Toyota’s Recommended Oil Brand: What Kind Should You Buy?

Cars need oil to work. You might call it the blood source of your vehicle, and without it, or with the wrong type, the performance of your car will deteriorate, or die. While we know oil is important for the effective running of a vehicle, it’s also important to understand that there are different types of oil, and not every car takes the same type.

Toyota recommends the best synthetic motor oil to use for their vehicles is Mobil 1 synthetic with extended performance or Toyota Genuine Motor Oil (TGMO). Toyota recommends synthetic oil which is suggested to be a more superior and longer-lasting oil for enhanced and greater engine performance.

With so many different types of available oil, it doesn’t make choosing the right oil for your car very easy. We highly recommend checking your car service manual or with your local dealer before filling your car with any oil.

Check out the information we have for you below to find out which oil Toyota cars like the most and which is the best oil for different Toyota cars.

What Oil Brand Does Toyota Recommend?

Toyota recommends fully synthetic oils should be used for better engine performance, preferably a Mobil branded motor oil with advanced Fuel Economy or Toyota’s very own Genuine Motor Oil (TGMO).

Toyota endorses only the highest quality oil for their vehicles, and therefore Toyota engines are usually superior to its competitors.

Toyota has produced some of the best cars on the road today and has continuously developed cars that have outlasted and outmatched others on the road for generations and that have above-average lifespans when compared with other branded cars.

The reason for this? The Mobil 1 motor oil they use in their engines is a huge part of how Toyota cars last so long on our roads.

According to Western Slope Toyota, the best Toyota recommended motor oils to use are:

• Toyota SAE 0W-16 Fully synthetic oil
• Toyota SAE 0w-20 Fully synthetic oil
• Toyota SAE 5W-30 Synthetic or conventional oil
• Mobil1 5W-30
• Mobile1 Super 3000 X1 Formula FE 5W-30

Here is the best oil recommended by Toyota and a table to show which Toyota vehicles use that type of synthetic oil:

If you’re searching for the right oil to purchase to top up your oil levels without going to a garage, please check your vehicle manual beforehand. If your vehicle manual is inaccessible, we strongly recommend checking with a local dealership or garage.

Why Does Toyota Recommend Synthetic Oil?

Synthetic oil has multiple benefits over conventional oil. Although conventional oil has allowed us to have working vehicles and engines for over 150 years, the more recently founded synthetic oil has proven to be more advanced in many ways.

Toyota mostly uses fully synthetic oils in most of their vehicles because of the following benefits:

• Synthetic oils prevent rust and erosion
• Synthetic oils have a higher stability level
• Synthetic oils make a cleaner engine and carry less debris than conventional oil
• Both conventional and synthetic oil protects the engine from overheating but with synthetic oils better viscosity it does a better job
• Synthetic oil lasts longer
• Your car will start better in the cold because synthetic oil can withstand extreme temperatures unlike conventional oil

Because synthetic oil is a man-made substance with various cleaner chemicals than conventional oil, it lasts much longer in your engine and doesn’t need an oil and filter change until at least 7,500 – 10,000 miles. Conventional oil, on the other hand, needs to be changed every 3000 – 5000 miles.

What Happens if You Use Bad-Quality Oil?

Using bad quality oil, or the wrong type of oil, in your car will result in some dire consequences.

The worst is that your engine and/or transmission is destroyed which is an extremely costly repair.

There are a few other things that could go wrong if you use the wrong oil in your car:

• Reduced lubrication of the engine and other moving parts of the car which in turn results in a shorter engine lifespan

• If the engine isn’t lubricated properly the piston can weld itself into the cylinder from being too hot. This completely damages your engine

• While your engine is working overtime to try and stay cool, other parts of the vehicle are also working overtime. This creates earlier wear and tear in the vehicle and again will result in a shorter lifespan or will need to go for a service much sooner than expected

• Your car may eventually struggle to start. If you’ve recently topped up the oil and your vehicle is struggling to start, you might want to check which oil you topped up with just to be sure

• A burning smell is a clear indication of an unwell engine. Even if you’ve recently put oil in your car, if it’s the wrong oil or bad oil, your vehicle will soon start showing signs of degradation and a burning smell is one of the first signs

• Keep an ear out for engine noises. As well as a burning smell, engine noises are typically a sign that something isn’t right in your engine. I would drive my car straight to the garage to have it checked out

• Oil leaks are common in vehicles that have the wrong oil topped up. Synthetic oils are thinner than conventional oils so a car designed for conventional oil will find that synthetic oil can “slip through the cracks”. This becomes costly when you have to keep topping up your oil frequently

• Using the wrong oil in your car will usually result in worse fuel economy or efficiency. You may find yourself at the gas station needing to fill up more often than usual. The main reason for this is because your car is working overtime to keep the engine in check, so it gets thirsty much quicker than usual

Mixing conventional and synthetic oil won’t have an ill effect on your vehicle and neither will mixing different brands. Although unless you know something we don’t, mixing doesn’t usually have a positive effect either. It just works out more expensive for you.

When Should You Have Your Oil Changed?

If your car takes regular conventional oil the best time to have it changed is anywhere between 3,000 – 5,000 miles. If your car takes a fully synthetic or partially synthetic motor oil you can hold off on the oil and filter change until you get to 7,500 miles and professionals say you might not have to have synthetic oil changed until you get to 10,000 miles, sometimes more.

If you fail to get your oil changed at the recommended timeframe, take another long hard look at the list of potential “bad-quality oil” malfunctions that can go wrong and ask yourself if it’s really worth not getting your oil changed.

Conclusion

For the best engine performance and to keep your car running smoother for longer, Toyota recommends Toyota Genuine Motor Oil (TGMO) or Mobil1 synthetic motor oil. These will give your Toyota the best chance it has at living a full and healthy life on the roads.

Remember, your vehicle needs a lifeline, and that lifeline is its oil. Replacing your oil and oil filter regularly can only do good for your car and to save on costs it’s an easy enough task to complete at home.