Filled With Wrong Oil

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I believe a 20W with a HTHS of 2.6 would be fine as long as the OCI is on the shorter side and you are not hard on the engine red lining the tachometer .
 
Originally Posted by tojo1968
Well I used my last free oil change at the dealer. When I got home I noticed the invoice said they used 0w20 when the manual calls for 5w30 ...
I only have a one mile commute to work and drive maybe 50 miles on the weekend.
Your opinions please.


Please tell the forum how this engine is running with this lighter oil?

If it sounds good and runs smooth and powerful, torquey then it will likely be OK for a lightly driven commuter vehicle.

On a Work truck, towing? NO WAY!

But, They may have lied and just put in a cost saving bulk 5w30 regardless of anything the service dept said or what is on the R.O.!

So does the engine sound or respond differently?
 
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted by tojo1968
Well I used my last free oil change at the dealer. When I got home I noticed the invoice said they used 0w20 when the manual calls for 5w30 with no alternatives. I called them and their response was "That's our synthetic oil so you should be good". OK, maybe, but given the heat here still hitting the 90's I don't have that warm fuzzy feeling that it really is. Never heard of a dealership giving out free synthetic oil changes.
I mean, the engineers of the VQ engine picked 5w30 for a reason, right? I have plenty of 5w30 at home. So do i drain, refill, and use the 20 in something else or ride it out?
I only have a one mile commute to work and drive maybe 50 miles on the weekend.
Your opinions please.


Service guy is a moron. Their bulk, fake synthetic 0W20 has a 2.6HTHS unlike the lightweight synthetics of yore which had 30 multigrade HTHS but with a lower KV100.

But the big thing is: How does the engine run and sound?
On my Nissan 2.5L when I put 1/2 sump 0w20 for winter I supposed my VVT wasn't working right and the car only had power to about 3K rpm then nothing happening.when you mashed the right pedal going for 6K rpm. Lots of Noise but slow progress.
Dumped and put in 5W30 semi-syn Magnatec and all was good again. Pulled hard all the way to redline.

Engine sound fine. I was expecting more cold start rattle but there was none.
 
Originally Posted by DGXR
I also suggest you drain the pan and refill with 5w30. I would not bother the new filter, there's not enough oil in there to change the 5w30 very much.

Do you (or anyone you know) have a vehicle that specs 0w20?

My wifes Sportage takes 5w20 so I may use it in it.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Another benefit of doing your own changes is that you become familiar with your car. While you are underneath take a look around. See how things are assembled. This way you might catch problems early on. Also, check your fluids and tire pressures while you wait for the oil to drain.

I used to change it myself for decades. A back injury has hampered me for years and took advantage of the deal. Looks like I will be popping some Advil before I start changing my oil again. LOL
 
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted by tojo1968
Well I used my last free oil change at the dealer. When I got home I noticed the invoice said they used 0w20 when the manual calls for 5w30 ...
I only have a one mile commute to work and drive maybe 50 miles on the weekend.
Your opinions please.


Please tell the forum how this engine is running with this lighter oil?

If it sounds good and runs smooth and powerful, torquey then it will likely be OK for a lightly driven commuter vehicle.

On a Work truck, towing? NO WAY!

But, They may have lied and just put in a cost saving bulk 5w30 regardless of anything the service dept said or what is on the R.O.!

So does the engine sound or respond differently?

Be honest with you, it is difficult to tell a difference. I literally live 2 miles from everything I need. VQ engines are notoriously famous for cold start rattling and it does not sound any different than before yesterday.
 
Evertyime I use Pennzoil platinum 5-30 I swear it pours thinner than the 0-20 valvoline synthetic I use on my wife's rogue. I know it's not scientific by any means but PP is thinner.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
Evertyime I use Pennzoil platinum 5-30 I swear it pours thinner than the 0-20 valvoline synthetic I use on my wife's rogue. I know it's not scientific by any means but PP is thinner.

Try again?

[Linked Image]
 
Good viscosity curve above. Notice how they both run hot at around the same viscosity. Not much different (the 100 Celsius part on the far right). And the 0w20 is plenty thick enough for anything as the engine warms up in your 1-mile trip too. Thats why I say don't be concerned about this. Maybe for racing or running on hot days towing a trailer, yes.
Originally Posted by D1dad
Evertyime I use Pennzoil platinum 5-30 I swear it pours thinner than the 0-20 valvoline synthetic I use on my wife's rogue. I know it's not scientific by any means but PP is thinner.
A slight shift in temperature means the 5w30 could pour thinner. Platinum 5w30 is one of the thinner of all the ILSAC dexos1 5w30's available though.
 
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There you go, drain the oil into a "clean" container and use it in the Wifes vehicle. Peace of mind -- put the required viscosity oil in your vehicle and call it a day.
 
Originally Posted by paoester
A slight shift in temperature means the 5w30 could pour thinner. Platinum 5w30 is one of the thinner of all the ILSAC dexos1 5w30's available though.

A thinner 30 grade but not thinner than a 20 grade.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by tojo1968
Sounds like a good idea. I will start doing my own after this.

Then you should do it NOW. Get that oil out of there, and put in the correct weight oil. What's it going to cost? $40.00 with a filter, and a half hour of your time, if that. Less than a tank of gas. That seems like a small price to pay for the peace of mind you are seeking.

The thing is, the person who has to be convinced about this is you. It bothers you they put the wrong oil in your car. (For the record it would bother me too). A hundred guys telling you on an Internet forum you'll be fine, isn't going to change your mind. What will is to change your oil.

Mechanically it could be argued for 20 pages that it may or may not be necessary. But the fact is for YOUR peace of mind it IS necessary. So I would just do it and be done with it. As I've said before, there are a lot of things in this world worth losing sleep over. Oil isn't one of them. And it doesn't matter in the least what someone else thinks. Only what YOU think.


If people lose sleep over what oil is in their engine for a few months, they have other issues to deal with. It's not like they filled it with olive oil. I see plenty of people here that change the oil every 3,000 miles and say they will drive their car over 300,000 miles, but at 50,000 miles some jerk t-bones you and the car is totalled.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
............. I see plenty of people here that change the oil every 3,000 miles and say they will drive their car over 300,000 miles, but at 50,000 miles some jerk t-bones you and the car is totalled.

So you are attempting to imply what? Don't bother to take care of your car, because chances are it will get wrecked before you wear it out? That's ridiculous. Applying that train of thought, I should stop exercising and start drinking, smoking, and eating bacon every day, because I might get hit by a bus, so what's the difference?
 
Sometimes I laugh at these dealers/shops filled with the wrong oil threads. I equate it to painting a house with the wrong color, and then telling a customer it will be fine. LOL If I were to use a wrong color, even on one door, I'd be hung out to dry. In this case I'd either ask for the right oil, and watch them pour it in from the bottle, or get $$ to either do it myself or pay someone else to do the job. Even if the oil change was free.
 
Yep, didn't even bother with 2 free changes on my last two … Got plenty bargain oil stash … and wanting to get underneath to see the business side of things (and start thinking about first driveline changes) …
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
Sometimes I laugh at these dealers/shops filled with the wrong oil threads. I equate it to painting a house with the wrong color, and then telling a customer it will be fine. LOL If I were to use a wrong color, even on one door, I'd be hung out to dry. In this case I'd either ask for the right oil, and watch them pour it in from the bottle, or get $$ to either do it myself or pay someone else to do the job. Even if the oil change was free.

+100

Putting the wrong oil in a customers car is a scam if done deliberate. It's simply a form of bait and switch........ Which has been illegal for decades. Regardless of how you look at it, the customer has been deceived. To then turn around after being caught and say, "Don't worry, you'll be fine", is preposterous.
 
Lots of BS in this thread.

First let me say that the dealership did wrong, and we all can agree on this.

But those that say to change out the oil for "peace of mind" are giving bad advice. You can achieve peace of mind 1 of 2 ways. You can use science, facts, and knowledge or you can go with mythology and change it out.

Mythological Reason to Peace of Mind: Change the oil out, otherwise you'll not sleep and the longevity of your engine will be greatly shortened. This is a lie of course.

Science-based Reason to Peace of Mind: Leave the oil in the engine because nothing bad will happen to your engine. The differences between most 0w-20's and 5w-30's are NOT significant.

So will your actions be controlled by science, facts, or mythology?

I would suggest you leave the oil in and sleep well because you have no reason to worry.
 
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Originally Posted by lovcom
Lots of BS in this thread. First let me say that the dealership did wrong, and we all can agree on this. But those that say to change out the oil for "peace of mind" are giving bad advice. You can achieve peace of mind 1 of 2 ways. You can use science, facts, and knowledge or you can go with mythology and change it out.

Mythological Reason to Peace of Mind: Change the oil out, otherwise you'll not sleep and the longevity of your engine will be greatly shortened. This is a lie of course.

Science-based Reason to Peace of Mind: Leave the oil in the engine because nothing bad will happen to your engine. The differences between most 0w-20's and 5w-30's are NOT significant. So will your actions be controlled by science, facts, or mythology? I would suggest you leave the oil in and sleep well because you have no reason to worry.

That's a nice sermon. However it doesn't change the fact wrong oil is in fact the wrong oil.
 
I wouldn't lose sleep over it. 5W-30 and a synthetic 0W-20 are pretty close to each other. But, the dealer was in the wrong(however, lube techs are lazy too and will pour whatever oil is on hand or print the same label) and should have used 5W-30.
 
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