Oil question

[lovemy99camry]

I goofed. I accidentally changed the oil with 5W20 instead of 5W30. Here in Chicago, a cold winter is ahead but is the 5W20 too light? Should I change the oil to the recommended 5W30?

[NoHeat]

I wouldn't worry. A lot of 2011 model cars, like the Mazda I bought this year, actually specify 0W20 oil year round. That's because the manufacturer wants a tiny bit better gas mileage to meet CAFE requirements. The engines didn't really change in the last year or two, but the specified oil viscosity did.

I think for wintertime driving you should be plenty safe, but if you're worried about it, you could add a bottle of oil additive that makes oil more viscous, like STP.

[bepperb]

Your Sienna is fine, you could use 0-20 year round if you wanted.

[lovemy99camry]

Thanks for the help. The table was an eye-opener because both manuals for my two Toyotas mention only one weight. I guess 10W30 and 10W40 are history.

Where did you find it?

[NoHeat]

Originally Posted by lovemy99camry

Where did you find it?

I'm not the one who posted it, but using google I found an original pdf file version posted by someone on an Acura forum, which you can find also by googling this:
toyota oil applications filetype:pdf

Where it came from, I don't know, but I'd guess Toyota supplied it to the parts departments of dealers, since it has the logo for "Toyota Genuine Parts"

[bepperb]

I'm a regular at Bobistheoilguy.com, where this chart was posted by someone from a dealership. It's obviously very helpful since debates about motor oil viscosity can border on religion with some people

Yeah, 10-40 will become obsolete but 5-40 synthetic and 15-40 conventional diesel oils fill those applications pretty easily. 10-30 won't be around much longer simply because modern 5-30 and even 0-30 oils can perform the same task with better cold and startup performance.