How to choose the right oil for your engine

The right grade of engine oil is vital to keep your Toyota's engine working at its best. Your car's handbook will confirm the right grade for your car.
Engine oil isn't something you want to compromise on. Using the right lubricant keeps your engine running smoothly and preserves the life of its components. In fact, using the wrong grade of oil could be a costly mistake.
That's especially true for diesels, which are very sensitive to the wrong grade. If you or whoever services your car replaces your diesel engine's oil the wrong type of lubricant it can cause the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) to fail. You could be looking at a four-figure bill to put it right.
There's a lot of numbers, letters and jargon surrounding engine oil, which can make finding the right grade confusing. You may hear terms like 'semi-synthetic' and 'synthetic' but these don't really help you find the correct oil.
First of all, you need the right viscosity. This is the 'thickness' of the oil. A high viscosity oil will be more treacle-like in consistency. A low viscosity oil will be less thick and will flow more easily. Modern Toyota engines generally use low viscosity oils which reduce friction within the engine, cut down on wear and tear and contribute to better fuel economy.
Viscosity is usually displayed prominently on the packaging: 0W-20, 0W-30 and 5W-30 are the viscosities commonly used in Toyota engine oils.
It's also important to find the correct specification oil. The spec isn't usually displayed as prominently as viscosity on the packaging, but it's just as vital if you want to keep your engine running properly. The letters C1, C2 and C3 refer to the ash content of the oil and its effect on a car's fuel economy. Check these letters against the engine spec in your handbook. You may also see the letters FE which denote an oil with normal ash levels or PFE which mean the oil is low in ash. Again, make sure whatever you see on the packaging matches what you see in the handbook.
If in doubt, seek help from your local Toyota Centre. Our trained technicians and service advisors know Toyota cars inside out, and will remove any doubt from choosing the right oil. Genuine Toyota Motor Oil has been specifically formulated for use with our engines. You can't buy better oil for your Toyota.
Whether you replace the oil yourself or ask a Toyota Centre to do it for you, regular replacement of the oil is important. Even long-life oils gradually become less effective over time, as the cycle of heating and cooling the oil over and over steadily degrades its properties. That's why Toyota recommends an oil change every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first.
Your local Toyota Centre isn't the only place where you can buy Genuine Toyota Motor Oil. Head over to our eBay store and you can order oil to be delivered to your home or office.
Wherever you buy your Genuine Toyota Motor Oil from, using the right grade is vital to preserve the performance, economy and reliability of your car.

Join the conversation:

[BM]

"How to chose the right oil for yout motor: check the car's manual."

Wow, thanka for the Protip.

[bratarilanturi]

I have an Corolla from 2017, 1.6, valemantic, 132hp, 45.300 km on ODO. I bought this car second hand, from Germany.

Recently I've made oil change - 5w-30 they put me. They said that this is the correct oil viscosity for car age and km on ODO

I've seen that the owner manual preferred is 0w-20. I can used 5w-30, but after that to switch back to 0w-20.

I'm living in Romania. Temepratures during the winter can go to -10 Celsius, to +35 Celsius in the summer

Theoretically, they put correct oil for these conditions, but owner manual is recommending something else.

Questions and concerns:

They put the correct oil after all giving weather conditions?

If I have right now 5w-30 it will affect my car?

Should I switch back to the 0w-20 at the next oil change?

[tomasnokechtesledger]

My old 2010 Rolla call for 5w30 and still starts and runs smoothly...

[immaturemushroom]

This video is great, seeing as I just brought a Toyota Barina...

[praveenc.]

Buddy I am working in Muscat Lube express and we only used shell engine oil 20w50 & 10w40 in All Working good we have good business 👍

[peabody]

PLUS>>> the tight specs of the engine requires a very low viscosity to flow between the tight spaces in yur engine!! I always get my 2011 Camry serviced at a dealer.

[imraankhan]

I have 2011.. Toyota auris what engine oil...best for my car

[huntero]

Wow its like you told me exactly what I know and didn’t help one bit

[njsongwriter]

Choose the correct oil by looking in your owner's manual.

[tariqkhan]

Which type engine oil best toyota corolla 1998 SE Limited

[armandozoga]

It's similar c2 vs c3 . For My Toyota Rav 4 diesel I use c2, if I use c3 is good or rong.

[DeepakSharma-dsbc]

Can I use Mobil 5w 50 in my etios car because of my city temperature in summer goes to 45 to 50c so. Which grade oil suitable for my Toyota etios car.

[manosr.]

Hello..I have a FORD TRUCK E-250 2005 year.
the manufacturer says to put 5w-20 oil in the US, now the car is in Europe and it has a warmer climate. it can put 5w-40 ??thx

[davxachatryan]

What oil need to poured on the Toyota Verossa 2004 engine?

[ratikantapatra]

toyota yaris 2012 model atomatic, which oil will be best in UAE

[Utsusemi]

So if the cars manual says 0w-30,
would you use 0w-30 on a race track?

[haiderrizvi]

Which oil I can use for my Toyota vits 2012 model🤔🤔

[tvtv]

Can I use the 10-50 engine oil in my 2015 Toyota Corolla?

[quamrulhasan]

I'm using helix ultra for Corona exiv for last 21 years of my possession

[Lonewolf_rider]

Which oil do you recommend for 1KR-FE eVTI 72 build year 07-2019?
I know it is an Toyota (Daihatsu) engine but it's in a Peugeot 108 and Peugeot has nothing in his manual written!
Climate i life is Holland.
Toyota manual says 0W-16 filled from factory, but what do you Toyota UK recommend?