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What type of oil should I use on gen3

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by 2011priusgoofball, Sep 25, 2019.

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  1. 2011priusgoofball

    2011priusgoofball New Member

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    Hello everyone
    First time posting but been reading these forums for awhile and they have been a lot of help.

    I was talking to someone the other day about the type of oil used in cars. Making me thinking of changing the type I’m using in my 2011 Prius.

    Toyota says to use ow20 but should I use something else?

    Thanks for all the help
     
  2. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    2011, phoenix, I'd use some xw-40 oil /
     
  3. Tekken

    Tekken Member

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    i used 5w-20
     
  4. xerox6135

    xerox6135 Member

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  5. Attila Fekete

    Attila Fekete Member

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    The user manual clearly says 0W-20. I don’t see a reason to overrule it.
    0W-30 is not much worse though.
     
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  6. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    guess you've never been in phoenix in the summer.... / ;)

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Attila Fekete

    Attila Fekete Member

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    Do you have something different for Phoenix in the manual? Although I’m not a professional of lubes, but 0W-20 do good cooling for the engine due to low viscosity.
    By the way, have you seen the coolant above 80C / 176 Farenheit?
     
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  8. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    The engine coolant on our 2012 Prius hatchback usually settles at 195+/-2 degrees Fahrenheit in level driving at 60-70 mph, although on long climbs up mountains it gets to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. (I believe there is an overheating cutoff somewhere at or above 205 degrees Fahrenheit.)

    I understand that the oil passages on the Prius engine are designed for the thin 0w-20 oil and have been sized smaller than oil passages in older automobiles. Effective oil viscosity thins with increased heat, so to use a slightly higher viscosity oil in higher ambient temperatures is part of the owner’s manual for cars that I have owned. However, I personally would be particularly careful of using a higher-viscosity oil than 0w-20 in lower-than-standard ambient temperatures due to the possibility of insufficient oil flow to the engine bearings.
     
  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    How would you carefully use a higher viscis oil? Not that this is a smirky question.
     
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  10. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    If ambient temps were uniformly 80+ degrees Fahrenheit and I observed ICE coolant temps hovering more at 199-204 degrees Fahrenheit, I would consider a 0w30 or 0w40 oil to achieve the same effective viscosity, flow through the oil passages, and oil pressure at the bearings that the ICE would have at a standard 60-degree ambient day with 0w20 weight oil. Frankly, I would simply like an analog oil pressure gauge with green, yellow and red arcs marked appropriately that I could watch during operation and change oil weights based on accurate operational observations. Not out of warranty yet, but may make that mod when our 2012 is over 100k.
     
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  11. lenjack

    lenjack Active Member

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    I see no reason to change from Toyota's spec.
     
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