2013 Altima

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My sister bought her Altima about a year ago with 85k if I remember correctly and I have been changing oil in it. The 2.5 has 0w20 recommended and what I put in it but today she went to 2 different parts stores (O'Reilly and AutoZone). AutoZone told her it took 5w30 or motor would blow so she left. Got to O'Reilly's and parts lady stated oil has to be ordered as it takes a special 5w30 so motor won't blow and she only had 1 quart at 16.99 on sale if she purchased all 5 quarts today with oil filter totaling 116 plus tax. She called me with question of why is oil change so expensive and would I do it when oil comes in? I told her to leave so no sale at either place. I look at manual and it states 0w20 with a conventional 5w30 if 0w20 not desired and no mention of 5w20. I am staying with 20 grade therefore 5w20 which is a blend.Just thought how many people are being misinformed daily. 5k OCI
 
That is what I'd run ^^^^^

I have 296,000 miles on my Nissan Altima VQ running 5w30 full synthetic. I got the car with 39,990 miles...

There was no real big change with the motors between the generation of my car and the next generation after it... The change to a thinner viscosity was due to cc.
 
I was surprised to know Altima 2013 manual calls for 0w20!
Nissan engines usually use 5w30! (not the very newest ones though).
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
I wonder what was so "special" about that 5w30 that it costs $17.



Probably the Ester that Nissan recommended for awhile.
 
Originally Posted by mcrn
chainblu said:
I wonder what was so "special" about that 5w30 that it costs $17.



Probably the Ester that Nissan recommended for awhile. [/quote
I was thinking that also.
 
OK, here's what my owner's manual(OM) says in my 2015 Altima:

You can use conventional oil in 5W30 or 10W30.
Or(recommended...not required) synthetic oil 0W20 Nissan Ester Oil.

I've used conventional 5W20 & 5W30.
As well as, synthetic 5W20 & 0W20.
All oils are from either Walmart or cheap discontinued oils from parts stores.

Don't over think this as the owner's manual can be confusing. My OM also states to use Nissan Ester Synthetic Oil. But from learning here on Bob's, Nissan's Ester oil isn't Group V ESTER, they just call it Ester Oil.

I don't think that I've paid more than about $25 for synthetic oil & filter. PP or M1 & a Fram Ultra might cost you $32-$35 or M1 oil & M1 filter could get you over $40. But you don't need to spend more.
 
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I had an 03 which took everything from 5-30 to 10-40. In 07 they did upgrade the engine and until 2013 only called for 5-30.
2013 on the manual calls for 0-20 which is synthetic (mostly) or 5-30 conventional, not synthetic. I can't find any proof that the new QR25de was redesigned. I know the cvt in the 2103 is drastically different from the previous models as it acts more like a tranny running through it's gears. I recently began using 0-20 in my 09 just to experiment and thus far see no difference in consumption but it has improved throttle response and sounds much better in cold Ohio winters upon cold starts. As far as "special oil" that's BS. My wife's 2108 rogue has the same requirements and I run 0-20 because why not and it's not much more than a jug of mineral oil.
 
Engine/vehicle manufacturers recommend the oil that they believe will be the best for long term use. Obviously it is best to follow their recommendations.

It does not follow that use of a different oil will destroy the motor in the short term. It wouldn't shock me if there is no noticeable difference in the engines longevity or performance if a different oil is used, but that is not something that can be proved, or disproved, so follow the recommendations to be safe.
 
Not a hard decision just wanted to share how a woman who knows she needs an oil change gets or attempted to get taken advantage of. Sad world ...¢ we live in.
 
An oil change should be pretty cut and dry as far as costs go, but it's the upsell that gets ya. My wife ran my car to Nissan for a recall and by the time the free repair was done she was on the phone almost in tears. Ball joints needed done, brake and coolant needed flushed and there was play in a cv shaft. I did all the fluids 10k before and there was no play at all in the cv or ball joints. They did mark the air filter as satisfactory which was nice of them considering I had just replaced it that week. They also noted that I had an alignment issue which they didn't perform an alignment check so I'd like to know how they came up with that? This was over 30k ago and not one repair they stated I needed has been done outside of an alignment and that's only because I bought new tires and always do that.


Originally Posted by tiger862
Not a hard decision just wanted to share how a woman who knows she needs an oil change gets or attempted to get taken advantage of. Sad world ...¢ we live in.
 
Maybe but oreilleys isn't getting that stuff as I'm pretty sure it's a dealer only part.

Originally Posted by tiger862
Originally Posted by mcrn
chainblu said:
I wonder what was so "special" about that 5w30 that it costs $17.



Probably the Ester that Nissan recommended for awhile. [/quote
I was thinking that also.
 
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