2010 Altima V6, Mobil 1 EP 5W-30, 2,993 miles

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This is an oil analysis report from my parents’ second car – the car is rarely driven nowadays, and can sit for weeks at a time. When the vehicle is driven, the trips are usually short (less than 10 miles), but it is occasionally taken for a 200 mile road trip. This oil was in service for 1 year. The oil filter was an oversized Fram Pro-Synthetic (7317) and the air filter was a Genuine Nissan, what was installed at the same time as this oil.

A little history about the car- my parents are the original owners. The car has received oil changes using 5W30 synthetic every 2,500-3,500 miles since new. When the car was under warranty, I changed the oil every 6 months; once it was out of powertrain warranty, I changed the oil annually. Prior to this one, the last two oil changes were done using Mobil 1 or Mobil 1 EP, prior to that it was Valvoline SynPower (which hopefully explains the small amount of sodium).

Blackstone flagged the viscosity and the aluminum readings, but advised that we will need additional samples to develop a trend. Blackstone did advise going to 5,000 miles – which won’t happen due to the annual time limitation. The viscosity is the only item that puzzles me – it seems odd since M1 EP is supposed to start at 10.6cST.

Thoughts?

***
Miles on Oil: 2,993
Total Miles on Unit: 37,787
Sample Date: 7/21/2017
Make Up Oil Added: 0 qts

Aluminum: 5
Chromium: 0
Iron: 8
Copper: 2
Lead: 1
Tin: 0
Molybdenum: 94
Nickel: 0
Manganese: 0
Silver: 0
Titanium: 0
Potassium: 1
Boron: 79
Silicon: 13
Sodium: 28
Calcium: 1221
Magnesium: 879
Phosphorus: 726
Zinc: 830
Barium: 0

SUS Viscosity @ 210F: 64.6
cSt Viscosity @ 100C: 11.51
Flashpoint in F: 415
Fuel %: Antifreeze %: 0
Water %: 0
Insolubles %: 0.2
TBN: 5.4
 
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Wear metals look high for only 3k miles on Mobil 1 EP 5w30. I'd sample again in a year to monitor any trends. I'd also switch to Pennzoil, Castrol etc to see if the results are any better. Of course maybe all the short trips increase the wear quite a bit.
 
I would love to buy that car. My Altima 3.5 has 195k miles on it now and running very good.

I wouldn't be concerned with these results at all. I agree with you that the viscosity is a bit higher than one would expect. But still in the 30 grade range.
 
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UOA is fine - just keep it topped off and change every two years. Even with the short trips, 1 year is overkill at the low mileage they are doing.
 
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