My Toyota dealer has been putting 5w-30 oil in my Scion xD, Instead of the recomened 0w-20, 5w-20. Will this cause damage to the engine?
Unless the temperature in your area is dropping down to ZERO 5W-30 should be OK.
You might consider this factory site’s recommended oils
http://www.toyota.com/owners/web/pages/parts-service/parts?categoryId=32052&partNo=part9
The oil your dealer installed seems to be Toyota’s first choice.
It’s probably the oil weight the dealer stocks in bulk that the manufacturer will accept. They will recomend what ever will earn the most profit and be the most convenient .
If the dealership was using 5W-20 instead of 0W-20, I wouldn’t care, but when they use 5W-30, I’d complain, make them drain it out, and put either 0W-20 or 5W-20 in the engine. It’s not likely to make a measurable difference, but I’d make them do it the right way anyway. They’re the freakin’ Toyota dealer for goodness sake. You’re supposed to be able to trust them to get stuff like this right. It’s not like you’re going to Iffy-Lube, where you’d expect that kind of thing.
I agree with Whitey on this one. I took our 2003 Toyota 4Runner to the former Toyota dealer in our city and the service department put in 10W-30 oil. The manual called for 5W-30, but said 10W-30 could be used, but should be replaced with 5W-30 at the next oil change. This was in the summer and the first oil change after we bought the car new. I decided the 10W-30 wouldn’t hurt anything, but I didn’t like the service department not following the manual. From then on, the car went to our independent shop for servicing.
A dealership has several departments, each with its own manager. The departments are new car sales, used cars sales, service, parts, and possibly a body shop. Each department is expected to show a profit. I think that if a service manager can save money using 5W-30 instead of the required 0W-20, that is what some of them may do.