0W20 oil

I was reading the manual for my 2010 CR-V and it calls for 0W20 oil. I
also checked the oil cap on the engine and it says the same. Being
that the vehicle is garaged in Houston, Texas, I was wondering if
there would be any harm in using 5W20 oil instead? I spoke to a
grease money at a Kwik Lube and he said it should be fine. I spoke to
2 Honda Dealers and they said I should not do it. I also asked them
if this would void the warrantee and tho I think one of them said yes,
they didn't seem to be definitive on that point. I also called a
local Autozone and found out that they only carry this grade as a
sythetic oil (Mobil 1) and their price is $7.49 plus tax. The kwik
lube wants about $60 to do a oil change with synthetic oil.

Likely I won't do this but my curiousity is getting the better of me,
do you think it makes much difference in my case which grade oil I
use? Do you think this voids the warrantee (I expected Honda to say
yes when I asked) ? From a dollar point of view, I know this
probably makes little sense but just want to hear other opinions
anyway.

 

Mfg's spend a lot of time/effort/money in coming up with oil
specifications... it's a good idea to follow them if at all possible.

0W20 is new, and might be tough to find for a while. If push comes to
shove, maybe you could order it from Honda parts till it becomes
available on the aftermarket. (I have an 08 Honda 'Fit' factory service
manual here, and in the 'Lubricants and Fluids' section it specifies a
Honda part number for the 5W20 oil the Fit uses. I bet the 2010 CR-V's
service manual reflects a number for 0W20. Note I could not find a part
number for the oil in the Fit owners manual.)

Also check a 'real' auto parts store... if they don't have it yet, ask
if they can special order you a case.

You'll probably never have a oil related issue with plane old mineral
oil, provided you follow the mfg's grade, service classification and
change interval suggestions. Synthetics are expensive overkill IMHO.

Good Luck!

Erik

 

Check your Owner's Manual. You may find that it will allow 5W-20.

Typically, 5W-20 is perfectly fine in engines where 0W-20 is specified, but
not vice versa.

 

I did check it but maybe not as thorough as I should have. I will
look at it again.

It looks like I can get the kwik lube or Autozone to give me 0W20 oil
so getting it should not be a problem but in the worst case scenario I
would just go to the dealer. As I said I was more curious than
anything about this and will note what you said and re-read the
manual. Thanks.

 

Thanks Erik. Looks like I can get the 0W20 around here so it really
shouldn't be a problem for me but I was more curious than anything
else. I agree, best to stick with the 0W20 besides which, the extra
cost isn't really much more in the long run. But I will re-read the
manual to see if they allow for a substitution grade oil. Being the
vehicle is in the deep south where it doesn't normally get too cold
(except for a couple of days in winter), I don't think the engine
would work much harder but I will go by the manual, not my guessing.
Thanks.

 

Just curious, what is the recommended grade oil for a 2008 or 2009
CR-V automatic ? Or what does the oil cap say on the engine block?

 

My thought on this, for what it is worth, who knows your car better, a
certified Honda dealer or Jiffy Lube? My usual is follow the money, since
they both stand to make money on this transaction, that is not an
option....I do not own a CRV, I have Civic Hybrid I pay about $45 for oil
changes at the dealer, so, I would say Jiffy Lube is no bargain. I do
belong to a Civic Hybrid users group, I have seen reports there of people
who went with 5-20 instead of the 0-20 recommended by Honda then complain
when they get hit with a 10% mileage reduction.
My advice, for whatever weight is stick with what Honda recommends, so, 0-20
and if you have a service minder, stick with that for oil change intervals.
I realize if you do not agree with this advice you will dismiss it but, you
asked .

 

At least for Fords and Toyotas, 0W20 oil is OK instead of 5W20 as long
as it meets the manufacturer's standards. I am not sure what
additional specs Toyota includes, but Ford has a spec for "their"
approved 5W20 oil that goes beyond the API spec. When I buy oil for
the Fords I own, I always look on the bottle top make sure the
manufacturer say it meets the appropriate Ford spec (all the ones I
have looked at say they do, but then their are many brands I won't
even bother to look at).

The SO's Toyota manual actually says 0W20 is preferred, but that 5W20
is OK. In a warm climate, I think the difference between 5W20 and 0W20
is trivial. The 5W / 0W part applies at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) For
temperatures higher then 32 degrees F, the viscosity of the two oils
will be much closer together and at 212 degrees F (100 gegrees C) they
should be roughly the same. For sure the 5W20 at 50 degrees F will
probably have a lower viscosity than the 0W20 at 0 degrees F.

Of course, my standard advice still applies - use what the
manufacturer recommends. If you think you know more about the car than
the people who designed the car, then you may want to buy a different
car.

Ed

 

I'm following this thread and I'm confused. Is 0W20 different than a
straight weigh 20?
Thanks

 

You're right I would dismiss it except that I tend to agree with it,
if not 100% then 99%. Either way, likely I will do as you stated.
Thanks !

 

Claiming a 10% fuel economy reduction becasue of the use of 5W20
instead of 0W20 is not credible. At normal engine operating
temepratures 0W20 and 5W20 oils have essentially the same viscosity.
Even for a "cool" engine, at non-artic temepratures, the difference is
trival as far as driver measured fuel economy is concerned. I realize
that for a hybrid, cool oil temperatures and start/stop engine
operation would magnify the effects of oil viscosity, but I beleive,
even for a hybrid, the difference would be on the order of tenths of a
percent, no tens of percent. Likely the people claiming large changes
in fuel economy are not making careful measurements. For a hybrid, the
low fule usage and small fuel tank will magnify any fill errors. I
believe you need to average the mileage over many fillups to get any
sort of accuracy for these vehicles.

When Ford switched to 5W20 from 5W30 oils, they climed a fuel economy
imporvement of soemthing like 0.3%. Going from 5W30 to 5W20 is a much
more significant switch than the difference between 0W20 and 5W20.

Good advice.

Ed

 

Well stated.
Keep in mind that Honda's 'strong suggestion' of 0W-20 has far more to
do with meeting CAFE efficiency standards than keeping the engineers
happy.

 

TEN percent??? Considering that Honda went with 0W-20 to get an increase of
about 1/100th of that, I find this claim to be impossible to believe.

In daily use, NOBODY is going to notice ANY difference in mileage from 0W-
20 to 5W-20. Once the oil warms up, they're both the same viscosity (20).

 

You're in the deep south? Use 5W-20 and don't sweat it. That W-number is
virtually meaningless to you.

 

Get thee hence to Google.

<http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=multi+viscosity+oil&aq=0sx&aqi=g-sx1&aql=&oq=mulitviscosity+oil&gs_rfai=&fp=bcdf8cbbf06dc4f>

 

Yepper. That is absolutely true.

Even the move to 5W-30 from 10W-30, and the subsequent move from 5W-30 to
5W-20 were CAFE related.

Each move only got the automaker some one-tenth of an MPG per car, but
taken cumulatively, in the way the EPA figures things, each move made a BIG
difference in the automakers' total CAFE numbers.

 

I am not speaking of the 10% reduction based on experience , I always insure
the 0-20 is used in my car...so, it is only hearsay, I do not know how
credible the info is, I am only passing on what I read...you must remember,
a hybrid is very prone to little things making a big difference, air temp,
engine temp, oil, tire pressure, rain, wind so, I would guess most people
overstate these things because it is human nature.
As I understand oil viscosity (I do NOT claim to be an expert) the oil does
not get thicker when it gets hot, so, the 20w would be cold, the 0 or 5
would be hot, thus the 5-20 would have a bit more resistance than to 0-20
hot, they would be the same cold.

 

Uh no... 5/20 oil has the consistency of 5W when cold and 20W when hot.
Obviously, operating temperature will determine actual flow in a given
environment.

JT

 

snip

I will have to bow down to you on this one, as I said, I am not expert....I
did some google research cause it just seems odd to me, I read enough to
confuse me beyond hope, oil thickens, no well the properties change in the
way it clings to engine parts, there are different measures of hot and cold,
charts that make my eyes scream hey its all out there...so, my resolve is to
stick with Honda's recommendations which is (I just checked the manual) to
use 0-20, but if 0-20 is not available 5-20 may be used but it may effect
fuel mileage.
So, I am back to this, I do not change my own oil because it is far too
messy a way to save $10-$15 (I clearly do not enjoy this kind of work) have
it changed when the car tells me to and insure 0-20 is used.
Your mileage may vary.

 

except that it's made form a [slightly] higher quality base oil.