Why don't use High Miles oil 5W20? Ok, for now, but consider what I suggest.

 

My daughters 06 Corolla has over 400000K still using 0-20 no issues.
The engine is designed for 5-20 , keep using it.

 

I'm at 50k on my tundra, switched from spec 0w20 to 5w30. It's better except for gas mileage. The same engine in other countries has a spectrum of oil grades to use from 0w20 up to 15w40 depending on where you are in the world and the climate. Same engines, different oils. Thicker is known to be better for protection so that's what I use, don't care about gas mileage.

 

Stay with the recommended viscosity for your local outside temperatures BUT, if you switch to a high mileage oil (more additives, seal swellers) you should stay with high mileage oil. I switched to high mileage synthetic and have ZERO oil burn and a slow leak is much slower. If you want to add more then Rislone half-quarts of high mileage additive is good. Stay away from super thick stuff like STP or Lucas in the quart bottle.

Higher than recommended viscosity oil just because the engine has high mileage will accelerate wear of rings and bearings. Your mechanic is giving you info that applies more to a 1967 engine than a 2007. Back then metals and tolerances were different and you could get away with that, not so much today.

 

Either is fine but if you make me choose, I'd go with what has been working for it a long time, of course, what matters most is keeping it at least half way on the dipstick and short OCIs, maybe all the way down to 4K with high mileage as others suggested?

 

check your oil level YOURSELF. confirm the oil was even changed. Smell it, no bs. Old oil or contaminated oil will have a pungent smell. while regular oil smells like, well.. oil!

no better confirmation then seeing for yourself. post a pic if you're color blind or misplaced other senses 😉

hate when shops do that. They usually decide it based on what is most effective in cost and available. 5w30 can and does usually cost less than 0w20 at least for the brands i like to use. i do it oil change myself though. don't trust anyone else

 

Stick with the oil that's specified for your vehicle by Toyota not some guy at the shop.

 

+1 I prefer the specs from country's that don't have CAFE and other emissions standards so I use either 5w30 or 0w30. The thicker oil is proven to protect the rings and bearings far better than 0w20 will. You'll just lose 0.1% mpg because the engine becomes that much less efficient. Either way, change oil frequently and be sure there's the right amount and your car will thank you. Thinner oils combined with GDI engines just make the oil go bad sooner and should be changed well before the 10k interval for best results. Thicker oil is proven to protect better at the cost of some mpg, otherwise all the diesel trucks and tractor trailers would be using 0w20. But for whatever reason, they still use 5w40 or 15w40. Weird.

 

... for a long time now my car has been burning oil and have to add oil often between oil changes, sometimes I put high milage 5w20 sometimes not because I'm not sure if it's good or necessary.

The car should burn less oil if you use a thicker grade. The best solution IMHO is to sell or trade the car as soon as possible.

 

I’ve been burning oil for 140k miles. It can be done. Though mine burns through the valve seals. Piston rings will likely get worse over time

 

The Car Care Nut said in one of his videos that engines of that vintage (early days of 0W-20 recommendations) were designed for 5W-30 and would do better using it. There should be zero problems or symptoms from its use. It's unlikely that the thicker viscosity will make any significant difference in oil consumption, but it can't hurt. Some product reps admit privately that there is little if any difference between "high mileage" and regular oil. It will neither help nor hurt.

 

Having built and raced engines in NHRA and SCCA, viscosity and thicker oil really depends on bearing clearances. Newer OE engines run pretty tight tolerances...hence thinner oil viscosity.
As the bearing surfaces wear, the tolerances become greater and a thinner oil doesn't give the same protection as a slightly thicker oil would.
Most of the high mileage oils contain different additives and one is to help stock leaks, and because a thinner oil will leak faster than a thicker oil, some mechanics suggest thicker. A leak is a leak, if it leaks faster or slower is neither hear or there for me, but if you start using high mileage oil, don't stop...the oil will leak faster without the high mileage additive protection.
As long as the engine doesn't make a knocking or other funny noise it will be fine. My wife's 2016 RAV4 SE had over 125k miles and I still used the same oil as it came from the factory...although I did change it every 5k miles since the car was new and generally did all the recommended services along the way...just my three cents worth.

 

Having built and raced engines in NHRA and SCCA, viscosity and thicker oil really depends on bearing clearances. Newer OE engines run pretty tight tolerances...hence thinner oil viscosity. As the bearing surfaces wear, the tolerances become greater and a thinner oil doesn't give the same protection as a slightly thicker oil would. Most of the high mileage oils contain different additives and one is to help stock leaks, and because a thinner oil will leak faster than a thicker oil, some mechanics suggest thicker. A leak is a leak, if it leaks faster or slower is neither hear or there for me, but if you start using high mileage oil, don't stop...the oil will leak faster without the high mileage additive protection. As long as the engine doesn't make a knocking or other funny noise it will be fine. My wife's 2016 RAV4 SE had over 125k miles and I still used the same oil as it came from the factory...although I did change it every 5k miles since the car was new and generally did all the recommended services along the way...just my three cents worth.

Maverick is totally correct. I need to point out some thing, though, when people are talking about thicker and thinner oils. Remember that the first number is the viscosity of the oil when it is cold at start up. The second number is the viscosity of the oil when it is hot. The lower first number, 0W in this case as opposed to 5W means that the oil will be thinner at start up. This will allow the oil to circulate quicker and get to the parts that have very tight clearances and lubricate them at the most critical time which is start up. We should all be more concerned with the second number based on the consumption of oil that the car uses. I think that if there’s a way to use 0W it should be used to help lubricate the car to start up. If the car is consuming oil When using 0W 20, and if it is doing so at an excessive rate, then possibly switching to 0W 20 high mileage may help. If the 0W 20 high mileage doesn’t help, then I would give the 0W 30 high mileage a shot.

Looking at the big picture, if you start off with 0W 20 or 5W 20 after the engine heats up, you will end up at the same viscosity. The same goes for 0W 30 or 5W 30. After either heats up, you’re gonna end up with either 20 weight oil or 30 weight oil. The key to minimizing engine wear in those tight clearances that Maverick mentioned is getting oil to lubricate them as quickly as possible. That’s why 0W I believe is very important.

 

Your car wouldn’t be burning oil of you had switched sooner. It’s common knowledge that thinner oil is for fuel efficiency with a tradeoff of engine longevity.

Mechanics have recommended thicker oil for years in older cars that have oil consumption to both slow the wear and reduce oil consumption.
As far as following the manual, that’s what ruined your engine

 

Your car wouldn’t be burning oil of you had switched sooner. It’s common knowledge that thinner oil is for fuel efficiency with a tradeoff of engine longevity. Mechanics have recommended thicker oil for years in older cars that have oil consumption to both slow the wear and reduce oil consumption. As far as following the manual, that’s what ruined your engine

The 2007 4cyl Camry had a piston ring issue and the car care nut has done videos of the rebuild process.

 

The thinking behind higher viscosity for older engines is 30 years out of date. Today's cars as many have offered are differently engineered.

In short I would find a new mechanic. One who's kept up with the times.
Nothing wrong with old (I'm 73）

 

The thinking behind higher viscosity for older engines is 30 years out of date. Today's cars as many have offered are differently engineered.

In short I would find a new mechanic. One who's kept up with the times.
Nothing wrong with old (I'm 73）

30 years? Thanks for the chuckle 🤭

 

Did your car use oil between oil changes????????????
If not, stick with recommended. One only needs thicker oil if the lighter oil is being burned up.

 

I feel if it has variable valve timing it's specifically designed for a specific weight of oil 52530 whatever it happens to be. Just make sure you keep the oil at optimum level even though you're burning oil and check your spark plugs now and then you don't need to buy the good expensive ones I put cheap ones in my 2003 and it runs fine now it doesn't burn oil but it has 170,000 miles and was not taken care of I remedied most of the problems and I painted my car for 200 bucks I figure how bad could it be LOL but I would definitely stick with what is said on the oil cap.

 

Different oil type would't cause the engine to rattle but over filling it would. I'd check dipstick make sure it's at correct level. Check on flat ground engine warm and turned off.

 

I’m so old there were only two genders and a recommended viscosity range rather than regional and global standards dictating what viscosity got printed in the owners manual. It’s a naive fairytale to think there’s some brilliant engineer who designed your engine and picked one viscosity for all scenarios.
Back in 2010 Toyota was still recommending different grades of oil for the same engines depending on whether or not you had a tow package. I understand the government standards got rid of their ability to do that.

 

By the way anyone check for a gummstuck PCV?

 

Suggest trying to determine the cause of your oil consumption - bad PCV valve, leaks past shaft seals or gaskets (shafts, valve cover, oil pan, oil pump, etc.), leaky valve guide seals, gummed up and stuck piston rings, worn piston rings - there are differential tests for some and they will have different solutions. PCV valves wear out or gum up and don't cost too much, so you can try replacing it with an OEM part, not cheap aftermarket. External oil leaks are obvious (except perhaps the rear main seal). A truly good mechanic can assist you.

I seriously doubt going up one step in viscosity will hurt anything or cause poor performance, especially at your mileage. For the performance issue, look for things that might have been disturbed or damaged such as vacuum lines (did an old one crack?), did a sensor wire or connector get loosened? Check the codes.

 

Thicker oil means lower gas mileage.

 

As far as I know...once you start using high mileage oil you have to continue with it..The high mileage oil supposedly. Y swells seals to help with leaks You didn't mention leaks but added info

 

If your '07 Camry is a 4 cyl then 0-20 is recommended. If it is a 6 cyl then 5-30 is recommended. I would definitely use full synthetic in either.

Truthfully, I would be more concerned about getting to the bottom of your other non-related issue "the engine seemed to rattle a little and it appeared as if it could turn itself off." The cause could be something very simple and cheap or not...

 

It's generally recommended that one not use oil thinner than the manufacturer specified when the car was new, in other words not to put 0W20 into a car that called for 5W20, and this could become more important in an older car whose clearances have worn wider and whose oil pump might not be quite as perky. It's also conceivable that oils with a lower leading number might be more prone to leaking, in the event you already have that problem, as they're based on thinner stock.

 

I run 0w-20 in our 09 Camry with 235k miles. No oil consumption issues.

 

Addendum to my previous post.

This does not just apply to Toyota but any piston, rotary or turbine.
From the engineering standpoint, oil viscosity (too often mislabeled weight when the "W" means "winter") is not determined by oil change interval or projected miles on the engine but by ambient air temperature. For example, most Toyotas today specify 0W-20. Fine for most but if you live in northern Canada or Alaska 0W is as low as you can go and 5W is too viscous. On the other hand, if you're in Mexico in August consider 0W-30 or 0W-40 just check the viscosity for given temperature tables. They used to be in the owners' manuals but might not be anymore.

If you want to prevent oil burning especially in today's cars with low tension rings, CHANGE THE OIL MORE OFTEN. Don't wait until it puffs blue smoke on cold startup then switch to a higher viscosity, that makes it worse.

My opinion is free and you'll get what you pay for however, I am a real life mechanic turned engineer and I NEVER believed the 'New oil and engine technology means we can do once a year 20,000 (32,000 km) mile oil changes' B.S.

One last rant, the vast majority of drivers in any city are in the 'severe service' category (also might not be in manuals anymore) unless you're in the rural midwest and commute interstate only. Change your oil every 3,000 miles and the engine will outlast the rest of the car.