I’m curious as to who makes “Genuine Toyota Motor Oil”. In other words, is it Mobil One, Pennzoil, Castrol etc. under another name?
And if you know the answer, do you have a source to support your answer?
Thanks in advance.
I have a friend that works for a Toyota dealer and he says that the oil is manufactured by Mobil. I also found this info on a Toyota forum. According to this forum the Genuine Toyota Oil bottle is clearly labeled “Mobil” and Mobil also makes some of the synthetic Toyota oil.
Just check at a Toyota dealer…have them show you the oil in a black bottle.
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Toyota’s don’t need “special” motor oil…It’s Honda’s and Audi’s that need special lubricants to keep them alive…BMW’s are borderline motor oil obsessive too…
Toyota engines generally last longer than the rest of the vehicle so worrying about motor oil is loves labor lost…
I only mention it because Toyota recommends that you use Genuine Toyota Motor Oil, which I’m sure doesn’t mean that it is required, but is most likely more of a marketing thing for Toyota.
It means Toyota does not trust the Motor Oil Market Place and the hundreds of products labeled “Motor Oil” available to the consumer…
If you have your car serviced at the Toyota Dealership do you automatically get “Genuine Toyota Motor Oil” or do they follow tradition and use bulk dispensing equipment fed by 55 gallon drums provided by one of the major oil companies…?
It takes a lot of guts to recommend your own motor oil when another company’s name is printed on your bottles. Good thing I don’t have to buy Craftsman oil for my lawn tractors; I couldn’t afford to. Six or seven dollars for straight 30 weight. Rip me off a little but don’t leave a permanent scar.
Every manufacturer is going to recommend you use “their” fluids. I suppose you can’t go wrong doing this, but you can get just as good of oil elsewhere, cheaper. Maybe the exception being with ATF+4 and Chrysler transmissions. If Mobil actually does make Toyota-branded oil, buy Mobil instead and save some $$. I can understand them wanting people to use Mobil-1 with some sludging problems a matter of record on some motors.
I don’t know about now, but 10 years ago, Purolator was making Toyota oil filters. Why buy the Genuine Toyota oil filter at $10 apice, when you can get the exact same filter at Autozone for $2.95?
I know this doesn’t apply at every Toyota dealership but my local Toyota dealer in the Los Angeles area has been advertising through their monthly mailer Toyota 5W-30 for $2.90 per quart, no limit. It’s for conventional oil only, not synthetics and you need the coupon in the flyer. However, this has been running for several months and at the beginning you didn’t even need the coupon. Maybe this just a loss leader, I don’t know, but sometimes prices aren’t always what you expect from the dealer.
I just looked at a bottle of “Toyota” motor oil and it’s clearly marked “Mobil.” I don’t know what moron disagreed me when I posted the truth but they know who they are.
I don’t know either missileman, but it was odd. I usually ignore those things, but I just offset it for your with an “agree”
Thanks cigroller. I got your back if you ever need it.
Okay, then let me throw this into the mix for discussion. Toyota describes their brand of oil like this;
“Formulated with a special additive package that helps protect Toyota metal and gasket surfaces from corrosion, prevents foaming and maintains the proper application of oil on cylinder walls.”
Does Mobil oil under its own name have the “special additive package”? How would we know?
I suspect that Mobil oil and Toyota Oil are exactly the same, however, they (Toyota) want us to think they are different.
$2.90/quart for regular 5W-30 Mobil oil looks like a pretty good price (I was surprised how much oil costs now). If it beats the sales price in your area (don’t worry about brand, just that it’s 5W-30), sure, stock up.
It is not likely that any special oil is needed as long as the oil used meets or exceeds the specifications listed in the owner’s manual.
@Joe Guy–I agree with you that Toyota oil, Mobil oil and any other motor oil that meets the specifications in the manual are the same. I have a 2011 Sienna that calls for 0W-20 synthetic oil. The three oil changes that I have had done were performed at the Toyota dealer, so I have no idea whether “genuine Toyota Oil” was used. However, the sticker that the service department placed on the windshield says Valvoline. I’m certain that the oil that is “Formulated with a special additive package that helps protect Toyota metal and gasket surfaces from corrosion, prevents foaming and maintains the proper application of oil on cylinder walls.” protects GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, and Nissan engines as well.
I think most dealers by the oil in bulk in big drums that meet the specifications for the engines for their vehicles and it may be Valvoline, Pennzoil, Kendall, Quaker State–whoever provides the best price.
Theoretically one can say that Toyota orders a special oil and mobil builds it for Toyota, so the oil you get with the Toyota label would be a different oil. In reality, as far as it meets the specs, ie the SAE/ILGSAF etc, you are fine.
Even my Honda dealer used Pennzoil for my new Honda.
It is the transmission oils and coolants that make things more tricky.
<>b>.It’s Honda’s and Audi’s that need special lubricants to keep them alive
Where you getting your information form Caddyman???..Honda…does not and never has not needed any special motor oil for it’s engines. Please show me where you’re getting your information from.
Honda does require a specific tranny fluid (which other companies make)…same with Powersteering fluid…But again other companies make that fluid also.
Every major oil company makes motor oil that is 100% compatible with ALL makes and models. I know of no oil company that doesn’t make an oil for Honda or Audi or BMW.
Back to the OP’s question…Mobil oil is probably the oil they use now. I’ll bet a years salary that Toyota shops around every few years to get the best deal. Mobil may be the best deal today. As long as you use a good quality oil that meets Toyota specs (they all do) with the same viscosity rating required for your vehicle…then you should easily get 300k miles out of the engine.
I am a technician at a Toyota dealer. While we do sell quarts of “Toyota Genuine” oil, our bulk oil gets delivered by a tanker. Up until Toyota started offering pre-paid maintenance with a new car purchase, we used Pennzoil, Rice oil, Kendall, etc. Toyota had a bit of a fit and said "Look, we’re paying your dealership for these oil changes, you are GOING to use our oil. And that was that. I highly suspect it’s like that for every Toyota dealership, not just ours. By the way, I just pulled a quart of Toyota oil off of the shelf, and NOWHERE on it does it say Mobil. It says “Made in the US with domestic and foreign components.” The oil comes out looking VERY clean at regular intervals, unless the car was previously neglected, and the engine had a lot of deposits that needed broken up by the detergents. I use it in every car I own. Good stuff. I’ll ask an instructor or my FTS, or my DPS next time I see them or next time I call Torrence, CA for tech support to see if they’ll tell me exactly who makes it.
Holy thread resuscitation Batman!!
13 months, a new record?