Using 0W40 in a 2016 Nissan Versa

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Hello everyone,

A few days ago I asked about using 0W40 instead of 5W30/!0W30 in a 2016 Nissan Versa CVT with HR16DE engine and thank you so much for all the input.

I just changed the oil with a Fram Ultra and Castrol Edge 0W40 European Formula. The engine is completely smooth now. No slight koncking when traveling under 25MPH. Exceptionally quiet from 10MPH to 70MPH. Feel solid when accelerating in city traffic.

And I just read the 2018 Nissan Versa owner's manual which recommends 0W20 oil and 10W30 being the second choice. To all fellow Nissan owners, if you feel like the engine is lugging or acting retarded, switch to 5W30/10W30 from the default 0W20, or even switch to 0W40 which irons out the problem.

I dont know why Nissan is going to thinner oils and I womder if the engine can go at least 150k miles with 0W20. Will report back about the MPG as the current OW40 fill only has 150 miles on it. Past 5W30/10W30 gave me 37-43 MPG.
 
Originally Posted By: johnchui1984
Hello everyone,

A few days ago I asked about using 0W40 instead of 5W30/!0W30 in a 2016 Nissan Versa CVT with HR16DE engine and thank you so much for all the input.

I just changed the oil with a Fram Ultra and Castrol Edge 0W40 European Formula. The engine is completely smooth now. No slight koncking when traveling under 25MPH. Exceptionally quiet from 10MPH to 70MPH. Feel solid when accelerating in city traffic.

And I just read the 2018 Nissan Versa owner's manual which recommends 0W20 oil and 10W30 being the second choice. To all fellow Nissan owners, if you feel like the engine is lugging or acting retarded, switch to 5W30/10W30 from the default 0W20, or even switch to 0W40 which irons out the problem.

I dont know why Nissan is going to thinner oils and I womder if the engine can go at least 150k miles with 0W20. Will report back about the MPG as the current OW40 fill only has 150 miles on it. Past 5W30/10W30 gave me 37-43 MPG.


Engine is lugging, switch to a thicker oil and it's fixed. Got it.

Try a different steering wheel cover and see if it gets even better.
 
Good evening! I was concerned about the warranty stuff but since I drive 20000+ miles a year, the warranty will be done after 1-2 years. Japanese cars are famous for their longevity so I think the warranty is not a big concern.
 
Originally Posted By: johnchui1984
. Japanese cars are famous for their longevity so I think the warranty is not a big concern.


Yes, they are; mine has 417K miles; most done on 20 weight oil... lol
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: johnchui1984
Good evening! I was concerned about the warranty stuff but since I drive 20000+ miles a year, the warranty will be done after 1-2 years. Japanese cars are famous for their longevity so I think the warranty is not a big concern.
I think you forgot about the Nissan CVT part of that, luckily when it dies they won’t ask what engine oil you’re running.
 
Some info on your engine if you haven’t already seen it. A couple of sites mention the right motor mount as a weak point. Might be worth checking out.

I’ve driven the Versa as a rental. The cvt needs to be driven more aggressive to keep the motor in the power band. My experience has been that a cvt with a small engine like this Dongfeng motor has a hard time to keep up especially if you have passengers. They work better with engines around 2.5 liters and up much better.

http://www.motorreviewer.com/engine.php?engine_id=11
 
HI I have heard of the CVT reliability issue so I have the CVT fluid changed at 30k miles at a dealership. Hope it can last for a long time! Apart from the reliability concern, I do not like it fake shifts. It is a dumb idea of Nissan to make CVT drive like a legendary automatic 5-speed
 
Dear PimTac, Thank you very much for the information! I do not know about the engine mount issue. And I agree with you that it needs a bit of time to drive well in a CVT car with 1600cc engine
 
I use 5w20 in the winter on my 16' Versa. I have a bunch of it left so I'll use some during the summers also in the future. At this rate I'll be out of warranty by next year anyway. I love this econobox.
 
There is a steep hill during my commute and I need to hit the pedal halfway to drive the engine to 3k with enough power to go in 50MPH. When I first got my car I didnt know that and it was sluggish as the CVT was trying to find the correct RPM and going only 30MPH
 
HELLO sw99 how are you? What do you feel about using 5W20 instead of 5W30 as specified in the manual? I love the car too it is a decent student transportation with great fuel economy. Looks young and have passengers sitting comfortably without the need to pay for a mid-size sedan
 
Everybody is switching to thick oil. It's like a dream come true!
thankyou2.gif
 
I think thinner oils for cars that has not change the engine deisgn much is only due to the fuel-economy reason. Thicker oil indeed smooths my car a lot so I think I will keep using it until it starts to consumer oil and then I will switch to a thick 5W30/10W30 oil such as Mobil 1 HM 10W30 or Castrol Magnatec
 
Personally I see no harm is using the 5w20 as I do. I often run at high RPM's up the I-70 mountain for snowboarding and it does wonderfully for such a small 1.6L engine.
 
In your case the Versa is the perfect car. Economical to drive. As for the cvt, Nissan who is the majority owner of Jatco who makes all their transmissions gave them the ultimatum to fix their problems or else. That was 2014 I think so yours should be good to go as long as maintenance is done. The fake shifts were set up to appease the average American driver but the reality is the cvt just takes a different mindset to drive. Once you have that mastered then there is no issue. Most modern transmissions now have their quirks and cars have always had a quirk or two to get used to.
 
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