I used Mobil 1 5W-20 in my wife's 2006 Pilot for the first ~37K miles. This is my wife's daily driver and was purchased new in May 2006. It is used for a mix of short trip & freeway driving (65% Short Trip). Due to extended warranty issues, I let the Oil Life Meter dictate my OCI intervals. This usually works out to a 5K to 5.5K mile OCI. Every time that I performed an oil change the engine's internals, as seen looking through the fill spout, were spotless and looked the same color as pure aluminum. The engine did not burn any noticeable amount of oil during the entire 37K miles.
I then decided to try Amsoil's 0W-20 for the last two oil changes. It only costs me about $10 more per oil change to use Amsoil and I buy their 0W-20 for my 2007 Civic LX anyway. I used a Wix 51356 oil filter for the 1st run (37K to 42K miles) and Amsoil's EA013 oil filter for the 2nd run (42K to 47K miles). I performed the 3rd oil change using Amsoil's 0W-20 yesterday afternoon (47.8K miles), using a Wix 51356 oil filter. Here is where it gets interesting. Looking through the fill spout, the engine's internals have taken on a distinct yellow color since I began using the Amsoil 0W-20. The same holds true for the dipstick, but to a much lesser degree. I assume that this is varnish. I would like to add that there was no evidence of sludge in the oil filter or on the dipstick. I also noticed that the motor used 1/4 quart of oil during the last run, which I understand is a common phenomena for 1-2 runs after changing brands of oil.
I am not ready to say that this issue is being caused through the use of Amsoil 0W-20, as I have not seen this issue on my Civic. The appearance of varnish immediately after my first run of Amsoil 0W-20 is an odd coincidence though. I might add that a 5K to 6K mile run on Amsoil 0W-20 is extremely low.
I have one used oil analysis from this vehicle at 20K miles and everything looked great. The used oil analysis did not indicate that there were any fuel dilution or high silicon issues. I replace the oil filter every oil change. I also replace the air filter every 20K miles. I realize that the air filter is supposed to be replaced every 15K miles, but historically it still looks clean at 20K miles.
I plan to perform a used oil analysis at the next oil change, which will be at ~53K miles. Should I try a couple of runs using Mobil 1 5W-20 to see if the color of the metal returns to normal? I have also considered replacing the PCV valve, but Honda states that this should not be necessary at ~48K miles. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.
I then decided to try Amsoil's 0W-20 for the last two oil changes. It only costs me about $10 more per oil change to use Amsoil and I buy their 0W-20 for my 2007 Civic LX anyway. I used a Wix 51356 oil filter for the 1st run (37K to 42K miles) and Amsoil's EA013 oil filter for the 2nd run (42K to 47K miles). I performed the 3rd oil change using Amsoil's 0W-20 yesterday afternoon (47.8K miles), using a Wix 51356 oil filter. Here is where it gets interesting. Looking through the fill spout, the engine's internals have taken on a distinct yellow color since I began using the Amsoil 0W-20. The same holds true for the dipstick, but to a much lesser degree. I assume that this is varnish. I would like to add that there was no evidence of sludge in the oil filter or on the dipstick. I also noticed that the motor used 1/4 quart of oil during the last run, which I understand is a common phenomena for 1-2 runs after changing brands of oil.
I am not ready to say that this issue is being caused through the use of Amsoil 0W-20, as I have not seen this issue on my Civic. The appearance of varnish immediately after my first run of Amsoil 0W-20 is an odd coincidence though. I might add that a 5K to 6K mile run on Amsoil 0W-20 is extremely low.
I have one used oil analysis from this vehicle at 20K miles and everything looked great. The used oil analysis did not indicate that there were any fuel dilution or high silicon issues. I replace the oil filter every oil change. I also replace the air filter every 20K miles. I realize that the air filter is supposed to be replaced every 15K miles, but historically it still looks clean at 20K miles.
I plan to perform a used oil analysis at the next oil change, which will be at ~53K miles. Should I try a couple of runs using Mobil 1 5W-20 to see if the color of the metal returns to normal? I have also considered replacing the PCV valve, but Honda states that this should not be necessary at ~48K miles. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.
