5W40 for Low Mileage?

The owner's manual will tell you what the recommended oil for that car's engine is (sometimes it may vary depending on ambient temperature).

well, insisting or not, the decision is ultimately YOURS. I would have put

10w-30 in and called it all good. the 5W-40 is fine actually, it acts like 5 weight when cold and acts like 40 weight when hot, so all in all, it's a fine choice, however, the 5w-40 is probably synthetic.. so.. $$$

"Eric F" wrote in news:sn6kb.24$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com:

Hmmm...I'll have to take a look at the owner's manual...and also the receipt. The price seemed a little steep, but they did other things besides just changing the oil (checking air filter, fluid levels, etc.).

Oh, and I realize now I misspoke when I said 10w-40. I use 10w-30 for my own car. Old habits die hard...I used to live in a different climate which required the 40 weight.

Yes -- this should be your guide. I'm not intimately familiar with that generation of Toyotas, but look in the manual.

10W40 fell into bad odor some years ago due to some sort of failures. I forget what the problems supposedly were, or how well founded, or how resolved. Generally speaking, though, the best oils will be found in narrowest multi-viscosity range that will serve the purpose. One most commonly sees 5W30 or 10W30 specified for modern cars.

Now, that refers to refined oils. A 5W40 is almost certainly a

*synthetic* motor oil. They protect your engine better under extreme conditions and are a bit slipperier, compared to dinosaur squeezin's. They are also more expensive, as you probably noticed. I use them in all the engines I maintain except for one Jeep that is making like the one-hoss shay in that old poem and all falling apart at once (it gets whatever is the cheapest house-brand 10W40).

So I'd venture that (a) its viscosity range is a superset of what would be appropriate for your car anywhere it is likely to be driven at any time of year; and (b) your mechanic has talked you into using a superior oil on a car that is young enough for a hope of longevity payback in addition to some day-to-day advantages.

Some people also go for an extended change interval when using synthetics. I'd say that that decision should be based on a combination of what the manual has to say and on experience with how fast your car, in your driving cycle, dirties its oil. I personally look upon this as a get-out-of-jail-free card in case I forgetfully let it go four or five thousand miles. (If a Southern California freeway commute doesn't fall into the "severe service" category, I don't know what would!) Even synthetic oil is a small part of the cost of ownership, so I figure why take the chance.

Cheers,

--Joe

snipped-for-privacy@california.com (Ad absurdum per aspera) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I got a better oil than was needed. My Dad rarely drives, drives only on surface streets, and drives only in a moderate climate (so Cal). But the only downside is cost, so I won't worry about it.

Strange though that the mechanic used "low mileage" as the justification. The justifications I'm hearing are climatic extremes, severe driving cycles, extended change intervals, etc. but not low mileage. Guess the mechanic pulled that one out of the air. I still have to check out the owner's manual, though...maybe that will shed some light (won't see the manual till this weekend).

Approximately 10/20/03 17:11, MC uttered for posterity:

Short drives mostly on surface streets is one of the worst things you can do to an engine oil, compared to running the same vehicle the exact same mileage on a freeway. With the exception of course that in SoCal, the surface streets may be better since the average speed may actually be higher and allows the oil to get hot enough to evaporate crap out of it.

Perhaps low mileage for the relative age? Still in SoCal, unless the vehicle manufacturer specs 5w40, it seems overkill.

At first I interpreted this as "the car is young, so you have a good chance of seeing a payback from reduced wear if you use synthetic oil." It just dawned on me that maybe what the mechanic was getting at is, "This car is seldom driven, so it needs an oil that will leave a protective film on the cylinder walls and in the bearings the longest." And/or "It is not driven very far at one time and gotten fully warmed up, so it needs the best detergent qualities and resistance to contamination."

Sitting for long periods of time and only being used on very short trips are additional justifications for a best-quality motor oil, in my opinion.

Cheers,

--Joe

snipped-for-privacy@california.com (Ad absurdum per aspera) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

You and Lon have a good point about the car not driven very far and being fully warmed up, etc.. My dad mainly uses the car for short trips like the grocery store and errands. His speeds are pretty slow since it's a lot of stop signs and traffic signals. So 5w-40 is looking better all the time. All things being equal, it probably was a good deal for him.

Approximately 10/21/03 16:07, MC uttered for posterity:

I was posing it as a possibility for the mechanic's thinking, not that I necessarily agree with it. I'd be more likely to use an oil additive such as STP Oil Treatment or similar, since that leaves a coating on pretty much anything it touches.

"Contrive an excuse to drive someplace at least ten miles away about once a week" is probably the best solution of all, in this situation. Cuts down on condensation in the exhaust system, for example, besides being good for the engine.

It's worth mentioning that the car's various accessory systems ought to be exercised too, in such a a lightly used vehicle. Air conditioning is an especially notorious "use or it lose it" item (and these days, an expensive one).

It also occurs to me that a tank of gas probably sits in that car a long time. What do you think is the best strategy for dealing with that -- let it get low? keep it pretty full? use some additive? ignore it as a non-issue that was worth worrying about back in the day but not anymore?

Cheers,

--Joe