Engine oil: What oil for my Toyota?

The right grade of oil is vital to keep your Toyota’s engine working at its best. Your vehicle handbook will confirm the right grade for your car and your region. Alternatively, use this official online tool to identify which oil you should use.

Engine oil isn’t something you want to compromise on. Using the right lubricant keeps your engine running smoothly and preserves the life of its components. In fact, using the wrong grade of oil could be a costly mistake.

That’s especially true for diesels, which are very sensitive to the wrong grade. If you or whoever services your car replaces your diesel engine’s oil with the wrong type of lubricant it can cause the Diesel Particulate Filter to fail. You could be looking at a four-figure bill to put it right.

Engine oil: what the digits mean

There are a lot of numbers, letters and jargon surrounding engine oil, which can make finding the right grade confusing.

Essentially, you need to use oil that is the recommended viscosity. This is the ‘thickness’ of the oil and is usually displayed prominently on the packaging. A high viscosity oil will be more treacle-like in consistency, whereas a low viscosity oil is thinner and more free-flowing. Modern Toyota engines generally use low viscosity oils. They reduce friction within the engine, cut down on wear and tear and contribute to better fuel economy.

The following table displays the recommended oil specification for all current Toyota models and engine types.

How a specialist can help

If in doubt, seek help from your local Toyota centre. Our trained technicians and service advisors know Toyota cars inside out, and will be able to advise on the correct oil for your vehicle and maintenance schedule (Proace and Proace Verso). Toyota Genuine Motor Oil has been specifically formulated for use with our engines. You can’t buy better oil for your Toyota.

Whether you replace the engine oil yourself or ask a Toyota centre to do it for you, a regular oil change at the specified mileage or time is important. Even long-life oils become less effective over time, as the repeated cycles of heating and cooling steadily degrades the oil’s properties.

Your local Toyota centre isn’t the only place where you can buy Toyota Genuine Motor Oil. Head over to our eBay store and you can order oil to be delivered to your home or office. Wherever you buy your Toyota Genuine Motor Oil from, using the right grade is vital to preserve the performance, economy and reliability of your car.