Changing recommended oil grade

[Tjulo]

I own a 2014 Grand cherokee V6. Recommended oil is 5w-20. As I live in the tropics where ambient temp. is between 20-40 degrees celcius all year round. Can I change the oil grade to 5w-30 or 10w-30. It seems to me that I can even use single grade 30. Can somebody comment?

 

[Mechanician]

From Mexico - CRV Hybrid is same.

 

[tolian21]

There is extremely low chance your engine will have oil related issues while under warranty such that they require receipts. Further more, there is low chance they will say higher viscosity voided warranty. This was discussed before, the chances are so low that its not worth worrying about

 

[VersysVsWhat]

...Also, change oil regularly and don't believe 10k miles OCIs if sump holds 4 to 5 quarts only.

Even with smaller sumps like that, I think it depends more on a combination of the specific vehicle, the holistic driving conditions, and the specific oil being used. By holistic driving conditions, I mean the temps and climate while driving, the average driving conditions i.e. mostly lower highway speeds, stop and go, high highway speeds, track or not, etc and the typical driving habits of the driver. All of these factors can and often will affect reasonable oil longevity.

Both of our cars take about 4 quarts, but we live in a mildler climate with not much temp extremes that often or that long, our work routes are near ideal (about 10 minutes low traffic back roads followed by 20 minutes lower highway speed [ranging from 55 to 65 on average, occasionally 70mph actual speeds], we drive neither like adrenaline junkies nor great grandmas, and our vehicles are otherwise easier on oil than some.

But because I tend to use the least expensive synthetic I can find, usually Kirkland's on sale or Supertech, I change the oil in both cars at 7.5k. In a little while, I'll be putting some Renewable Lubricants 5w-30 in both, and I would feel comfortable going to 10k no problem with that oil.

Meanwhile, my motorcycle's sump is a bit under 3 quarts and while Kawasaki specifies around 7.5k mile OCI, I would not feel comfortable going that long, unless I was running a very high quality oil like HPL or Renewable Lubricants. With the typical OTS oil, I would go around 4 to 5k. All because it is a motorcycle with potentially higher heat, higher shearing conditions (wet clutch and high RPM), and I drive it a little harder on average than I do my car.

 

[tolian21]

From Mexico - CRV Hybrid is same.


View attachment 282937

Recomendado translation ?

 

[Lawnman23]

Recomendado translation ?

 

[tolian21]

recommendation is not a requirement

 

[Jetronic]

How thick are we talking here? While Toyota specs 0w-16, or 0w-8 in most of their cars sold now in the U.S., the owners manuals will state that 5w-30 and 10w-30 are fine for the exact same vehicle in other markets. Would these be oils in Xw-40 range where this is happening?

these oils would be in arctic range when it's happening... in other words, the difference between xW-20 and xW-40 are tiny compared to the differencence between 60°F and -20°F. Or can't these cars be used when it's that cold?

 

[dubber09]

This must be a 'translation' of some sort, not a very good one either. And English is not my mother tongue:

- what room?
- 'to improve' in this case almost reads as 'to increase'. E.g., to improve beer consumption would mean to increase it, to improve sales - to increase.

 

[Lawnman23]

This must be a 'translation' of some sort, not a very good one either. And English is not my mother tongue:

View attachment 282957

- what room?
- 'to improve' in this case almost reads as 'to increase'. E.g., to improve beer consumption would mean to increase it, to improve sales - to increase.

It was the first online converter that I found that didn’t require making a login to translate the pic.

Quality is…functional.

 

[Carlostrece]

No.

And I'm not sure the connection to an oil filter.

I think it used to be the case that mono-grade oils were nondetergent, but I wasn't sure about in 2025. That's why I said correct me if I'm wrong.

I could explain the oil filter part, but I'm not going to bother because it's not relevant to this thread because detergent monograde oil is available.

 

[gfh77665]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK straight weight oils are non-detergent oils which would not be desirable in an engine that has an oil filter. I think you'd want to use a detergent oil 5w30, 10w30, or 10w40 if it's an appropriate viscosity for your situation.

No, I definitely used detergent oils. I would never use non-detergent oils in any of my vehicles. They were current at the time, SM, if I recall. Its been a few years.

 

[factorytuned2012]

I live in South FL and in many of my vehicles I step up a viscosity grade or two, including my Supercharged Jag F-Type (0-20 to 5-30) But before I do that, I always do my research. The Ford 5.4L 3V engine in my previous truck also spec'd a really thin oil. One that was not used a year earlier in the same engine. It came as no surprise to those of us who did the research that the Ford dealer was overwhelmed with warranty repairs. The dealership fix was to switch from 5W-20 to 10W-40 full synthetic. This had a 100% cure rate.

My current 5.0 V8 powered F150 requires 5W-30. These engines have no known failure modes and last forever with even average care. I will not be changing the oil viscosity unless I learn something in the future. Plenty of these engines out there with 300-400K, no oil related probs.

The 3.6 quickly turned into a very reliable engine and the owners manuals of many different applications spec'd or allowed the use of 5W-30. Also many owners switched to 5W-30 as they were annoyed by follower wear and blamed it on the thinner oil, possibly rightly so.

The switch to a quality 5W-30 is a no risk change in your case. And I'd guess your owners manual allows the use of 5W-30.

The dealership fix was to switch from 5W-20 to 10W-40 full synthetic. This had a 100% cure rate.

Seriously?

 

[Mechanician]

Recomendado translation ?

The recommendations in Mexico are the same as here. For those that choose to use other countries' recommendations as the correct answer.

 

[tolian21]

The recommendations in Mexico are the same as here. For those that choose to use other countries' recommendations as the correct answer.

They also recommended tequila

 

[Carlostrece]

What is your definition of “cold”. Where I live it never gets below 20 degrees centigrade.

20C is 68F. That is not cold. My gut feeling best guess is 30 monograde would be fine as long as it's a detergent oil. That said, I'd still recommend these oils:

Quaker State Ultimate Protection Full Syn 5w30. It's much thicker than most other 5w30s and has lots of good additives.

Quaker State High Mileage Full Syn 5w30. It's moderately thicker than most other 5w30s and has lots of good additives and extra seal conditioner.

Valvoline High Mileage Extended Protection 5w30. It's slightly thicker than most other 5w30s and has lots of good additives and extra seal conditioner.

Even in the tropics you'll have less cold start wear with 5w30 than with 30. My passively heated garage usually doesn't get colder than 18C or 65F (similar to cold start temp you mention in the tropics). I think 5w30 benefits my engine at cold start. I wouldn't choose a 30 oil.

Also, it seems likely IMO that the best modern synthetic oils are probably multigrade, not monograde. That's my guess. I don't know for sure what monograde oils are available.