Honda/Acura Oil specs?

Question

A friend just got her first oil change on her new Honda. The Owners's Manual recommends 5W20, but it looks like the repair shop used 5W30. Is this a big deal? What are the potential ramifications?

Thanks to all for your sincere answers.

Answer 1

although they should have used 5w20 oil it will not harm the engine and will still be covered for the warranty. But just to let them know i would take the car back and make them re-change the oil and put 5w20 oil in. Any one that runs an oil change should be competent enough to know that Ford and Honda and even some of the new Dodge trucks recommend a 5w20 oil. I did call the dealer on this issue and like I said 5w30 will still be covered by warranty but you have to let them know somehow that they are not doing their job right so taking it back and having them redo it would be a great way for them to learn.

Answer 2

Honda/Acura has the best engine technology in the world. I would not second guess the factory on this one.

No doubt the oil change shop used 5W30 since more cars use that weight oil and supplies are plentiful. As a practical matter, it would be difficult to tell the difference or attribute any consequence to this error.

However, if your friend just got a brand new car, I would take it back to the shop and have them re-change to 5W20. Do not take any chance on voiding your warranty! No doubt the repair shop will tell you the same thing everyone here has told you and not want to correct the error. As I remember, "5W20" is prominently displayed on the oil filler cap. So it was obvious what weight oil to use.

Answer 3

That's fine as long as the engine is new a slightly heaver oil like 5w30 will not do any thing how ever if you put in some thing like10w40 or 20w50 than you would damage your engine because the oil would be too thick to lubricate all of the close tolerance parts for example the lifters will have a hard time getting filled with oil this will mean that the engine will sound like an old telephone ringing off the hook if you ever hear that sound than you are damaging your cars engine also it you hear a constant knocking sound coming from your engine than this is also really bad. Some people insist on putting thicker weight oils in their cars engine because they think that the car will run better or last longer but in fact they are reining their car by allowing all of the small oil passages to be staved of oil. Honda engines have very tight tolerances so they need to have the right weight of oil. The only time that I would recommend putting in a thicker weight oil is in hot or humid conditions because the hotter the oil gets the more likely it will thin out. also the colder oil gets the thicker it will get. which is why many cars in cold weather will make ticking or knocking sounds when they first start up or when they have bean ruining for less than a couple of seconds.

Answer 4

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I drive an '06 TL (auto trans version), with ~ 20K So Cal miles. I like the car a lot, and have added various performance mods...think it's part of a 'mid-life crisis' thing, or so my wife says! lol The factory specs for engine oil is 5W20. I've read a bit about this subject from posts off the ACURAZINE.COM blogs. The 'skinny' is that the factory rates the car with 5W20 because it gives the best fuel economy while giving 'satisfactory' protection. However, better protection is had while using 5W30, but you'll lose a very slight amount of fuel economy. BTW, the folks I know who have this car concur with my experience that straight road, smooth sailing highway driving will get you up to 33 honest MPGs, and mixed traffic driving will yield results somewhere in the low to mid 20s. Personally, I've run Mobil One Synthetic, but any good, rated oil will work. Honda (Acura) makes very robust engines...they'll way outlast the chassis of their cars, and I'm not even complaining about that! Happy car hunting!

Answer 5

Changing oil is no big thing. If it called for 5W20 and thy put in 5W30, all it means is the oil will be heaver at highway speeds.
Here is how it works.
Lets say that it is 30 out side when you start the car the oil weight will be 5, but as the car warms up it changes to 20 to keep it better lubed at higher temp and speeds.It means instede of 20 it will be 30 at highway speeds. This is in the real world 30 is better anyway.
When it gets changed again go back to what it is called for.

Hope this answers your question and thanks for your question

Answer 6

No..It's not gonna hurt anything..I've been a mechanic for 12 yrs.Trust me.