I am new to this forum and know that this is THE place to seek the wisdom of others in the area of motor oil, etc. Thank you in advance for any insight or clarity you can bring me or others on this issue.
I think I will have to change the motor oil brand I have been using the last year due to an extended warranty I just purchased for my 2003 Honda Odyssey. Extended Warranty is through Warranty Direct should this be a factor. I have used Mobil 1 for close to a decade (including other vehicles) before recently making the switch to Amsoil's Signature Series 0W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil. I don't buy into either Mobil's or Amsoil's marketing hype...I made this switch after doing my own research while filtering out all of the Amsoil websites on the internet. I was happy with Mobil 1 but even happier with Amsoil's SS.
My concern is that the terms of my extended warranty state the following:
(The underlining is my emphasis)
"c) Maintain Your Vehicle according to the manufacturer’s recommendations as outlined in the owner’s manual. NOTE: Your
owner’s manual has separate required maintenance schedules for “normal” and “more severe” operating conditions. You are
required to follow the maintenance schedule that applies to Your conditions.
d) Be sure only the proper grade of lubricants and coolants, as recommended by the manufacturer, is used in Your Vehicle.
So I reviewed my owners manual for my 2003 Honda Odyssey and it states (page 298) that if using a synthetic motor oil it must "display the API Certification Seal and be the proper weight as shown in the chart." The chart shows only 5W-20 listed!!
Based on the terms of my extended warranty and what my manual states it seems to suggest that the use of Amsoil Siganture Series 0W-30 will void my extended warranty. I come to this conclusion because Amsoil SS is 0W-30 and NOT 5W-20 as listed in my manual and the Amsoil SS does not have the API Certification Seal on it.
This is quite upsetting because my Honda has never ran better since I put the Amsoil SS oil in it. Zero to little oil burn off or use. The cold starts in Michigan with this oil are incredible. I have calculated a small increase in mpg. Plus I always had a ticking noise in the engine when first starting my Honda and it would eventually disappear after a couple minutes...other Odyssey owners report this as well. Since using the Amsoil SS this initial ticking noise has COMPLETELY disappeared. Now that I must take this warranty into consideration I fear I will be using an inferior motor oil. You have to keep ALL receipts for the extended warranty so they would know if I was using something that was not 5W-20 or API Certified.
I know the Amsoil 0W-30 meets the 5W-20 viscosity but from the wording it does not seem like this matters. They want the oil in your vehicle to match what the Owners Manual states. I also know that the Amsoil SS meets/exceeds various API certifications HOWEVER it does not have the API Certification Seal on the bottle which the manual states your oil should have.
Any suggestions on how I can still continue to use the Amsoil Signature Series 0W-30 and meet the terms of my contract?
If using Amsoil Signature Series 0W-30 is a lost cause because of having to meet this extended warranty's terms what 5W-20 API Certified Synthetic would you recommend?
I truly appreciate any thoughts, opinions, advice, etc that you can give because I am really at a loss as far as what I should do. Thank you for your review.
I think I will have to change the motor oil brand I have been using the last year due to an extended warranty I just purchased for my 2003 Honda Odyssey. Extended Warranty is through Warranty Direct should this be a factor. I have used Mobil 1 for close to a decade (including other vehicles) before recently making the switch to Amsoil's Signature Series 0W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil. I don't buy into either Mobil's or Amsoil's marketing hype...I made this switch after doing my own research while filtering out all of the Amsoil websites on the internet. I was happy with Mobil 1 but even happier with Amsoil's SS.
My concern is that the terms of my extended warranty state the following:
(The underlining is my emphasis)
"c) Maintain Your Vehicle according to the manufacturer’s recommendations as outlined in the owner’s manual. NOTE: Your
owner’s manual has separate required maintenance schedules for “normal” and “more severe” operating conditions. You are
required to follow the maintenance schedule that applies to Your conditions.
d) Be sure only the proper grade of lubricants and coolants, as recommended by the manufacturer, is used in Your Vehicle.
So I reviewed my owners manual for my 2003 Honda Odyssey and it states (page 298) that if using a synthetic motor oil it must "display the API Certification Seal and be the proper weight as shown in the chart." The chart shows only 5W-20 listed!!
Based on the terms of my extended warranty and what my manual states it seems to suggest that the use of Amsoil Siganture Series 0W-30 will void my extended warranty. I come to this conclusion because Amsoil SS is 0W-30 and NOT 5W-20 as listed in my manual and the Amsoil SS does not have the API Certification Seal on it.
This is quite upsetting because my Honda has never ran better since I put the Amsoil SS oil in it. Zero to little oil burn off or use. The cold starts in Michigan with this oil are incredible. I have calculated a small increase in mpg. Plus I always had a ticking noise in the engine when first starting my Honda and it would eventually disappear after a couple minutes...other Odyssey owners report this as well. Since using the Amsoil SS this initial ticking noise has COMPLETELY disappeared. Now that I must take this warranty into consideration I fear I will be using an inferior motor oil. You have to keep ALL receipts for the extended warranty so they would know if I was using something that was not 5W-20 or API Certified.
I know the Amsoil 0W-30 meets the 5W-20 viscosity but from the wording it does not seem like this matters. They want the oil in your vehicle to match what the Owners Manual states. I also know that the Amsoil SS meets/exceeds various API certifications HOWEVER it does not have the API Certification Seal on the bottle which the manual states your oil should have.
Any suggestions on how I can still continue to use the Amsoil Signature Series 0W-30 and meet the terms of my contract?
If using Amsoil Signature Series 0W-30 is a lost cause because of having to meet this extended warranty's terms what 5W-20 API Certified Synthetic would you recommend?
I truly appreciate any thoughts, opinions, advice, etc that you can give because I am really at a loss as far as what I should do. Thank you for your review.