Here is something the data makes obvious and the parts aisle hides: filters are shared far more widely than oil is.
Across every vehicle we list, 1,541 rows carry an OEM filter part number — and between them they use only 149 distinct parts. A third of those fit exactly one model. The rest are spread thin across whole ranges, and sometimes across whole corporate families.
The filters that fit the most cars
| OEM part | Models | Makes |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan 15208-65F0E | 27 | Nissan, Infiniti |
| ACDelco PF63 | 25 | Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saturn, Suzuki |
| ACDelco PF64 | 24 | Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC |
| Hyundai 26300-35505 | 23 | Hyundai, Kia |
| Motorcraft FL-910S | 22 | Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda |
| Toyota 04152-YZZA1 | 17 | Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Pontiac |
That last line is the one people blink at. A Toyota cartridge filter also fits a 2009–2010 Pontiac Vibe — the Vibe was a Matrix built on the same line — and a Scion tC. The ACDelco PF63 reaches seven makes, including the 2009 Suzuki XL7, which used a GM V6. Platform sharing is invisible from the outside and total underneath.
But the oil is not shared
Now the part that matters. Take the cars that use ACDelco PF64 — one filter, 24 models — and look at what their manufacturers ask you to put in:
- 0W-20 on fifteen of those rows
- 5W-20 on ten
- 5W-30 on twenty-two
- 0W-40 on five, including the Camaro and the Cadillac CT6
Four different grades, one filter. A 0W-40 and a 0W-20 are not close to each other, and nothing on the filter tells you which belongs in your car.
Toyota’s 04152-YZZA1 is the same story stretched over a decade: it is specified with 5W-30 on the older Lexus GS and IS, 5W-20 on the models in between, 0W-20 across most of the current range, and 0W-16 on the newest four-cylinders like the Camry and Corolla. One part number, four grades, because the filter outlasted three changes of engine specification.
Even the big GM filter splits: PF63 cars run 0W-20 on a modern Escalade and 5W-30 on a Buick Enclave.
Why this trips people up
The reasoning that fails goes: my filter is the same as my neighbour’s, so my oil must be too. Or the version that costs more: this filter fits my old car and my new one, so I’ll keep buying the same oil.
Filters are a mechanical interface — thread, gasket, bypass setting, housing. Oil grade is an engineering decision about clearances, oil pump design, fuel economy targets and emissions compliance, and manufacturers change it without changing the filter, often mid-generation. We have documented engines where the grade moved while the part number did not: Chrysler’s Pentastar went from 5W-30 to 5W-20 for the 2013 model year on the same filter, and Toyota’s 2GR-FE moved from 5W-30 to 0W-20 for 2011 — that one with a real engine revision behind it.
How to use the “Also fits” list
Every vehicle page here shows which other vehicles take the same OEM filter, because it is genuinely useful: it tells you the part is common, likely stocked, and probably cheaper than the dealer suggests. A filter for a Nissan Altima is the same one an Infiniti Q50 takes, and that is worth knowing at the counter.
Use it for the filter. Do not use it for the oil. The grade, the capacity and the interval are listed separately on each page for exactly this reason — they belong to your engine and your model year, not to the part number you share with a parking lot full of other cars.
If you want the reasoning behind the numbers themselves, start with what the grade actually means, and if you are buying aftermarket, why cross-reference numbers are not equivalents is the companion to this one.