What Engine Oil Rx 400H

bbsirdar · March 29, 2013

Morning All

I am a little confused (not difficult) about what engine oils my RX 400h should take. It’s a 2008 model and I plan to do my own oil and filter changes from now on. My manual says 0w-20(which is hard to get hold of) The US web forums are saying 5w-20, some show a copy of a Lexus service bulletin highlighting this. Every single third party site (Halfords/Eurocarparts etc) says 5w-30 which is plentiful.

I really want to get it right and ideally want a premium oil, eBay are listing a Toyota 0w-20 oil for stop start engines,highlighting the stop start element and the suitability for the 1.3 litre smaller engines. Surely this can’t be the same stuff my 3.3L beasty drinks

I remember when oils where quiet straightforward

Duncan Roberts · March 29, 2013

Out of curiosity I googled 0w20 engine oil and there are a number of suppliers of it so it does not seem hard to get hold of it.

You could get the first lot from a Lexus dealer and then buy it elsewhere thereafter or try to get the Lexus/Toyota part number and match that. However I fail to see why Toyota 0w20 is not right - simply because an eBay vendor describes it as being for the 1.3 and Prius cars does not raise any issues. Car manufacturers do not make their own oils, merely use those to a specific specification. Their parts operations will then have a suitable manufacturer put it in containers with their own names on and charge what they think that they can get.

Mobil, Total and others offer synthetic oils of this description, all of which would seem OK.

vadre · March 29, 2013

My 400h was serviced by my local Lexus dealer 3 weeks ago. The invoice shows they used Castrol Magnatec 5w-30 C2 fully synthetic oil.

Good enough for me.

bbsirdar · March 29, 2013

Suppose kind of proves my point two different Garages, both Lexus franchises, recommending different oils!

With regards supply of 0W-20 I cannot find anyone selling 5L of premium big brand oil at a reasonable price. Plenty of 1L Mobil 1’s etc but at £14 a time = £70+ to refill. It is especially noticeable as there are dozens of retailers in the US offering 5L for $24.00.

eBay have Total 0W-20 5 x I litres for around £40+p&p suppose I will go with them. Would have liked to try the Mobil 1 though.

lurch · April 1, 2013

Just checked my last three service invoices and My RX400h has always had 5w-30 synthetic oil fitted, seems fine and very easy to source at good price. Hope this helps.

PCM · August 6, 2015

For my Rx300 it was, Shell Helix Ultra 5W-30...

ChrisKaye · August 6, 2015

I'll be using Toyota 5w30, it comes in a 5l bottle and you just pop to the parts counter at your local dealer to buy it off the shelf.

It can go for as much as £25 for 5L or as low as £15 depending if they have an offer on.

We get screwed on oil prices in the UK, so as long as you are changing it on schedule, the Toyota stuff is fine!

Also when you stop by the parts counter, see if they still offer the buy 3 service items & get 4th free.

I got oil, oil filter, air filter and free cabin filter! Everything except the air filter was the exact same parts as for my '53 plate Celica which is handy for me!! :)

Tyrosman · August 8, 2015

I have been using 5W30 oil for years now in a Volkswagen, BMW and my RX300 v.2. Never any problems. In fact the BMW (5series) remained faultless for 16 years and the Lexus is now 12 years old with the VW being only a young 11 years of age.

I have had a couple of problems with the RX. Firstly a leaking power steering pump and currently failure of the cabin heating (possibly a blocked heater matrix or water pump problem). Has any owner had the same problem? remedies?

ChrisKaye · August 8, 2015

Assuming your ventilation fans are working OK and you are getting usual air flow from vents when fan is set to high or AirCon is a strong blast, then I'd look at bleeding the coolant as usually the heater matrix is one (if not the highest) of the highest things in the coolant system. If air is found or a bleed fixes the issue, look for coolant leaks in/around engine bay, especially underneath water pump and the top of the plastic under engine trays...

The only other thing I can think of is the little servos or switchgear behind the dash that move flaps to turn on the water flow to the heater may have gone or got misaligned although U.S. Owners report a repetitive click-click-click type noise if this is the case....

Tyrosman · August 11, 2015

Thanks Chris,

The switchgear has been changed also the system has been flushed a couple of times. After flushing the heater works for about a couple of miles then reverts to lukewarm (just on the drivers side). The air has been bled from the sytem, no coolant leaks.

The vehicle is going in for service later this week, I will let you know the result.

Barrie

Czar Savage · November 22, 2020

I have a 07 rx400h, she runs amazing! I always use good synthetic oil. Mine takes 5w30 and I use royal purple. Other brands will work well too I'm sure. I also ad lucas high viscosity oil stabilizer (just a bit, squirt or 2) to help with dry starts...seafoam to oil 100 miles before oil changes (every other oil change) and seafoam in the fuel tank every third fill-up or so.

I love my Lexus truck and she's a workhorse that's still fast and fun to drive with 28 mpg the maintenance is paying for itself. Get good oil, use cleaners and prevent wear and tear and these trucks will run strong for a long time to come....remember a hybrid with 200k miles only has 120k on the engine. If you are here to read about your truck then gratz! You have one of the best trucks Lexus ever made! Lol and the rx350 can't even compete with the 400 sorry...not even close... completely different truck ..imo tho, just IMO.

Barry14UK · November 23, 2020

I generally buy what grade is recommended by the manufacturer of the car for use in a particular territory. I know for my RX450hin the UK it's Toyota 0-20 fully synthetic available through Toyota or Lexus and also is sold on the net. I read this oil was to a formula produced for Toyota by Mobil. I did ask Lexus what they used when servicing my car and again it's a variation of a Mobile Oil. I did post it a long time ago but it's not to hand. It seems to be rated just below Mobile 1. Actually, all reputable branded oils are good these days and have to pass certain standards but some can stay within spec longer than others. If you get the recommended grade (which can be affected by climate or how old the engine as well as operating conditions), provided you change your oil and replace filter with a decent one as recommended you should be ok. Obviously, cars with worn engines, used normally just for many cold starts, or left for many months without an oil change are going deteriorate more quickly.

In the USA they tend to do far greater mileages than in the uK and mention on forums how they have their oil analysed when changed, cut open oil various filters to see what is best and the like, so go into this more deeply than we do.

Brad Ched · March 10, 2023

On 11/23/2020 at 9:47 AM, Barry14UK said:

I generally buy what grade is recommended by the manufacturer of the car for use in a particular territory. I know for my RX450hin the UK it's Toyota 0-20 fully synthetic available through Toyota or Lexus and also is sold on the net. I read this oil was to a formula produced for Toyota by Mobil. I did ask Lexus what they used when servicing my car and again it's a variation of a Mobile Oil. I did post it a long time ago but it's not to hand. It seems to be rated just below Mobile 1. Actually, all reputable branded oils are good these days and have to pass certain standards but some can stay within spec longer than others. If you get the recommended grade (which can be affected by climate or how old the engine as well as operating conditions), provided you change your oil and replace filter with a decent one as recommended you should be ok. Obviously, cars with worn engines, used normally just for many cold starts, or left for many months without an oil change are going deteriorate more quickly.

In the USA they tend to do far greater mileages than in the uK and mention on forums how they have their oil analysed when changed, cut open oil various filters to see what is best and the like, so go into this more deeply than we do.

Hi @Barry14UK,

Just when I thought that I cracked what oil I need for my 2009 RX 450h, eBay states that it is not compatible :(

Previously I had bought the below one, but Paul from ToyotaTech (Guildford) said it is not that good for aged hybrids:

So I'm at a crossroads here, wondering which one to choose...

Would you or anyone else have any up-to-date recommendations, please?

Kind regards,

Brad

Sundance · March 11, 2023

Receipts that came with my recent purchase show that different oils have been used over time, varying from Castrol Edge Titanium 5W/30 (most recent), Mobil 1 ESP OW/20 fully synthetic and then in the dim and distant Lexus (Guildford) used Lexus Helix HX7 AF 5 which presumably was their version of Shell Helix 5W/30.

For my 400h Castrol website recommends Castrol Edge 5W/30 M or Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start 5W/30 and the Mobil website recommends Mobil 1 ESP X2 0W/20. I suggest that you give both websites a go for your own vehicle.

Then given both the UK climate and the above recommendations I can't think that there can be too much difference between 0W/20 and 5W/30. I'll see what my mechanic says in July when annual oil change is due.

Hope this helps you Brad.

ColinBarber · March 11, 2023

Before MY09 (Aug 2008 build date) the recommended oil grade was 5W-30 or 10W30. For MY09 onwards it changed to 0W-20 or 5W-20.

0W-20 might be too thin for an ageing vehicle - it depends on engine wear and you could see an increase in oil consumption - but would give you the best mpg.

Nothing really changed with the engine, just that Toyota started to move to 0W-20 oils in their hybrid vehicles at that time to improve mpg and CO2 figures after evaluating its suitability.