Driven by increasingly stringent emission and fuel economy standards, Toyota has informed its dealers that the company will begin requiring SAE 0W-20 synthetic engine oils in new Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles over the next several years. Other OEMs are expected to follow suit by 2011. Among the benefits cited by Toyota are enhanced protection at high and low temperatures, improved fuel economy and reduced engine deposits. In addition, Toyota is reportedly studying increasing oil drain interval recommendations to 10,000 miles.

Many of the 2010 model year Honda vehicles also come with 0W-20 synthetic as well in addition to the Hybrid models which have already been using 0W-20 Pay attention to the oil filler cap.