0W-20 Synthetic Oil OK for '05 4.0?

I need to change oil before a long road trip and am wondering if 0w-20 has been approved for a '05 4.0. The dealer is closed today & I need to get the oil changed pronto. Thanks.

 

approved.....?i ran that weight before in amsoil,worked fine.get a little better milage as well

 

I don't know as it's been officially approved. I wish Toyota would give us a straight answer.

The dual-VVT 1GR in the Tundra and FJ calls for 0w20. Besides the other cam phasing the only other obvious difference I know of is the hydraulic lifters (our tacoma 1GRs have solid lifters), but that doesn't mean they changed something else.

Enter my opinion:

When 5w30 is spec'd, this means you can use dino 5w30 which is a 5w oil with anti-thinning agents added to make it 30w viscosity when hot. As it is used, its viscosity modifiers wear down and the oil thins down, thus the manufacture must assume that an oil thinner than 30w will be in the engine sometime before the next oil change. 0w20 is always a synthetic oil and as it does not have viscosity modifiers will not thin but actually thicken a little as it is used.

It is therefore my belief that a synthetic 0w20 will provide sufficient protection to an engine spec'd for dino 5w30. However, don't take my opinion with you if you have to argue with Toyota about your warranty should anything happen.

Again, Toyota needs to give us an answer.

 

Agreed.. i ran AMSOIL 0W-30 for 2 years with no issues. Just better mileage and lil more responsive throttle. The 0w-20 should be fine.

 

Thanks. I read somewhere that Toyota Motors had approved the 0W-20 for later years, but wanted some assurance that it would be OK in my '05. I would guess that any potential issues would concern heavy towing, etc., which I don't do. I've been using a synthentic 5W-30 blend when changing oil at the dealership, but they really torque'd me off and now I'm going to change the oil myself. I want to switch to a pure synthetic and would like to use the 0w20, if at all possible, as that's what our '10 Camry takes.

 

Haha, I didn't even see the '05 part in the title. No warranty arguments there.

I doubt this oil would be a problem for you, especially since you're not towing, which would increase the oil temperature considerably making an oil like 0w30 more desirable.

With the older model, I'd recommend keeping an eye on oil consumption should it occur, and maybe consider a used oil analysis after 3k miles to make sure your engine is keeping in good order. As an engine wears the bearing clearances will widen a little so once you get up there in miles the 0w30 may prove a better choice to preserve low-speed oil pressure.