Hi Everyone,
If you're interested in an oil advice challenge, I think I'm your guy!
I'm having a hard time figuring out what oil I should put into my 2012 Lexus CT200h that's my daily driver here in Cape Town, South Africa, and I'd really appreciate any advice you can give.
The owner's manual (which seems to be written for the American market) suggests
"'Toyota Genuine Motor Oil' is used in your Lexus vehicle. Use Lexus approved 'Toyota Genuine Motor Oil' or equivalent to satisfy the following grade and viscosity.
Oil grade:
0W-20, 5W-20, 5W-30 and 10W-30:
API grade SL "Energy-Conserving", SM "Energy-Conserving" or ILSAC multigrade engine oil
15W-40 and 20W-50
API grade SL or SM multigrade engine oil"
No mention of change intervals in the manual, although the Lexus service person from last year seemed content with changing only once a year. (I bought the car two years ago.)
Some more details about my location and commute. I live a few blocks from a harbor, so there's some sea salt in the air (relevant?). Weather in Cape Town is mild: never below freezing, with an average winter low of 45F (7C), and not very hot with an average summer high of 80F (27C).
My commute is 5 miles (8 km) start to finish (I'm very lucky!). I drive through two quick traffic lights, then I'm on the highway going 55 mph (85 kph) for most of the way, one traffic light then I park at work. Despite the short commute, I probably drive the car hard, with a pretty fast acceleration onto the highway (where I sometimes go more like 70 mph for the first bit before the speed cameras); the highway also goes through pretty significant elevation gain and loss in both directions.
One of the difficulties is finding any of the above types of oil in the stores here in Cape Town. Of the types listed in the owner's manual, I've only found a very expensive Castrol EDGE Professional OE 5W-30 (and I'm not 100% sure that OE is the same as SL, SM, or ILSAC?) and a Castrol GTX 20W-50 API SL/CF mineral multigrade. So a big part of the challenge is to provide advice on oils that I can actually buy here, if you could, please
I think my two main questions then are: given the above driving habits and location in Cape Town, is there an oil available in South Africa that I should I use and how often should I replace it? Or, of the two options I've found so far, which should I use, and how often should I replace it?
Thank you very much for the help!
If you're interested in an oil advice challenge, I think I'm your guy!
I'm having a hard time figuring out what oil I should put into my 2012 Lexus CT200h that's my daily driver here in Cape Town, South Africa, and I'd really appreciate any advice you can give.
The owner's manual (which seems to be written for the American market) suggests
"'Toyota Genuine Motor Oil' is used in your Lexus vehicle. Use Lexus approved 'Toyota Genuine Motor Oil' or equivalent to satisfy the following grade and viscosity.
Oil grade:
0W-20, 5W-20, 5W-30 and 10W-30:
API grade SL "Energy-Conserving", SM "Energy-Conserving" or ILSAC multigrade engine oil
15W-40 and 20W-50
API grade SL or SM multigrade engine oil"
No mention of change intervals in the manual, although the Lexus service person from last year seemed content with changing only once a year. (I bought the car two years ago.)
Some more details about my location and commute. I live a few blocks from a harbor, so there's some sea salt in the air (relevant?). Weather in Cape Town is mild: never below freezing, with an average winter low of 45F (7C), and not very hot with an average summer high of 80F (27C).
My commute is 5 miles (8 km) start to finish (I'm very lucky!). I drive through two quick traffic lights, then I'm on the highway going 55 mph (85 kph) for most of the way, one traffic light then I park at work. Despite the short commute, I probably drive the car hard, with a pretty fast acceleration onto the highway (where I sometimes go more like 70 mph for the first bit before the speed cameras); the highway also goes through pretty significant elevation gain and loss in both directions.
One of the difficulties is finding any of the above types of oil in the stores here in Cape Town. Of the types listed in the owner's manual, I've only found a very expensive Castrol EDGE Professional OE 5W-30 (and I'm not 100% sure that OE is the same as SL, SM, or ILSAC?) and a Castrol GTX 20W-50 API SL/CF mineral multigrade. So a big part of the challenge is to provide advice on oils that I can actually buy here, if you could, please
I think my two main questions then are: given the above driving habits and location in Cape Town, is there an oil available in South Africa that I should I use and how often should I replace it? Or, of the two options I've found so far, which should I use, and how often should I replace it?
Thank you very much for the help!
