I have a 96 Honda Accord with 165,000 miles. The manual recommends 5w 20 oil. Should I go by the manual or?

Question

should I use a different grade of oil because of the higher mileage?

Answer 1

The 5w20 oil is perfectly fine for that engine. All quality oils today are semi-synthetic blends. Basic logic says that if Honda spec'd out the oil at the start and you've driven 165k with no problems then why change now?

Changing to higher viscosity oils was a common strategy to compensate for wear on cast iron block engines where the piston rings no longer fully seal the combustion chamber. The higher viscosity (weight) oil is a thicker film and would "fill" the space between the worn piston rings and the cylinder walls. Honda has never had a problem with piston ring or block wear as the domestics have.

If you hear a clicking noise in the engine its not because of the oil. You have mechanically adjustable valves, not hydraulic lifters, so oil weight has no effect on valve noise.

You can change to a synthetic, but keep in mind that once you change to a synthetic you can never go back to a conventional oil or you'll have more oil leaks than you have money to repair. For the price difference over the life of the car, I'd stay with a premium conventional oil of the 5w20 weight.

remember to change the drain bolt washer every oil change.

follow the care and feeding instructions in the owners manual and that car will easily go 400k.

hope that helps

Answer 2

As long as the car has made it this long stick to what you have been using. You might try Mobil 1, or you can get oil in the 5 W 20, and on it it says for higher mileage cars. The ones I buy are usually in red containers. I get the Quaker State red container once in awhile, it has like Slick 50 in it.

Answer 3

I work for Honda of America, we use 5W-30 or 10W-30. API Grade SG or SH fuel effiecient oil. That is what is recommended and that is what you should run, also don't switch to synthetic if you have 165 k on your car, you will get an oil leak from the rear main, I see this problem on f22 engines constantly.

Answer 4

That oil is far too thin to offer real lubrication in a motor with that kind of mileage. Use 10w40 in the summer and 5w30 for the cold months.

Answer 5

Follow the manual. Just in case, check with Honda Corp.

Answer 6

if your motor sounds a lil noisy,(clicking) use 10- 30. it will be fine

Answer 7

no automatic seems to be good