Oil Question

tim john · February 14, 2010

Hello, i have a 04 ES 70000 miles, should I change to synthetic oil or just keep going with standard oil? been changed at Lexus dealer, Toyota dealer since new. Have a local shop i trust did some oil changes, work on a lot Lexus, Toyota, Mercedes. Do very good work. Car runs great. Any tips would be very helpful. Thanks.

Tim

gbhrps · February 14, 2010

Tim,

Congrats on the new car and welcome to the forum!

From my perspective you have to be realistic. How long are you going to own the car? 5 years? How many miles do you expect to put on it? 200 000 or 250 000? And when was the last time that you heard about any manufacturer's engine having an oil related breakdown? A DIY oil and filter change is under $20 with dino oil. The same oil change with synthetic oil can run 3 times that. Do the math on just 2 years' worth of oil changes and you can see the difference in the cost. 5 years of oil changes using dino oil and the savings would more than pay for a new set of tires or more.

Now, if you intend on making the car last 25 years, or if you are using it on the race track .... using synthetic would be a wise investment, but for the average car owner it doesn't make sense in my opinion, as long as you are doing the recommended regular maintenance and not beating the car to death.

One caution about synthetic oil. I have read that on used cars used to dino oil, that sometimes the switch to synthetic oil causes engine seals to leak that didn't leak before. You may want to do some research before you make the change.

camlex · February 15, 2010

I did change with synthetic Blend No problem.

Castrol 5W30 is the best.

mkeeney · February 16, 2010

Hello, i have a 04 ES 70000 miles, should I change to synthetic oil or just keep going with standard oil? been changed at Lexus dealer, Toyota dealer since new. Have a local shop i trust did some oil changes, work on a lot Lexus, Toyota, Mercedes. Do very good work. Car runs great. Any tips would be very helpful. Thanks.
Tim

The only real advantage synthetic oils offer is that the viscosity breaks down slower than conventional oils. This allows you to go longer between oil changes, sometimes up to 12000-15000 miles. If you're diligent about changing your oil at regular intervals and you're not brave enough to extend the mileage between changes, stick with a conventional oil. There's no reason to use synthetic if you're going to change it at 5000 miles. If you're going to use synthetic for extended intervals, you need to pick a brand and stick with it, and send the oil off to have it tested in order to determine the best interval for your vehicle and oil. Our '97 ES300 has 230,000 miles on it with conventional oil. It still runs like it's new.

I did change with synthetic Blend No problem.
Castrol 5W30 is the best.

This is a blanket statement that can't hold up to scrutiny. All of the synthetic oils out there are good oils. Some oils are better for particular engines under certain circumstances, but under different driving conditions, another oil may be better. Which one is the best depends on many variables that are hard to quantify and in the end don't make much difference anyway. As long as you are using a name-brand oil and changing it at regular intervals, you will never have an oil-related problem. Go here for more oil info than you can ever absorb: Bob is the Oil Guy