Factory supplied oil

What kind of oil does my new 2019 Tacoma come from the factory with? Is it synthetic?

My second generation four-cylinder did not use a drop of the regular oil for 200,000 miles which I changed every 3000 miles religiously and I was hoping I could just continue that with my new truck. But if it's synthetic, isn't it true that I must continue to put synthetic in it?

 

Yes it's true unless you can find some non-synthetic 0-20W oil.

 

Well you’re in luck. 0W20 is only synthetic, that is if you have the 2GR. Idk what the 4 cylinder is. Every 3k on synthetic is a waste imo, but I'm some just guy on the internet. Welcome to TW

 

Virgin Oil Analysis at BITOG shows TGMO is most likely Mobil 1

 

The idea that synthetic and non synthetic couldn’t be mixed was just a marketing scam that has long been debunked.

However, 0W20 is a weight that is only available in synthetic, so your choice is easy.

 

It is still true that synthetics still require some dyno oil content to dissolve the additives?

 

I idea that “synthetic oil” is magically created from individual molecules by scientists in a test tube, is also marketing BS some guys fall for.

‘Synthetic’ oil, is almost all cases, is refined/created from crude oil base stock. They don’t piece the individual molecules together under a microscope, they just isolate/modify the ones they want in the good old crude. Sometimes natural gas distillates are used or added. With the natural gas boom, there was a lot of distillate created, so they needed to find something to do with it.

A good nerdy read on the subject:

I love “Full Synthetic is a marketing term and NOT a measurable quality”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

 

Yep. Getting oil from natural gas is pretty cool to me. What I was getting at is that full synthetic wasn't really a 100% synthetic base. And yes, some of the synthetics are highly refined dyno oils. I was just wondering if we have 100% synthetic bases these days. I will google that though.

 

This article in interesting as it states how Mobil 1 is no longer “fully synthetic”, but is hydro-cracked conventional oil due to price competition from Castrol. So the new Mobil 1, is not the old Mobil 1.

Do I care? Not in slightest.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobil_1

 

Same. The shit works and the UOAs coming back on Tacos are great. 10k for me.

It is funny on the motorcycle side that folks will use $20/qt Motul, still swap it out at half the recommended interval, and trade the bike before it sees 20k. Cheap, synthetic diesel oil, all the way.

 

Men need hobbies to stay happy. Thinking about oil is one of them.

 

There is that.

 

I support it. My oil crosses my mind from time to time.

 

Ha! I'm just getting used to 10k intervals again. Prior to the Taco, I was swapping oil every 5,000km (3,100mi), which was up from the recommended 3,000km (1,860mi) while under warranty. With a separate gearbox using the same engine oil and a final drive lube swap, it was pretty quick work, but very annoying. So, I like thinking about nothing at the moment.

The remaining bike is every 6,000mi, which ends up being about once per year.

 

Some paradigms are difficult to break. The 3000 mile oil change is one of those. Good grief, how can oil now magically go 10,000 miles when we had 3000 drummed into our heads for so many years? Well it's science. The new synthetics don't break down the way 10w30 dyno oil did in yesteryear so get use to the new normal on oil changes.

That said, I'm one that believes time and driving conditions play an important part in oil change frequency. I'm a low mileage driver and it might take me year and a half to reach 10,000 between changes. Also, most of my driving is city/suburban which involves a lot of stop and go and waiting for lights, trains etc. All of this takes a toll on oil. Couple that with a lot of construction in the area kicking up dust and 10,000 miles seems too long to me. I've settled on 5,000 to 7000 for changes even if I have to pay myself. That get's me a change in 10-12 months of driving. Just a little oz of prevention in my view. If I were doing a daily 30 mile commute at highway speeds, then 10,000 seems perfectly reasonable.

Anyway, my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Wasn't the 3000 interval part of a mass marketing effort by JiffyLube and others basically to scare you into buying oil more frequently, not unlike the shampoo makers at the beginning of the last century who convinced people that washing their hair once of month was not enough. Now everyone washes once a day and we use a lot more shampoo than a hundred years ago. My guess is that Toyota's testing has determined that the 10,000 mile interval is quite conservative and one that is easy to remember so it's more likely to get done more or less on time. There are other threads where people have sent their use oil in for testing that have confirmed that 10K is more than fine. And, btw, it say Mobil Corporation right on the Toyota oil bottles so it's likely that it's at least some version of Mobil 1 or it could be exactly the same just repackaged. That, we'll probably never know.

 

There’s usually a time and distance component to oil change recommendations for people like you. Oil soaks up acids and other contaminates so it’s good to change it every 6 months to a year regardless of mileage if the engines been run.

 

I don't give a damn what brand of oil I use. I use the cheapest I can find. I also change my oil every 12,500 miles. I do get it analysed from time to time.

 

I vaguely remember 1500 mile oil change intervals in my old air cooled VW's, they only held about 1.5 Quarts and had a screen for a filter.

 

If oil really made a difference in longevity then GM, Ford, and Dodge would have jumped on that idea long ago. It isn't the oil that makes a Toyota run forever.