Prius 2013: 0W-16 engine oil?

THAT might be the ultimate test for 0w-16 oil....

honestly, with this temperatures I would even rather go for some thicker oil than 0w-20 /

 

Dusty, tropical conditions, I'd second @StarCaller .

 

I would use the oil specified in the owner manual. Toyota tests the vehicle under a wide range of conditions.

 

No way!!! As the kids would say Y.O.L.O.

 

NO. Not "better".
As others have said, a 5W20 or 5W30 might be better in the heat.
But there is no good reason NOT to use what is recommended.

 

Not that it matters much, OP lists his vehicle as Prius Alpha, which Google Image Search indicates as a Prius v.

US Owner's Manual? Oil recommendations vary around the world. Australia for one still recommends 0W20, but also "condones" various thicker oils.

I seem to recall hot climate owners (Spain, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, etcetera) saying 0W20 is hard to even find, and dealerships recommend 5W30.

 

Use the specifications for the manual that came with the car.

 

Toyota Prius Alpha, just from a little Googling, looks to be a Japanese domestic market car. Now it's transplanted to Bangledesh.

 

I find the word "must" puzzling. What I mean is: you could use 5W30 for the life of the vehicle, with no ill effects. It's your call, but near the equator, if I was going to make a change, I would be going up in numbers not down.

Or just sit tight at 0W20, who knows.

I see there is a Toyota representation in Bangladesh, though the Prius "family" is not shown on the website, so I guess not that common. Contact a dealership and see what they say?

I know some Mid-Eastern owners here were having a hard time finding 0W20. Dealership recommended 5W30.

 

Orenji says 0w-20 is like water. Wonder what 0w-16 will he compare it to.

 

Lemme guess......... Water with oil characteristics? LOL Don't quote me on your signatures~!

 

The viscosity of 0W-20 is several times that of water! 0W-16 too.

 

Greetings!

I do not know what a "reconditioned" car is legally but I will presume that it's used and has a fairly good history.

Your local temperature is not really a factor for the oil that you use because the normal operating temperature for the engine is somewhere around 95-100 degrees Celsius...and it's liquid cooled, and regulated by a thermostat to keep it somewhere in that range.

Personally I would use either 0w20 or 5w30.
The only benefit that I would see with 0w16 would be a very slight increase in fuel efficiency, but I would also anticipate that there would be more engine wear and more oil consumption with this lighter oil.

Priuses are designed above all things to provide maximum fuel efficiency with minimal pollution and an acceptable service life....which in America is something like 10-15 years and 250,000-300,000km....and THIS is one of the reasons that they specify the lower viscosity oil.
We use different fuel efficiency measurements here in America, and I can't begin to relate to a value like 33km/l but I do know that fuel might be much more expensive in Bangladesh than it is here in the USA.
But...cars repairs are expensive too.

The most important thing that you can do with the oil is check the oil level at least as often as the manual recommends.

Good Luck!!

 

So.....why has every car maker on the face of the earth published "acceptable oil use" tables in it's manuals that shows what oil weights are appropriate BASED ON THE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE ??

Some parts of the engine are hotter than the coolant is. The oil itself runs considerably hotter.

 

Correct, oil weights are specified for ambient temperatures, since that is variable while the normal operating temperature is fairly closely controlled.

Specifically in the case of Toyota with the Gen 4 Prius engine, only one oil is specified in the US. No alternatives for high or low ambient temperature extremes, although other autos may have alternates specified.



Mazda MX-5: one oil specified for all temperatures



In contrast, Subaru for the 2010 Outback has quite the discussion on higher ambient temperatures:

 

Does that mean we can go with a straight 20 weight oil & still be safe then?