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Prius 2017 Engine Oil 0w-16/0w-20

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Shoeb, Jun 25, 2023.

  1. Shoeb

    Shoeb Junior Member

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    In Japanese manual of Prius 2017 recommends using 0w-16 engine oil whereas in the USA (and Australia) manuals, recommendation is 0w-20.
    If the engine is the same engine (2ZR-FXE) is used, why engine oil recommendation is different?

    [My understanding on the engine oil viscosity is - one of the criteria is the gap (clearance) between the piston and the cylinder. For a smaller gap, less viscosity oil should be recommended. And vice versa]
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    In Japan, their engines stay in the car for only a few years and have to be changed out. So 0w16 wouldn't matter to them for that short period. I would stick with 0w20 if you are not in Japan
     
  3. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    WHAT????????????
     
  4. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    That is one many criteria used. IF you want to learn more check out the information provided by API and PQIA.
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    or is that an urban myth?
     
  6. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    I have no idea (thus my post). Of course it doesn’t match any reliable sources that I have seen, so I was hoping you could provide some more information to back up the statement. Obviously, I’m having trouble believing it, but that doesn’t make it necessarily inaccurate. Waiting to be enlightened.
     
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well there is discussion about how JDM engines come so readily available with low miles. Many would say their engines get swapped out at a certain mileage and some would say the country is small and their engines just don't accumulate a whole lot of miles before they are retired.

    So not sure which of the two are more accurate. But I wouldn't use 0w-16 unless my car specifically states to use it in my specific country/region.
     
  8. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    I agree with not using the 0W-16 unless specifically called for, especially since it is a 6B oil and is not backward compatible to earlier models (I don’t have the specific knowledge as to why different regions and years with what “appears” to be the identical engine have different oils specified. But based on what I’ve learned regarding API standards, I do know it is not just better mpg ratings).
     
  9. DOHCtor

    DOHCtor Member

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    Personally i use 0w16 or 0w20. As long as it's a good brand. I'm less discriminating during winter as i change it often because of sludge issues during those months..
     

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  10. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    The car may need 0W-16 to get the fuel efficiency claimed in Japanese advertisements.
     
  11. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Engines in Japan are not required to be swapped out. As cars get older they pay higher registration fees.
    In Australia they recommend heavier weight oil. 5-30 and 0-40 is recommended.
     
  12. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    No difference in MPG using 0-40 MOBIL 1
     
  13. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    I changed the oil which the dealer just changed when they put it for sale. 2020 Prime. I don’t know what oil they used, conglomerate dealer, I think it went to the Ford section. OReilly Microgard filter was on. Why? The Toyota dealer is right next door and cheaper.
    Now it has Toyota 0w-16, and a Toyota 90915-yzzn1 oil filter. Went on 350 mile trip, engine very quiet. Will stick to this regime. Because the filter sits horizontal will use the N1 over the longer I think it’s F1 and F2. F2 seems replaced by N1. The filter flow stays the same regardless.
     
    #13 Mr.Vanvandenburg, Jul 17, 2023
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2023
  14. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Has anyone inspected 0-16 and 0-20 side by side ? from what I've noticed so far there isn't a whole lotta diff between the two.
    On the other hand different brands and different brand labels of Mobil 1 0-16, 0-20 and Valvoline 0-20 synthetic can have much different amber shades, so much so the lightest ones can be impossible to see on the dip stick.
     
  15. hughb64

    hughb64 Junior Member

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    I just bought a 2019 XLE and the manual specifically says to use synthetic 0W16, but if you have to use 0W20, make sure to use 0W16 in the next oil change. I thought it was odd how specific the wording was. I figured it must be an issue to some degree. But, that being said, they still recommend 10000 mile oil changes, which is crazy in my mind. I always change at 5000 miles. I'm not circulating dirt in my engine for 10000 miles and I don't want to sludge the engine in 60000 miles like my brother and many others have.
     
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  16. a2058

    a2058 Junior Member

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    So I got to studying this a bit and looks like Toyota Genuine Motor Oil 0w-16 is based on Mobil 1 0w-16 but with additional anti friction package, especially molybdenum and boron content being very high. When they say genuine oil or equivalent for 10000 mile oil change interval, I am afraid that Mobil 1 0w-16 I have been buying from Walmart and using without much thought until now (120000 miles) is not really equivalent per se, because of its lower anti friction package content. I bought the genuine oil for my next oil change and see if I notice any difference…

    So far, the car does not consume any oil, and runs smoothly. I did notice a slight loss of mpg (may be 2-3 mpg?) when I first drained the factory oil at the very first oil change when I got the car new back in 2019, and refilled with the generic Mobil 1 0w-16 so may be there was something there that I should have realized then but had no idea…
     
  17. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

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    Yep, there's two engines in the Gen 4 and one takes 0W-20 and the other 0W-16.

    My wife's 2017 (model ZVW50L-AHXEBA) takes the 0W-20 and my 2021 (model ZVW55L-AHXEBA) takes 0W-16.....very annoying when wanting to stock up on oil! (I do two oil changes yearly on all our cars....sometimes more in my car if I go over 5,000 before the 6-months hits.)
     
  18. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    It's the same engine, just the U.S. specs want 0w/16 in the 20-22' models for emissions and MPG reasons.
     
    Shoeb likes this.