Been running wrong oil. Change or stick to it?

[Mkos1980]

Today I noticed something odd. I've changed my father's Nissan 3.5s and other nissans since 1990 and they hVe all taken 5w30. His pathfinder is a 17 and I've been running M1 5w30 for the last 41k miles until I noticed the sticker on the hood says 0w20!!!. Oil cap is just black and it never occured to me to check. When did they change to such a thin oil? We max out its towing 6 to 8 times a year with a boat at 6k lbs and it's always done great. We see temps 0 to 100 here in ohio. Switch or stick with the M1

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

Drive directly to the auto wrecker, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

 

[hemitom]

might possibly be the best gift you have given the pathfinder..

 

[92saturnsl2]

I would stick with the 5w-30.

 

[geeman789]

You probably lost 1/4 of a mile per gallon, but added 50 000 miles of life to the engine. Or not ...

5w30 will hurt nothing, and many will argue it is probably a better choice given the engine and usage.

 

[SR5]

I would stick with the M1 5W30 myself.

BTW that same car and engine is spec'd 5W30 or 10W30 in Australia

 

[tomcat27]

both of our Nissans say that either 0w20 or 5w30 are fine - right in the owners manual. I run 0w20 in the winter and 5w30 in the summer. I know.... either one is fine year round. but I cant help myself.

 

[Astro14]

Stick to it.

No worries.

 

[SevenBizzos]

You've been making good decisions so far.

 

[LotI]

The truck will continue long after Nissan is gone because of your "mistake"

 

[Gebo]

You didn't make a mistake.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Stick with a W30.

 

[1978elcamino]

That nissan engine probably calls for 5w30 or maybe even 10w30 in other countries. You're fine, and probably better off other than super frigid climates like canada winters or maybe the north pole.
When you plan the road trip to the north pole to take the kids to see santa you may consider a 0w 20, other than that just keep on keepin on.

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

This makes me feel better. My '17 Titan calls for 0w20 but I used 5w30 this time. Earlier Titans used 5w30 but the new ones say 0w20 and have the same engines.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by geeman789
You probably lost 1/4 of a mile per gallon, but added 50 000 miles of life to the engine. Or not ...

5w30 will hurt nothing, and many will argue it is probably a better choice given the engine and usage.

It's or not.

 

[BISCUT]

I dont own one of those engines but I believe the valve train isn't what's considered soft on an oil. I'd think a xx-30 is a good thing for longevity.

 

[Gene K]

Since 0W-20 is usually a Synthetic I would have only been worried if you were using a Conventional 5W30 at book OCI. With M1 5W30 I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[homeyclaus]

Originally Posted by BISCUT
I dont own one of those engines but I believe the valve train isn't what's considered soft on an oil. I'd think a xx-30 is a good thing for longevity.

Right - the VQ series engines weren't easy on oil in prior decades, and the older ones got valvetrain noise and sometimes consumption issues with 20 weights. I don't think I'd have thought to check the manual either; VQ == 5W30 to me.

Chances are both viscosities are now approved, and unless you put 80's vintage 5W30 dino in while up in Edmonton in January and parked it outside without a block heater plugged in, no harm was done.

You could split the difference and go 0W30. And you have zero idea what Nissan's lube and filter kid puts in when you take it to the dealership either, I bet there are a bunch who are still all 5W30 no matter what.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd stick with the 5W30, you can use a 0W30 too.