V35A-FTS V6TT teardown by Dave (Dave's Auto Center)

[DubDub]

Im the guy questioning most on YouTube - if it’s a high interest topic with a shock title, then someone is getting paid for clicks or paid off selling something.

Agree for sure there is a problem & I don’t want to be a part of it if I can do something. I’m vested owning 2 Tundras w/ V35As. Using 5W/30 in our new LC, & 10W/30 in my Tundras is for common sense - high highway speeds, high heat environment (TX), occasionally towing, & when you slow down it’s for a 1 hour stop-n-go traffic jam. Not really conducive to engine life without diligent 3-5K mile oil changes. Maybe that helps, maybe it doesn’t. I don’t think waiting until 10K milers for 1st oil change is a good idea. Early & consistent oil changes are relatively cheap insurance, especially looking @ the engine output by cubic inch:
2026MY:
F-150 5.0L - 302 cu.in. @ 400HP = 1.32 HP/ci
Tundra V35A - 207 cu.in. @ 389HP = 1.87 HP/ci
LC T24A - 146 cu.in. @ 278HP = 1.91 HP/ci
LX600 V35A - 207 cu.in. @ 409HP = 1.98 HP/ci
Tundra V35A (TRD perf pkg) - 207 cu.in. @ 421HP = 2.03 HP/ci

Don’t need my engines in a YT video or @ a dealership.

If you have an impacted V35A, which makes up less than 1% of the V35A population, no amount of increased oil change frequency or viscosity manipulation will prevent the inevitable failure. Especially if the causation is debris in the oil channel network. I do agree that these could have a net positive impact on longevity and serve as preventative insurance (albeit, I do not prescribe to alternative viscosity determinations outside of use case qualifiers, if performing 5k changes), I do not think they play any role in the subject examples.

I also question most of what is on youtube, and (again) I practice discernment when drawing personal conclusions. Stelanis, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia... they would ALL KILL to have engine failure rates below 1%. This is all big news because Toyota is known for keeping that number more in the 0.1-0.2% range. And the simple fact of the matter is that the Tundra name has taken a HUGE resale hit because of this (still) better than class average failure rate. These V35 engines have not been torn apart for public consumption until now. If you do a deep dive looking for 3rd party confirmation/contradiction of Toyota's claimed failure point you would find these two videos. Fortunately for us, these are not slander or promotional videos and rest squarely in the realm of informative.

 

[GR8Santini]

If you have an impacted V35A, which makes up less than 1% of the V35A population, no amount of increased oil change frequency or viscosity manipulation will prevent the inevitable failure. Especially if the causation is debris in the oil channel network. I do agree that these could have a net positive impact on longevity and serve as preventative insurance (albeit, I do not prescribe to alternative viscosity determinations outside of use case qualifiers, if performing 5k changes), I do not think they play any role in the subject examples.

I also question most of what is on youtube, and (again) I practice discernment when drawing personal conclusions. Stelanis, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia... they would ALL KILL to have engine failure rates below 1%. This is all big news because Toyota is known for keeping that number more in the 0.1-0.2% range. And the simple fact of the matter is that the Tundra name has taken a HUGE resale hit because of this (still) better than class average failure rate. These V35 engines have not been torn apart for public consumption until now. If you do a deep dive looking for 3rd party confirmation/contradiction of Toyota's claimed failure point you would find these two videos. Fortunately for us, these are not slander or promotional videos and rest squarely in the realm of informative.

You’re on it Dub - Swarf kills engines large & small. Not funny, but looking back the industry changed to 10K mile life oil & now many, if not most OEs are having swarf concerns. We know it’s manufacturing concerns, but waiting 10k miles you have zero chance. Toyota could have helped a few owners by doing oil changes immediately on the V35A universe to extend a bit life. There was little chance w/ having debris in an engine (owners weren’t aware of) & waiting 10K miles to do your free ToyotaCare oil change & any chance for any longevity. Catastrophic for the owner, while for Toyota it’s was probably a pure cost thing. Look no further than they’ve cut Toyota Care in 2027 back to only 10k mile coverage.

 

[Calokie]

Too funny. I was just explaining swarf to my wife this past weekend when I was showing her the magnetic drain plugs on my Polaris' transmission and transfer cases. That thing is lubricated by a mixture of 90% OE fluid and 10% swarf sludge!

I work in a failure analysis lab where we polish X-Sections of metallurgical samples... I didn't know this term until watching Dave's video yesterday. I also have a small machine shop setup where I do machining (dry machining)

 

[Sugarloafer80]

Well said. My 3.0TT in my last RR ran 0W-20 and I was getting ready to switch to 0W-30 based on all the negative press 20 weight was receiving.....Sold it in 2025 before this sh!! really hit the fan.
On the new LC, I did oil change 31 at 1300 miles, #2 at 4400 miles. I am at 6600 miles as it has been parked for past 2 months. Think I will dump it after another roundtrip when it gets awakened, do 1 last 0W-20 cycle to use it up and by 10K make the permanent switch to 5W-30....unless my jug of 0W-20 is NAPA and they let me swap it...guys are pretty cool about that stuff...hmmmmm.My duty cycle tends to be a lot less rigorous than GR8s, 373 miles of highway at 75080, occasional traffic, garaged(so 0W rarely of concern.... This thread pushed me over the top....now if someone comes up with data showing most V35 issues are in US..that is the final nail.

This has been a highly educational thread! So the killer is the size of the particles being larger than the tolerances in places.........Wonder how much of it would have been washed out with a break in oil change before it truly starting consuming the block, plugging oriffces etc......how much of that is origanal debris not cleaned out and how much is destroyed surfaces....????
Still happening in 2026 hmmmm. If they are cleaning the parts properly, and if the parts are being produced properly, that leaves us with overly thin oil with inadequate HTHS and a lack of necessary protection........ I await thoughts on this.

 

[DubDub]

Well said. My 3.0TT in my last RR ran 0W-20 and I was getting ready to switch to 0W-30 based on all the negative press 20 weight was receiving.....Sold it in 2025 before this sh!! really hit the fan.
On the new LC, I did oil change 31 at 1300 miles, #2 at 4400 miles. I am at 6600 miles as it has been parked for past 2 months. Think I will dump it after another roundtrip when it gets awakened, do 1 last 0W-20 cycle to use it up and by 10K make the permanent switch to 5W-30....unless my jug of 0W-20 is NAPA and they let me swap it...guys are pretty cool about that stuff...hmmmmm.My duty cycle tends to be a lot less rigorous than GR8s, 373 miles of highway at 75080, occasional traffic, garaged(so 0W rarely of concern.... This thread pushed me over the top....now if someone comes up with data showing most V35 issues are in US..that is the final nail.

This has been a highly educational thread! So the killer is the size of the particles being larger than the tolerances in places.........Wonder how much of it would have been washed out with a break in oil change before it truly starting consuming the block, plugging oriffces etc......how much of that is origanal debris not cleaned out and how much is destroyed surfaces....????
Still happening in 2026 hmmmm. If they are cleaning the parts properly, and if the parts are being produced properly, that leaves us with overly thin oil with inadequate HTHS and a lack of necessary protection........ I await thoughts on this.

There are a couple of good podcast style videos out there on global impact of the V35A failures. I can’t seem to find it, but one was with a lawyer who represents customers through arbitration and buyback processes. I’m not going to speak through my teeth 4th hand here , but I recall that guy revealing, through his research representing his clients, that multiple countries were impacted. I don’t recall all of them, but do remember he referenced the middle east.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

OK interesting. Still not going to sway me back to 0W-20 though. I have seen far too many analyses of wear at 50, 100, 150 K with the different oil viscosities to trust 20 weight any more....... .3-.7% hmmmm. Therefore on a 20 mpg vehicle adding..3-/7% to its mileage is a whopping 20.06-20.14 mpg.. You can save FAR more fuel dropping 1 mph on a Land Cruiser...... FN govt so stupid it becomes incomprehensible.............how much energy does it consume to melt down the extra millions of engines, bodies, etc......diminishing returns times infinity.?..........

99% positive all the automakers knew they were in deep sh!! real quick......courtesy of an ignorant politician with a Harvard degree in ignorance manifested......

 

[sweet5ltr]

I've been a big fan of Dave's approach for a long time. Been waiting for him to tackle a V35A-FTS. As a Sequoia owner myself, I found this to be very interesting. Posting here because we have a good mix of fellow Toyota/Lexus diehards and GX owners amongst our population. If you get bored, Dave tackles everything and teaches along the way.

I've built race engines back when that was a normal thing in the South, and called out the actual issue the first year these started failing when everyone believed the nonsense Toyota was claiming. I've had them all, turbocharged, supercharged, stroker, etc.

We still have very ignorant people who have no business talking about engines, claiming Toyota isn't covering it up, as the 'debris' were the cause, not the aftermath of a failed main bearing, which Toyota quietly changed.

Overall, the entire block needs a redesign, moving away from max efficiency and back to maximum reliability, increasing tolerances and oil grade back to 5W-40 or similar. This failure does not often happen on hybrids as there is minimal stress on the bottom end - if you watch your LC the electric assist is very active under high loads at lower engine speeds.

 

[Bad1975]

I don't chaulk any of this up to 0W-20 oil. Toyota has specified that oil in the Tundras for a very long time there are plenty of 1UR-FE and 3UR-FE V8s from Tundra, Sequoia and Lexus with well over 500,000 miles with nothing other than regular maintenance done to them all while running 0W-20. The documented record is over 1 million miles on 3UR-FE Tundra, that Toyota featured at many an auto show previously, all it had done during its documented lifetime was adherence to the regular maintenance and one or two very minor external engine components that had to be changed .

No doubt there can be more wear if that oil is reaching its shear limits. Also no doubt running a 0W-40 oil in spec'd 0W-20 engine will also cause severe damage mainly during startup as the oil doesn't flow as quickly especially into the tighter tolerances between the bearings and their counterparts the crank, pistons, and cams. Also why one shouldn't run a non-synthetic on any modern engine spec'd for 5W and below as the molecular size is larger in conventional oil.

0W-20 and 0W-16 aren't only about fuel economy, the engines have much tighter tolerances than before and require the lower viscosity to not cause damage. 5W-20 is fine but once you go 10W-20 or 0W-30 your probably not just pushing your luck anymore. All the oil has to do as far as wear is concerned is prevent metal to metal contact and .0005" (5/10,000ths) is all it takes to achieve that.

All the hydraulic pistons I work on have .001-.0005" clearance for the fluid which is a straight 5W hydraulic oil (9-12cst) and most of these are in excess of 35 years old with around 35,000 hours on them. I have yet to see or hear of one damaged due to anything other than improper disassembly or reassembly. The sample size I have access to is quite large here and history doesn't lie so I think it's safe to say the designed engineering requirements and specifications are best a producing longevity and reliability along with the prescribed maintenance.

All that to say I highly doubt the automotive engineers have miffed up the spec'd oil, I think too much focus is given to the four ball wear test which is good for comparing oils but is in no way similar to the wear internal to a hydraulic fluid system/pump which is all an Internal combustion engine is below the compression ring.

Also any increase in viscosity results in higher oil pressure and lower oil flow as pressure and flow are inverse of one another in a hydraulic system and viscosity is the measure of a fluids resistance to flow.

 

[sweet5ltr]

OK interesting. Still not going to sway me back to 0W-20 though. I have seen far too many analyses of wear at 50, 100, 150 K with the different oil viscosities to trust 20 weight any more........3-.7% hmmmm. Therefore on a 20 mpg vehicle adding..3-/7% to its mileage is a whopping 20.06-20.14 mpg.. You can save FAR more fuel dropping 1 mph on a Land Cruiser...... FN govt so stupid it becomes incomprehensible.............how much energy does it consume to melt down the extra millions of engines, bodies, etc......diminishing returns times infinity.?..........

99% positive all the automakers knew they were in deep sh!! real quick......courtesy of an ignorant politician with a Harvard degree in ignorance manifested......

Problem with 0W-20 is that's it's great initially, but often sheers out of grade quickly, far more quickly than 5W-30. Which is why the death note to any modern Toyota is going 10,000-miles between oil changes, as it's likely already beginning to sheer with reduced protection by 5,000-miles.

 

[Bad1975]

I also think the Engine Dave tore down one couldn't reasonably determine the source due to the amount of damage.

IMO one of two things happened to this engine, oil neglect (level, intervals, type) or its was a one time catastrophic event where this all occurred at once (which I doubt since the rods survived without breaking). Otherwise whoever was operating the vehicle wasn't paying attention as the engine had to be singing and showing other signs of eminent failure well before it locked up.

With out metallurgical analysis of the debris and UOA it's impossible to determine the source of the failure and even then depending upon the results it may still not be possible on that engine?

Machining debris, less than .001% chance, too many of these went for too long before failure for that to be the cause, most wouldn't have made through break-in before failure.

I haven't checked into it but I'm sure plenty have gotten UOA religiously on these engines and had no prior indications of a failure before it locked up.

The real question here for me is why is Toyota covering up the cause, they've had bad bearings and piston designs before and corrected the issue and moved on without incident. Seems to me they are only making it worse due to their handling of it.

 

[sweet5ltr]

I also think the Engine Dave tore down one couldn't reasonably determine the source due to the amount of damage.

IMO one of two things happened to this engine, oil neglect (level, intervals, type) or its was a one time catastrophic event where this all occurred at once (which I doubt since the rods survived without breaking). Otherwise whoever was operating the vehicle wasn't paying attention as the engine had to be singing and showing other signs of eminent failure well before it locked up.

With out metallurgical analysis of the debris and UOA it's impossible to determine the source of the failure and even then depending upon the results it may still not be possible on that engine?

Machining debris, less than .001% chance, too many of these went for too long before failure for that to be the cause, most wouldn't have made through break-in before failure.

I haven't checked into it but I'm sure plenty have gotten UOA religiously on these engines and had no prior indications of a failure before it locked up.

The real question here for me is why is Toyota covering up the cause, they've had bad bearings and piston designs before and corrected the issue and moved on without incident. Seems to me they are only making it worse due to their handling of it.

I don't think many people understand how quickly 'engine debris' during the machining process would destroy an engine with these tolerances. Like you mentioned, they wouldn't last 1,000-miles. Engine debris during assembly don't cause random (mostly unexpected) catastrophic engine failures at 30-40-50,000 miles.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

I don't chaulk any of this up to 0W-20 oil. Toyota has specified that oil in the Tundras for a very long time there are plenty of 1UR-FE and 3UR-FE V8s from Tundra, Sequoia and Lexus with well over 500,000 miles with nothing other than regular maintenance done to them all while running 0W-20. The documented record is over 1 million miles on 3UR-FE Tundra, that Toyota featured at many an auto show previously, all it had done during its documented lifetime was adherence to the regular maintenance and one or two very minor external engine components that had to be changed .

No doubt there can be more wear if that oil is reaching its shear limits. Also no doubt running a 0W-40 oil in spec'd 0W-20 engine will also cause severe damage mainly during startup as the oil doesn't flow as quickly especially into the tighter tolerances between the bearings and their counterparts the crank, pistons, and cams. Also why one shouldn't run a non-synthetic on any modern engine spec'd for 5W and below as the molecular size is larger in conventional oil.

0W-20 and 0W-16 aren't only about fuel economy, the engines have much tighter tolerances than before and require the lower viscosity to not cause damage. 5W-20 is fine but once you go 10W-20 or 0W-30 your probably not just pushing your luck anymore. All the oil has to do as far as wear is concerned is prevent metal to metal contact and .0005" (5/10,000ths) is all it takes to achieve that.

All the hydraulic pistons I work on have .001-.0005" clearance for the fluid which is a straight 5W hydraulic oil (9-12cst) and most of these are in excess of 35 years old with around 35,000 hours on them. I have yet to see or hear of one damaged due to anything other than improper disassembly or reassembly. The sample size I have access to is quite large here and history doesn't lie so I think it's safe to say the designed engineering requirements and specifications are best a producing longevity and reliability along with the prescribed maintenance.

All that to say I highly doubt the automotive engineers have miffed up the spec'd oil, I think too much focus is given to the four ball wear test which is good for comparing oils but is in no way similar to the wear internal to a hydraulic fluid system/pump which is all an Internal combustion engine is below the compression ring.

Also any increase in viscosity results in higher oil pressure and lower oil flow as pressure and flow are inverse of one another in a hydraulic system and viscosity is the measure of a fluids resistance to flow.

Bad, I was following you till you made the cold start comment which suggests your oil knowledge might need a brush up. 0W-20, 0W-40. Cold startup both are 0W......btw 0W only becomes advantageous over 5W below -22F. A garaged vehicle, at 35 degrees . ZERO advantage
Please explain why the identical motors elsewhere in the world have manuals and techspecs for thicker oils. IT IS ONLY THE US MANUALS THAT LIMIT YOU TO 0w-20. Watch only cars, do a few searches to confirm this. MOG doesn't even buy into the tolerances argument.......nor do ANY of the others. Engineers were essentially forced into the 0W-20 arena ONLY for CAFE requirements. Did all motors magically get reengineered in 2012? HTHS is far more important than the grade of oil from what I am learning. I would love to see a bunch of videos showing damage caused by running 5W-30 in a 0W-20 specced vehicle.......haven't found any........there is some talk, but no forensics. I am talking 0/5W-30 v 0W-20. No need for 40 or 50wt...track car only gets that stuff....and my Ferrari blocked Quad which specs 5W-40.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

I also think the Engine Dave tore down one couldn't reasonably determine the source due to the amount of damage.

IMO one of two things happened to this engine, oil neglect (level, intervals, type) or its was a one time catastrophic event where this all occurred at once (which I doubt since the rods survived without breaking). Otherwise whoever was operating the vehicle wasn't paying attention as the engine had to be singing and showing other signs of eminent failure well before it locked up.

With out metallurgical analysis of the debris and UOA it's impossible to determine the source of the failure and even then depending upon the results it may still not be possible on that engine?

Machining debris, less than .001% chance, too many of these went for too long before failure for that to be the cause, most wouldn't have made through break-in before failure.

I haven't checked into it but I'm sure plenty have gotten UOA religiously on these engines and had no prior indications of a failure before it locked up.

The real question here for me is why is Toyota covering up the cause, they've had bad bearings and piston designs before and corrected the issue and moved on without incident. Seems to me they are only making it worse due to their handling of it.

Motor was pretty damn clean. I doubt oil neglect was the issue. The only neglect was probably a 10K interval that let the oil fail HTHS levels......JIMHO. I do suspect a large amount of the debris found was from all the badly worn parts!!!....speculation starts here ...on a motor that did a lot of really hard work like towing, heavy hauling deep southern heat....all things that cause a motor to run really hot and exceed the HTHS of the 0W-20 oil.......probably a bit different than that million mile Tundra that probably lived a privileged life typical of a personal use truck for reasons that really never require a truck in the first place except you have the rights to burn gas.....

 

[Blue Bear]

Lol, no sir it is not. I don’t defend anyone I don’t know and I am a very discerning individual. I’ve never seen a second of Blue Bear’s referenced channel so I have zero opinion . What I do know is that Dave has almost 4 decades experience as a master mechanic, and is widely regarded as an authoritative expert outside of youtube. I’ll take his opinion on that particular teardown to the bank. His shop in Utah (I think) was recommended to me way back in 2007 when I had exceeded 800hp on a procharged 2004 terminator and suffered failure from a shoddy top end rebuild in Jacksonville, FL.

With all of that said, I limit my engine teardown screen time to just 45min - 1hr/day. Maybe I’ll visit that other channel tomorrow!

Toyota is redesigning the #1 main bearing in the V6 TT. That doesn't mean that manufacturing debris left during production wasn't an issue; it could be that both the main bearing design and swarf were/are issues.

I've attached the USDOT doc where Toyota states that they are redesigning the #1 main bearing.

 

[Blue Bear]

Bad, I was following you till you made the cold start comment which suggests your oil knowledge might need a brush up. 0W-20, 0W-40. Cold startup both are 0W......
Please explain why the identical motors elsewhere in the world have manuals and techspecs for thicker oils. IT IS ONLY THE US MANUALS THAT LIMIT YOU TO 0w-20. Watch only cars, do a few searches to confirm this. MOG doesn't even buy into the tolerances argument.......nor do ANY of the others. Engineers were essentially forced into the 0W-20 arena ONLY for CAFE requirements. Did all motors magically get reengineered in 2012? HTHS is far more important than the grade of oil from what I am learning. I would love to see a bunch of videos showing damage caused by running 5W-30 in a 0W-20 specced vehicle.......haven't found any........there is some talk, but no forensics. I am talking 0/5W-30 v 0W-20. No need for 40 or 50wt...track car only gets that stuff....and my Ferrari blocked Quad which specs 5W-40.

I'm not sure why you keep mentioning the Motor Oil Geek as a reference for using heavier weight oil (5w-30 instead of 0w-20, for example.) Lake Speed, Jr. has posted videos suggesting the 0w-20 does not lead to greater wear. He does mention the CAFE standards and that US manuals may list different specifications.

 

[DubDub]

Toyota is redesigning the #1 main bearing in the V6 TT. That doesn't mean that manufacturing debris left during production wasn't an issue; it could be that both the main bearing design and swarf were/are issues.

I've attached the USDOT doc where Toyota states that they are redesigning the #1 main bearing.

I did see this too via numerous sources. From my deep dive, I came away with the impression that they are updating it to be more resilient to swarf.

 

[MSINAL]

I'm completely against these low viscocity oils and would much prefer 0w40 in my engines. What keeps me sticking to the 0w20 is the engine design philosphy of designing bearing clearances for the use case. To keep lubrication optimized at running temperatures, the oil viscosity must match the highly engineered hydrodynamics of oil flow which is dependent on the bearing clearances.
I think second guessing manufacturer's oil recommendatio is a risk not worth taking for me. To each his own.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

I'm not sure why you keep mentioning the Motor Oil Geek as a reference for using heavier weight oil (5w-30 instead of 0w-20, for example.) Lake Speed, Jr. has posted videos suggesting the 0w-20 does not lead to greater wear. He does mention the CAFE standards and that US manuals may list different specifications.

Good question. He and I had communication about some oil burn issues I was having in my track car. He thought the increase to 50 weight was smart. He also highly recommended I try Valvoline Protect and Restore. Gets more complicated too. P&R does not make a 5W-40. Valvoline directly via communication said it would be fine to do a 50:50 mix of 5w-30 P&R and 15W-50 NAPA (Valvoline). Within 100 miles dipstick was shiny and my oil consumption has dropped at least 50%$ as it dissolves what Lake described as a sticking ring from carbon buildup. So I believe him. Cuse the aside in the thread.

In normal situations , he is not against 20 weight oils but will openly tell you in analysis if wear numbers don't drop to what he calls acceptable levels after break in, increase viscosity. Translation. he is being diplomatic......let the data drive your decision and not stir up the EPA and those idiots..... My 1st 2 oil tests showed classic break in numbers.

I know ours motors have significant output for their size which means when passing cars etc, or towing, running loaded at 80 mph, HTHS is a real concern as the oil gets miles on it. Dumping the oil at shorter intervals is essentially dealing with oil that can't handle a 10K change. Even at 7.5K, I'd rather change oil that is still in good shape than on its last legs....and these numbers are out there to back this up. Below is a page out of a European LC250. Notice the scale with 5W-30. That is not in the US manual I believe. HMMMM

"Gasoline engine

Oil capacity (Drain and refill[Reference*])​

With filter	2TR-FE engine: 5.9 L (6.2 qt., 5.2 Imp.qt.) T24A-FTS engine: 5.6 L (5.9 qt., 4.9 Imp.qt.)
Without filter	2TR-FE engine: 5.5 L (5.8 qt., 4.8 Imp.qt.) T24A-FTS engine: 5.3 L (5.6 qt., 4.7 Imp.qt.)

*The engine oil capacity is a reference quantity to be used when changing the engine oil. When actually adding the engine oil, make sure that the oil level is between the low level mark and refill upper limit mark. Warm up and turn off the engine, wait about 5 minutes, and check the oil level on the dipstick.

Engine oil selection​

“Toyota Genuine Motor Oil” is used in your Toyota vehicle. Toyota recommends the use of approved “Toyota Genuine Motor Oil”. Another motor oil of matching quality can also be used.

Oil grade:

0W-20 and 5W-30

API grade SM “Energy-Conserving”, SN “Resource-Conserving”, SN PLUS “Resource-Conserving” or SP “Resource-Conserving”;or ILSAC GF-6A multigrade engine oil

Recommended viscosity (SAE):

SAE 0W-20 is filled into your Toyota vehicle at manufacturing, and the best choice for good fuel economy and good starting in cold weather.

If SAE 0W-20 oil is not available, SAE 5W-30 oil may be used. However, it should be replaced with SAE 0W-20 at the next oil change.

1. Temperature range anticipated before next oil change
2. Preferred

Oil viscosity (0W-20 is explained here as an example):

• The 0W in 0W-20 indicates the characteristic of the oil which allows cold startability. Oils with a lower value before the W allow for easier starting of the engine in cold weather.
• The 20 in 0W-20 indicates the viscosity characteristic of the oil when the oil is at high temperature.

How to read oil container labels:

Either or both API registered marks are added to some oil containers to help you select the oil you should use.

1. API Service Symbol
   
   Top portion: “API SERVICE SP” means the oil quality designation by American Petroleum Institute (API).
   Center portion: “SAE 0W-20” means the SAE viscosity grade.
   
   Lower portion: “Resource-Conserving” means that the oil has fuel-saving and environmental protection capabilities.
2. ILSAC Certification Mark The International Lubricant Specification Advisory Committee (ILSAC) Certification Mark is displayed on the front of the container."

By now you folks should see a pattern to my thinking. Just like the reg v Premium power numbers, tunes etc for 4runner and LC, I have seen manuals for our same vehicle from different countries...SAME VEHICLE, different specs.....in USA, Toyota is dealing with the enemy called CAFE and will only admit to 0W-20 yet around the rest of the world, 5W-30 and even 15W-40 or more are in the manuals all temp and environment based of course. I have seen enough.

Back to The V35A-FTS. I agree they have improved some weak link parts. I agree there was a contamination issues. I THINK the oil being used did not help. I DO NOT think in the least, that running 5W-30 will harm ANYTHING and I am not concerned about .1 mpg!!! I strongly think CAFE has done a lot more harm than good since 2012. Finally, the FAR MORE IMPORTANT number than weight is HTHS!!!!!!that is where many 20 weights fail prematurely. That is the enemy!!!!I bet it contributed to the V35 issues far more than we may ever know. Look at the sh!! GM is dealing with switching to 0W40. All the folks think they, too, deserve new motors.....just because its life started at 0W-20. Toyota is not going to admit this......but I bet the manuals get reworded........sooner than you think. Classic CYA will be to allow 5W-30 if you think your situation needs it.......does not affect CAFE numbers.

 

[sweet5ltr]

Good question. He and I had communication about some oil burn issues I was having in my track car. He thought the increase to 50 weight was smart. He also highly recommended I try Valvoline Protect and Restore. Gets more complicated too. P&R does not make a 5W-40. Valvoline directly via communication said it would be fine to do a 50:50 mix of 5w-30 P&R and 15W-50 NAPA (Valvoline). Within 100 miles dipstick was shiny and my oil consumption has dropped at least 50%$ as it dissolves what Lake described as a sticking ring from carbon buildup. So I believe him. Cuse the aside in the thread.

In normal situations , he is not against 20 weight oils but will openly tell you in analysis if wear numbers don't drop to what he calls acceptable levels after break in, increase viscosity. Translation. he is being diplomatic......let the data drive your decision and not stir up the EPA and those idiots..... My 1st 2 oil tests showed classic break in numbers.

I know ours motors have significant output for their size which means when passing cars etc, or towing, running loaded at 80 mph, HTHS is a real concern as the oil gets miles on it. Dumping the oil at shorter intervals is essentially dealing with oil that can't handle a 10K change. Even at 7.5K, I'd rather change oil that is still in good shape than on its last legs....and these numbers are out there to back this up. Below is a page out of a European LC250. Notice the scale with 5W-30. That is not in the US manual I believe. HMMMM

"Gasoline engine

Oil capacity (Drain and refill[Reference*])​

With filter	2TR-FE engine: 5.9 L (6.2 qt., 5.2 Imp.qt.) T24A-FTS engine: 5.6 L (5.9 qt., 4.9 Imp.qt.)
Without filter	2TR-FE engine: 5.5 L (5.8 qt., 4.8 Imp.qt.) T24A-FTS engine: 5.3 L (5.6 qt., 4.7 Imp.qt.)

*The engine oil capacity is a reference quantity to be used when changing the engine oil. When actually adding the engine oil, make sure that the oil level is between the low level mark and refill upper limit mark. Warm up and turn off the engine, wait about 5 minutes, and check the oil level on the dipstick.

Engine oil selection​

“Toyota Genuine Motor Oil” is used in your Toyota vehicle. Toyota recommends the use of approved “Toyota Genuine Motor Oil”. Another motor oil of matching quality can also be used.

Oil grade:

0W-20 and 5W-30

API grade SM “Energy-Conserving”, SN “Resource-Conserving”, SN PLUS “Resource-Conserving” or SP “Resource-Conserving”;or ILSAC GF-6A multigrade engine oil

Recommended viscosity (SAE):

SAE 0W-20 is filled into your Toyota vehicle at manufacturing, and the best choice for good fuel economy and good starting in cold weather.

If SAE 0W-20 oil is not available, SAE 5W-30 oil may be used. However, it should be replaced with SAE 0W-20 at the next oil change.

1. Temperature range anticipated before next oil change
2. Preferred

Oil viscosity (0W-20 is explained here as an example):

• The 0W in 0W-20 indicates the characteristic of the oil which allows cold startability. Oils with a lower value before the W allow for easier starting of the engine in cold weather.
• The 20 in 0W-20 indicates the viscosity characteristic of the oil when the oil is at high temperature.

How to read oil container labels:

Either or both API registered marks are added to some oil containers to help you select the oil you should use.

1. API Service Symbol
   
   Top portion: “API SERVICE SP” means the oil quality designation by American Petroleum Institute (API).
   Center portion: “SAE 0W-20” means the SAE viscosity grade.
   
   Lower portion: “Resource-Conserving” means that the oil has fuel-saving and environmental protection capabilities.
2. ILSAC Certification Mark The International Lubricant Specification Advisory Committee (ILSAC) Certification Mark is displayed on the front of the container."

By now you folks should see a pattern to my thinking. Just like the reg v Premium power numbers, tunes etc for 4runner and LC, I have seen manuals for our same vehicle from different countries...SAME VEHICLE, different specs.....in USA, Toyota is dealing with the enemy called CAFE and will only admit to 0W-20 yet around the rest of the world, 5W-30 and even 15W-40 or more are in the manuals all temp and environment based of course. I have seen enough.

Back to The V35A-FTS. I agree they have improved some weak link parts. I agree there was a contamination issues. I THINK the oil being used did not help. I DO NOT think in the least, that running 5W-30 will harm ANYTHING and I am not concerned about .1 mpg!!! I strongly think CAFE has done a lot more harm than good since 2012. Finally, the FAR MORE IMPORTANT number than weight is HTHS!!!!!!that is where many 20 weights fail prematurely. That is the enemy!!!!I bet it contributed to the V35 issues far more than we may ever know. Look at the sh!! GM is dealing with switching to 0W40. All the folks think they, too, deserve new motors.....just because its life started at 0W-20. Toyota is not going to admit this......but I bet the manuals get reworded........sooner than you think. Classic CYA will be to allow 5W-30 if you think your situation needs it.......does not affect CAFE numbers.

I'm 100% on-board with 5W-30 or even 0W-40 in a turbo application for environments like Florida or Texas. I will make the switch to 5W-30 once the powertrain warranty expires at 125,000-miles. Until then, I'm just going to continue changing the oil every 5,000-miles with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and the OEM filter, along with using premium fuel. Everything I can possibly do as an owner to help this engine live a very long life.

 

[Bad1975]

Motor was pretty damn clean. I doubt oil neglect was the issue. The only neglect was probably a 10K interval that let the oil fail HTHS levels......JIMHO. I do suspect a large amount of the debris found was from all the badly worn parts!!!....speculation starts here ...on a motor that did a lot of really hard work like towing, heavy hauling deep southern heat....all things that cause a motor to run really hot and exceed the HTHS of the 0W-20 oil.......probably a bit different than that million mile Tundra that probably lived a privileged life typical of a personal use truck for reasons that really never require a truck in the first place except you have the rights to burn gas.....

I said cold starts for two reasons, the majority of cold starts aren’t cold starts, so a variable weight 20 is likely 10-15 and a variable rate 40 is likely 30 or more and 80% of engine wear occurs during a cold start no matter the temp provided the vehicle sat long enough for the majority of the oil drain back to the sump and leave the oil film remaining very light through the bearing surfaces. Would be ideal to have a 30 second electric pump that gets the oil circulating before allowing an engine start.

There is a reason heavier viscosities correct minor leaks and blow by, the molecules are larger and have a harder time passing through tight tolerances. Those same molecules will shear when trying to force them where they can’t fit and can cause micro bubbles in those situations which will destroy a bearing very quickly.