Toyota Dealership Equips Cars With Mobil

[slate67]

Hey:

I went to the toyota dealership in town to inquire about oil filters and oil, since the Lexus dealership is 2 hours away. I was shown a quart container of Genuine Toyota Motor oil and they only carried 10W30. I asked about 5W30 and they said they use only 10W30 in their cars. So I asked who the Toyota oil manufacturer is since I am sure Toyota repackages this. They use Mobil in their bays. He said once every 2 weeks a Mobil truck comes and fills their tanks with Mobil 10W30.

This did not answer my question about who the Toyota Oil originator is but did make me think; is it up to the dealership to find the most competitive cost point on a brand of oil or is Toyota now recommending Mobil to its dealerships. Since there have been postings related to the dictum of using genuine Toyota parts and oil, I was a bit surprised, especially if that is what one takes their car to a Toyota dealership for. Just wanted to post an experience and not open up the whole argument again. Any thoughts?

[CUMan]

The interesting thing about this is that they are using 10W-30 on all oil changes. I thought all Toyota and Lexus vehicles for at least the last ten model years have specified 5W-30 in their owner manuals.

I had an interesting experience about 1 1/2 years ago. I have a 96 Toyota 4-Runner on which I received a recall notice regarding the head gasket. The Toyota dealer that replaced the gasket also changed the oil. They used 20W-50 oil. I asked the service writer about this, and he said they used it on all oil changes.

Do the Toyota dealerships not know what weight oil the manufacturer specifies?

I don't see much difference between 5W-30 and 10W-30; however, I suspect that there is significant difference between 5W-30 and 20W-50.

[monarch]

slate67, Corporate Toyota / Lexus does not exercise firm control over what Toyota/Lexus dealers say or do. So this leads to all kinds of customer confusion because on the one hand the Toyota / Lexus owners manuals will recommend the owner use this or that genuine Toyota product and then the owner finds out the local Toyota / Lexus dealer is cutting corners by using less expensive and therefore more profitable non-genuine Toyota products. In addition, whereas the Toyota / Lexus owners manual recommends 5W-30 oil the local Toyota / Lexus dealer may use 10W-30 because it's less expensive to buy a large bulk quantity of one viscosity instead of 2 or 3 different viscosities.

So what should a Toyota / Lexus owner do? Just accept the fact that Toyota / Lexus dealers put profit ahead of quality because they are run by Americans and that's the American way and there's nothing the corporate Toyota can do to change our cultural traditions. The owner should follow the advice of Corporate Toyota; i.e. the advice in the owners manual. Sometimes this may mean you'll have to purchase the appropriate genuine Toyota fluids and lubes serparately at a Toyota Parts Dept. and then tell the servicing dept to install them.

Example: Brake Fluid. Genuine Toyota Brake Fluid was the factory fill and if your car is scheduled for a brake fluid change, buy 3-4 pints of Genuine Toyota Brake Fluid from a Toyota dealers parts dept and tell the dealer to install it. If you don't, the dealer will use the cheapest aftermarket brand they can find in bulk.

Be prepared for alot of snickers and snears from American service people who will tell you any brand of brake fluid "is good enough". Then point out to them the reason no American car matches the reliability and durability of a Toyota / Lexus is because American car designers and engineers have a "this is good enough" attitude about everything they do whereas the Japanese have a "this product must be designed / formulated to our demanding standards and assembled with meticulous care."

[mbpgawest]

Very well said monarch. I totaly agree ;)

[ebridges]

The dealership in FL where I bought my 96LS (new), told me that they use synthetic blend oil for all oil changes. Don't remember if he mentioned the weight, but, the service manager who said this is someone I trust. (He's saved me a bunch of money on services, before DIY). Still a friend.

EB

[RedRocket]

The diference between 5W30 and 20W50, for the first numbers (5 & 20) would only be seen when the oil is near 32 deg. F, freezing temp of water). Even in Alabama, the oil would not be that cold very long.

If your really worried about it change your own oil with a straight synthetic. They usually have much wider viscosity range.

GEM

[slate67]

Monarch:

From all of my research on Toyota and the Toyota Production System, your comments make quite a lot of sense. I appreciate all of your comments, and did not realize that dealerships were independent, unlike franchises that hold stricter control over their sites of business. Sure does add to the end user's confusion, doesn't it?