Hello, I have been using SN 0W-20 grade engine oil on my Prius 2013 with 75K kilometers on it. I know SN/SN+ is the latest tech. However, I wonder what bad can happen (significant / insignificant) if I use older tech SM 0W-20 on the next change cycle?
The owners manual references an ILSAC grade, as long as it meets that I don't see any harm... moto g(7) power ?
As @jzchen kindly notes, the Owner’s Manual for cars sold in the U.S. calls for engine oil meeting ILSAC specifications, but Toyota’s Repair Manual (more info) series states that in Mexico and other countries, oil of these other grades and SAE viscosities can be used: API grade SL "energy-conserving", SM "energy-conserving", SN "resource-conserving" or ILSAC multigrade engine oil 0W-20 5W-20 5W-30 10W-30 API grade SL, SM or SN multigrade engine oil 15W-40 20W-50 On that basis, I wouldn’t expect anything terrible to happen if you used Category SM oil, provided it’s replaced at reasonable intervals. I don’t know which (if any) benefits of ILSAC or Category SN oil—summarized in the American Petroleum Institute’s “Which Oil Is Right For You?” brochure (PDF)—apply in practice to Prius cars. The definitions of Category SM, Category SN, and ILSAC GF-5 and its predecessors are in Annex G and Annex Q of API 1809, Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (PDF).
