Recently got an oil change in my 02 civic lx 1.7. BigO put 10w30 in it instead of 5w20. Manual says to use 5w20 or 5w30 in a bind, as long as next change is 5w20. I drove about 200 miles before I noticed. I made them switch it out for 5w20. Could this have caused any long term damage?
-Nate
No. Don't get too hung up on oil grades.
My Ford Focus calls for 5W20, but because the oil is still difficult to find and retail outlets like to bend you over price wise for oil changes with
5W20, I use 5W30 in the winter and 10W30 with no problems for 5 years.-Nate
You really need the 5W20 when the temperature is very low. As long as the engine wasn't started when *really* cold it shouldn't have had any effect at all. Even at that, the oil starvation is only for a few seconds and probably isn't any worse than putting an empty filter on the car. Sleep easy.
Mike
Not unless you are operating in a very cold artic climate, and in most parts of the world this is the wrong time of year for that.
Don't worry about it. Honda specifies 10W-30 and even heavier grades of oil for that same engine in other markets. The 5W-20 business is mostly to squeeze out a few percentage points of theoretical fuel economy.
I would, however, be a little worried about what quality of 5W-20 oil the Big-O people used. You want a major brand oil, not some second tier stuff when running on the edge, which 5W-20 does do.
John
They use Shell
-Nate
Should be fine.
A lot of people are fooled into thinking this is important. Clean Air Act of 1992 provided incentives for manufacturers to spec 5-20 as a requirement since lower viscosity oil may improve fuel economy very slightly although you will get better lubrication with the 10-30 that was put in it. If anything, your engine will last longer if you consistently run 10-30.
Oh my God! Your car is ruined! You won't be able to sell it for $10 to the junk man now! But since I feel sorry for you and I am such a good sam I will buy it from you for $20.
Fuck off....
-Nate
The fact that the people who designed the engine call for it doesn't make it an important point?
Difficult to find? Where are you living? 5W20 can be found pretty much any retail environment you walk into.
Maybe a warm-winter area. 5Ws are relatively rare in Phoenix where the all-time record low is 23F and many winters never get below freezing.
Mike
That could very well be, around here all a person has to do to find a particular item is open their eyes .
You also can't find a snow shovel in Phoenix :-) However, chains are common enough because the mountains are a popular destination.
Mike
"Llatikcuf" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
No damage at all.
You could have run the oil to its change interval and then replaced with
5W20.Cool, thanks.
-Nate
LOL! I suppose that's true. I'm hoping I don't have to bother with digging (pardon the pun ) out the snow shovels this year.
shell oil is generic. i would insist on castrol or valvoline or at least another well known brand. lots of oil change places use cheap quality gas station brand oil which isn't as good as the major brands. that should be your main concern. your engine is relatively new now but over time that cheap oil may take a toll on it.
You sir really do not know what you are talking about. The image that gas station brand oils are somehow inferior is a result of years of marketing dollars and has no correlation to product quality.
Did you know, for example, that Shell owns the Wolf's Head, Quaker State and Pennzoil brands and has for many years now? Did you know that BP owns Castrol? Did you know that Honda brand 5W-20 oil from your dealership is the same stuff as is also sold as Exxon Superflo 5W-20? Did you know that the Chevron Supreme/Texaco Havoline twins (really the same company and the same oil) are two of the most highly regarded conventional oils made? Do you know that Kendall GT1, Union 76, Phillips TropArtic, Conoco and Motorcraft motor oils are all the same product manufactured by ConocoPhillps and put into different bottles?
Do you know that the recent GF-4/SM oil standards have kicked up the performance requirements for motor oils dramatically and that as a result the performance differences between branded oils today are the smallest they have been in history?
Have a look at the forums on
The only real difference between specialty brand oils and "gas station" brand oils are the hundreds of millions of dollars spent marketing the specialty brands to easily led minds. It cracks me up that there are Kendall loyalists who wouldn't be caught dead putting lowly Phillips TropArtic oil in their cars and instead pay a premium for Kendall .... suckers!
John
Hey! Herring chokers might have it, but you very rarely see 5W20. Wal-Mart has just started to carry it in bulk oil, Canadian Tire did not have it, and most aftermarket auto supply i.e. Partssource, auto value etc do not have it. They will order it for you but it is not carried as normal stock. Any how its a premium price when you can find it 5W30 does a better job anyhow.
The fact that the people who designed the engine call for it doesn't make it an important point?
Difficult to find? Where are you living? 5W20 can be found pretty much any retail environment you walk into.
This is not true. A lot of marketing money is spent to convince people that well known brand name oil is higher quality and therefore worth spending extra money on. All brands and generic motor oil sold in US and Canada must meet API, SAE and other standards and is of equal quality. Don't feel bad though, lots of others are fooled by this too and it applies with many other products as well.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.