Engine oil

[Mandy Riseborough]

We have a toyota vellfire 2.4 litre  van & does anybody know which engine oil do I use  can you help me please

[pipsyp]

0w 20 or 5w 30 fully synthetic.  Depends rather what is in it already.

 

In Japan 0w 20 I believe was preferred and tended to be what was used but 5w 30 works fine over here (is what was put in mine at it's last service).

[Steve in Chester]

The manual mine came with recommends 5W-20 for the 2GR-FE (3.5 litre),

 

or,

 

0W-20 for the 2AZ-FE (2.4 litre). 
 

 

[pipsyp]

Challenge is what's good in Japan and what's good here (given the relative climate differences) it's hard to say.

 

5w30 is just a bit heavier weight and you'll likely trade the tiniest bit of fuel economy for better high temp protection (I imagine a heavier weight oil probably lubricates better when cold too).

 

What is important is to try to not mix grades, as they don't mix well together.  So if it already has 0w20, use 0w20 to top up etc.

 

Also if you put the Alphard (2az 2.4 engine at least) into Opie Oils every option that comes back is 5w30.  Certainly it won't do any harm and again might offer a bit better protection for our climate for a slight trade off in MPG.

 

Edited March 9 by pipsyp

[Rojie]

The Owners Handbook mentions that 5W-20 is the best option for full economy

[Joseph Bui]

Hi everyone,

Can I check how much oil should I put in for 3.5l v6 2012 model? I put 5l in but my dip stick show that is too much. Thanks in advance. 

[Steve in Chester]

I can’t remember off the top of my head, but when I did mine, I bought 6 litres of oil, so it must’ve specified more than 5 litres in the manual.

But when I went to refill the oil it only took the 5 litres and it was slightly over the full line. 
 

Did you replace the filter?

 

Have you run the engine to circulate the new oil round the engine and check again?

[Joseph Bui]

Hi Steve, 

I actually put almost 6 litres. I did replace the filter and did everything to make sure to get a good reading with the dip stick such as parking on level ground, warm engine or cool engine. But it still show a lot over the line. For the last couple of months the car is running very smooth and better fuel consumption, compared to the first i change oil which I only used 4.7 liters. 
I did some research on club here and only see recommendations to use 4.7 litres for 2.4l engine not the 3.5l engine. The Toyota club net website say it should be 6.1 litres with filter. I think the dip stick is not accurate. For bigger engine it should need more oil than the 2.4l. 

 

[Steve in Chester]

The manual states 6.1 L with a filter change, but there will always be some oil left in the engine even after you’ve drained it. I only got 5 L in. 
 

[Joseph Bui]

Thank you very much, Steve for clearing my concern about over filling engine oil. Really appreciated for the information, I will keep in mind your advice. Cheers 

[dave murrell]

While on the subject of oil grade I was wondering if I could use the oil I bought for the wifes S class merc which is 5W 30 for diesel engines.

[pipsyp]

5w 30 is 5w 30 really, shouldn't be an issue at all Dave, though making the assumption it has 5w 30 in it already.

15 hours ago, dave murrell said:

While on the subject of oil grade I was wondering if I could use the oil I bought for the wifes S class merc which is 5W 30 for diesel engines.

 

[smurf]

So long as the 5w30 oil for the Merc meets one of the specifications show in the manual above then it would be fine.

 

Oils, and engine design and emission control, have moved on quite a bit in the last 35 years. The weight of the oil is only one measure of the properties of that oil so I'm afraid that one 5w30 oil could be very different to another because of the additive mix, and whether it is mineral, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic. There is a specified standard that the oil needs to meet and this is what should compared in addition to the weight of the oil. 

 

The days of garages having a drum of oil that can be used to service every car that crosses the threshold ended a long time ago for very good reasons, and those reasons apply at home as well. 

[dave murrell]

1 hour ago, smurf said:

So long as the 5w30 oil for the Merc meets one of the specifications show in the manual above then it would be fine.

 

Oils, and engine design and emission control, have moved on quite a bit in the last 35 years. The weight of the oil is only one measure of the properties of that oil so I'm afraid that one 5w30 oil could be very different to another because of the additive mix, and whether it is mineral, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic. There is a specified standard that the oil needs to meet and this is what should compared in addition to the weight of the oil. 

 

The days of garages having a drum of oil that can be used to service every car that crosses the threshold ended a long time ago for very good reasons, and those reasons apply at home as well. 

My only real gripe is that diesel oil has a "cleansing agent!" and how it affects VVT if at all.

[pipsyp]

20 hours ago, smurf said:

So long as the 5w30 oil for the Merc meets one of the specifications show in the manual above then it would be fine.

 

Oils, and engine design and emission control, have moved on quite a bit in the last 35 years. The weight of the oil is only one measure of the properties of that oil so I'm afraid that one 5w30 oil could be very different to another because of the additive mix, and whether it is mineral, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic. There is a specified standard that the oil needs to meet and this is what should compared in addition to the weight of the oil. 

 

The days of garages having a drum of oil that can be used to service every car that crosses the threshold ended a long time ago for very good reasons, and those reasons apply at home as well. 

This is very true.  That said as long as it is 5w 30 fully synth and the Alphard already has that installled, for the sake of a top up it's incredibly unlikely to cause any harm.

 

TBF in the case of an AH10, most if not all oils you'll pick from the shelf will exceed the specs required....newer Alphards/Vellfires definitely something to bear in mind 👍