated a 10K normal interval, but for pure town or extended strenuos driving (mountains and spirited driving) to do an interim oil change, I guess this Corrola with be the same.

Additionally, after reading the great reports from Bill-in-Utah, I'm not hung up a "real" synthetic or blend, more interested if picking an API SM/SN is more important than picking Dino/Synth.

My aim is for the cheapest option that will comfortably (keep in spec) do a 5k or 10k OCI.

Cheers, Nick.

 

[NGRhodes]

After looking at the prices of suitable oils available to me, I have decided to go for an oil suitable for 5k miles / 6 months.

Fuchs Titan XTR mentioned is good, but for a very similar price I can also get genuine Toyota 5w30 semi synthetic for the same price, not sure which is better (want to get 2x5l soon) ?

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Brule
At least in the US there were no complaints of the 1.8 vvti 1ZZ-FE engine concerning oil use. I had that engine in my MR2 Spyder. I used Mobil 1 5w30 and it never consumed oil.


Very untrue. Huge oil consumption issue in 1ZZ-FE engine in US corolla made between 1998-2002. Only in mid 2003 oil consumption was totally fixed. It took improved bores, better rings and more oil holes in piston. It's possible synthetic oils only prevented that.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: NGRhodes


Additionally, after reading the great reports from Bill-in-Utah, I'm not hung up a "real" synthetic or blend, more interested if picking an API SM/SN is more important than picking Dino/Synth.

My aim is for the cheapest option that will comfortably (keep in spec) do a 5k or 10k OCI.

Cheers, Nick.


Keep in mind that Bill's corolla had all oil conserving fixes as his is 2005-06 IRRC.

I have 2003 corolla with 1ZZ-FE engine and I did develop oil consumption at 75,000 miles after 5000 miles OCI with mineral oils. Apparently mine was made at the end of 2002 and had improved rings but old pistons.

If you want to care about the oil consumption, figure out if yours had the fixes, keep oil level 0.5L higher per Toyota's TSB, and use only quality synthetic oils if you have old piston design.

 

[Brule]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: Brule
At least in the US there were no complaints of the 1.8 vvti 1ZZ-FE engine concerning oil use. I had that engine in my MR2 Spyder. I used Mobil 1 5w30 and it never consumed oil.


Very untrue. Huge oil consumption issue in 1ZZ-FE engine in US corolla made between 1998-2002. Only in mid 2003 oil consumption was totally fixed. It took improved bores, better rings and more oil holes in piston. It's possible synthetic oils only prevented that.


Did not know about this problem. I owned my car from 2002-2006 and at that time Spyder owners were just concerned about a pre-cat problem that quickly destroyed many engines. Oil consumption came on fast, and soon the engine was gone. Neither Corolla or Celica owners experienced this and it was assumed the pre-cats, so close to the manifold [on the Spyder] were the culprits. Maybe we didn't hear about the Corolla oil consumption issue at that time because it came on at higher miles.