I am only using 0W-20 in my 2024 RAV4 TRD Off Road, because the RAV4 owner's manual page 486/487 says:

"SAE 0W-20 oil may be used."

and

"An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions."

"Better Suited" basically says 0W-16 is the minimum recommended viscosity, and a "Higher Viscosity, One With A Higher Value May Be Better Suited", again says a 20 or even 30 weight might be "Better Suited".

Higher Speeds could include Interstate Travel and Extreme Load Conditions could mean Fully Loaded or Towing, or even short trips in cold weather or mountainous driving.

If you look at other non CAFE countries, such as Mexico and Australia, they say you can use 5W30 or even 10W30.

I also live in North Carolina, but have moved from the colder corner of the state to the hotter flat lands, where it seems to be around 90°F in the summer, and I think it snows once in a while down here, so 0W-20 or 5W20 in the summer might also be worth looking at as well.

I am currently using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W-20. ($30 on Amazon for 5 Quarts) with a Mobil 1 103A Filter and I change my oil every 5K or 6 months.

 

This subject has been discussed many times but not in the 4.3 forum since they require 5W-30 as i recall.

 

In NC also, 5w20 year around is fine for the viscosity temp specs.
I run 5w30 in my 08 Rav year around, slated for 0w20 under BS CAFE recommendations with other countries spec 5w30 same engine and I cant honestly tell any huge difference in mpg worth mentioning.
5w20 for summer in my new Highlander slated for 0w year around.
A family member vehicle calls for 0w16, he's been running 0w20 for about 30k miles now. Says his mpg went down around 0.8.

I expect to see a lot of paid off mortgage payment coming my way in the future from working on vehicles running 0w8, especially with 10k intervals..

if it calls for 16, run 20, calls for 8, run 50% 16. Save your investment, My 0.02.

 

Makes sense to me. Once I get back on my Oct/Apr oil change schedule, I'll start using 0W-20 in Winter and 5W-20 in Summer. I just moved out of the NC mountains to the hot part of NC, where it's 95° F in August.

 

Same here, been in the Burlington area for 20 years after leaving South of Boone area.
I Always ran 0W winter through first of spring and 5w end of spring through mid fall. Although one Winter I did run 5w and honestly saw no starting issues even around low teens in temp.
When I had my heavily modified car in the mountains slated for 5w30 I ran 5w40 winter, 10w40 summer. no issues and honestly had better engine response when at op temp with the 40 weight. It saw redline OFTEN in the curves so I needed that mildly thicker viscosity for high stress/load.

 

Agreed on the 4.3 vs 4.5 comment. Can this just be moved?

This also reads like a typical oil weight post where no one actually knows what they are talking about.

The only number that matters in reference to outside temperature is the first or winter number. This is what weight the oil acts like at (usually) 0C or 32F, AKA the freezing point of water. So if it is going to be colder outside you MIGHT need to run a lighter weight first number. Being in NH I notice a difference in cold cranking speed between 5W and 10W when it gets into the single digit (F) temps. But if ambient temp is "warm" out all the time then you can run 0W, 5W, 10W, 15W all the time, it doesn't overly matter, as long as the engine cold cranks fine.

The second number is how the oil acts at 212F or 100C, AKA the boiling point of water and around the oil operating temperature. STOP TALKING ABOUT OUTSIDE TEMP!!! I know it sounds cool that you are in SLC and it hits 107F but your engine is still operating at 180-200F and oil is usually 15-20 degrees hotter than that so the outside temp DOESN'T matter like you are making out. The same goes for "high speed and high load". High speed really means high ENGINE speed where the oil is getting heated up excessively causing a particular weight to potentially thin out too much. This is even more true if road speed isn't high (I.E. cooling) as in a drifting or burnout situation. But driving 85 down the freeway with the engine at 2000 rpm in top gear isn't' going to tax the oil at all.

In the case of my turbocharged cars 2/3 are journal bearing turbos where the thrust load is handled by the thrust bearing and an oil film. They are both running 2-3x stock boost levels so in one that specs 5W-30 I run 15W-40 (summer only car) and the other that specs 5W-40 I run 5W-50 to increase the load carrying capacity of the thrust system. Plus with the additional boost pressure the turbo temps are much higher causing the oil to thin out more. Also on one I shift at 8k rpm vs the factory 7k and also want the film strength there. It's THESE types of differences in average operating conditions that determine oil weight changes not it gets "hot" in the summer and I drive on the highway.

The stuff about thinner oil and CAFE standards is true. So when you see an engine that didn't change architecturally (the 2GR) but got a reduced operating oil weight in it's lifespan there is a pretty good chance it was for that an not a design factor.

Also with CAFE the W weight is getting very low no matter the climate because what percentage of the driver base is letting their cars warm up AT ALL? Most people start their engine and are in D before oil reaches the heads. 0 weight at 32F is still thicker than 30 weight at 212F but it's a lot closer so for the %99 of drivers that go before the oil is up to temp they are getting better fuel mileage from less pumping losses/windage.

Another thing to consider is that when you have a larger spread of winter vs operating weight (the 5W-50 that I mentioned) that's more thickening agents that need to be in the oil. As in less % of the oil is actually oil or the additive package so there is a sacrifice being made. Hence I run 5W30 in the winter because I need that 5W, and 10W-30 in the summer. If it never got below 20F I'd just run 10W-30 year round.

I did try a 10W40 in the Rav but I immediately noticed a fuel mileage drop compared to the 10W-30. If I didn't pretty consistently redline the engine I'd probably run a 5W-20 year round for the increased mileage.

To the original poster, being in NC you could probably run 5W-20 year round and be fine.

 

No one actually knows what they are talking about, please elaborate..

 

Agreed on the 4.3 vs 4.5 comment. Can this just be moved?

This subject has been discussed many times but not in the 4.3 forum since they require 5W-30 as i recall.

The OP never said what year his RAV4 is. From the way it is worded, it must be a 4.5.

 

OP owns a 4.5 Limited ICE.

 

I live in Augusta, GA, and have run only 0W-20 since I changed the oil myself. 5k oil/filter changes with Purolator TL14477, BUT I am a short-tripper back and forth to work, not a road warrior. Short trips cause the oil to be nearly as inky black as the oil that I change from my diesels. And yes, I've seen and read the UOAs from 10k oil changes, but those are from people who generally put 400+ miles on their Toyotas in a week.

 

Another oil thread resurrected from last year. I was hoping at least a few would fade away.