5W-20 instead of 0W-20?

I ran a search for "5W-20" and got only 1 hit, hence this post.

So I was running a Subaru Forester which specified 0W-20. I didn't feel good about that "0" so I asked the service guys about switching to 5W-20 and they said I'd be good to go; no voiding the warranty or anything else negative. They also said the 0W-20 had the consistency of water at start up. I'm wondering if anyone else in TW 3rdGen runs 5W-20?

Thanks in advance.

 

It will be fine. You’ll probably find more people using 5w-30 for your search

 

"In the manual"..

• Oil grade
  0W-20 is the best choice for good fuel economy and starting in cold weather. If 0W-20 is not available, 5W-20 may be used, but it should be replaced with 0W-20 at the next oil change.

0W-20 is easily available it parts stores and big box stores. Probably better place than on-line.

 

We ran 5W20 on models during a breif 0W20 shortage during covid. Toyota approves it but only short term.

It's fine to run. The big issue is Toyota has long intervals and it hinges on the oil being synthetic, all 0W20 is synthetic, 5w20 is both.

Also it would be less ideal in cold climate.

Basically 5W20 is obsolete now, same happened to 10w30 in the 00's.

 

5W-20 will work just fine, as would 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, 0W-40, 10W-40, and 15W-40. And in Australia, they even get to run 20W-50 in their 2GR-FKS if they want to.

For what it’s worth, 5W-20 probably won’t do much of anything better for your engine than 0W-20 will. No real downsides to it either though. In extreme cold the two would be very similar; the 5W doesn’t mean much. If you wanted potentially more engine protection, increasing the second number would be what you’d change.

Toyota will tell you to only run 5W-20 for 5k miles, but that is just because TGMO 5W-20 is conventional and not synthetic. It’s fine to run it indefinitely if you shorten your change interval (to 5K).

In all honesty, the viscosity stuff is 99% about the EPA and eeking out that tiniest bit of mpg boost and lowering emissions. The engine mechanically can handle whatever motor oil you use; it’s a chunk of metal that isn’t going to react poorly to thicker oil unless you’re in extreme climates and choose the thickest oil like a 50 grade, and even then it’s a minor effect. This is all why prior to this “0W-20 everything” era, you used to receive a common sense driven viscosity chart with safe temperature ranges for each viscosity in the owner’s manual that guided you on what to use. Long gone are those days.

 

This^

 

The gov't will gladly force manufacturers to sacrifice your vehicle's longevity for .1MPG of fuel efficiency. 5W-20 isn't going to hurt your engine.

 

why do you want heavier oil on cold starts?

 

5W-20 isn't that much heavier on a cold start. I've said it before in other threads: It wasn't that long ago that 10W-30 was the norm, and engines lasted 200k miles easily with routine maintenance.

 

but it is heavier. hell with your it wasn't very long ago theory who not just jump to 20/50

 

How many engine failures can you say with confidence were caused by cold starts on 20w-50? There are points of diminishing returns on both ends of the scale. 20W-50 isn’t going to protect much more than 15W-40, and 0W-20 isn’t going to flow much better than 5W-20. The reality is, the oil is already at all of the parts when it’s time to fire up, unless it’s been months since the engine ran. The oil pump starts pumping immediately when the starter starts cranking. Unless it’s so cold out the oil freezes up solid, then there is really no tangible benefit to better cold flow…because you already have flow.

There are, however, downsides to thinner oil at higher load/speed, as well as better oil pressure at idle, so it’s better to go with more of a balance, instead of prioritizing theoretical cold flow over everything…this is why a viscosity chart in the owner’s manual used to make more sense for the owner & longevity; because logic could factor into the decision instead of it all being driven by environmentally-mandated blanket statements.

 

An accumulator would do more for cold start protection than a change of oil weight

 

0W20 definitely starts faster in the dead of northern winters, but only once you hit like -10c

The big thing is it cranks faster. I switched over to 0W in all my old clunkers and it certainly helps. But Im Canadian.

 

Yeah if I moved away from 0w20 I’d just go to 0w30 and put an accumulator on. The cold number being that thin isn’t going to do anything but help. Starting an engine with 30psi of oil pressure and oil in the valvetrain is even better

 

Duralube and no oil is my honest recommendation. Toyota engineers don’t know jackshit about engines.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6SPmj7fzs&pp=ygUhZHVyYSBsdWJlIGVuZ2luZSB0cmVhdG1lbnQgbm8gb2ls

 

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...^^^... When I worked in northern PQ, Canada, when it got really cold, some guys would run transmission fluid for oil lubrication in their Hondas and it worked fine.

 

Lived in Canada 70+ years in all weather. Never heard of that. Sounds like an old wives tale or just b..

 

I've been running either 5w20 (winter) or 10w30(summer) since my break in oil change at ~900miles. You'll be fine. The fsm says you can use between 0w20 and 15w40 oils depending on temperatures you're operating in and use.

0w20 is the best for light duty uses (long commutes, no towing/offroading) for best fuel economy. If you're towing, offroading or have lots of stop and go traffic, thats moving towards the "extreme" use profile, and you should use heavier weight oils. Also, if you're in the south where it hits triple digits during the day, even if you're not towing, heavier viscosity is your engines friend.

 

My indy shop uses 5w-20 instead of 0.

 

I’ve heard of people adding it to crankcase oil, mostly for supposed cleaning benefits. I wouldn’t run it straight ever. The engine still gets to 180-200 F running temp regardless of where it starts.