10W-30 instead of 10W-20, Honda Accord, LE, 2001

[uchok00]

My friend has a 2001 Honda Accord LE, I4 engine. He has been using 10W-30, I guess because that's what most people use...I don't know. Anyway, recently, he (actually, I discovered for him) found out that his car, according to the car manual, suppose to take 10W-20. The car was bought new, and currently has about 58,000 miles on it. What are the possible bad effects for this? According to him, the car runs smoothly. - uchok00

 

[rbraughn]

His Honda is probably spec'd for 5w-20, not 10w-20. Running a 10w-30 will not hurt anything as far as the engine is concerned (as long as he did regular Oil changes), especially in warmer climates. The only possible issue he might have is with warranty claims should they arise. Sometimes dealerships will try to do anything to get out of doing warranty repairs. Do a search in the UOA section here. The 5w-20's have shown good numbers

 

[uchok00]

Right....5w-20...sorry. - uchok00

 

[khager]

In LA it shouldn't be a problem

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by khager: In LA it shouldn't be a problem

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Ditto. If he's adventurous, he may even want to try MotorCraft 5w20. $1.42 for Semi-Syn at Walmart. Otherwise, a decent quality 10w30 in LA will suffice as long as the oil and filter change intervals are reasonable.

 

[mountainhouse]

I think you can put just about anything in the I-4 Honda engine. All the UOAs seem good.