Dealer Put 5/20 instead of 5/30

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Good Evening,

I just picked up my 97 Honda Civic from the dealer, which is spec'd for 5w30 oil, and they have listed on the service receipt that they put in 5/20, Mobil Blend.

I am wondering if I should insist on a redo with the right spec'd oil?

RevRider
 
pretty sure your Civic won't reach high enough temperatures for which a 30 wt oil is needed....

I'd "insist" on a redo just about when you need another oil change. Go for about 3k or 4k miles, then decide that the oil really needs to be the kind stated on the cap.

It'll be a win-win situation?
 
Your engine will probably grind to a halt in less than 500 miles!
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To be honest they may not even have that old obsolete 5w30 oil in stock at your dealer anymore. Most dealers and shops try to consoilidate their inventory.


Just kidding about your car being damaged BTW. The 5w20 may actually be a better engine oil for you to use, even for your older honda. I would expect no damage or harm, in fact you may actually see some benefits.
 
In 1997 5w-20 wasn't that widely available as a motor oil, so most engines at that time were spec'd 5w30 and then the same engines a few years later were spec'd 5w-20 when the grade became more widely available. It really doesn't make much difference other than a slight MPG gain.

Also, a lot of Honda dealers for simplicty will put 5w-20 on all their oil change invoices, but actually fill with the correct grade. You can give the dealer a call and ask about it, they probably used 5w30.
 
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Didn't Honda actually do the same as Ford and back-spec their engines to run on 5W-20?


Yes, if I remember right I believe they did, but I can't seem to find the service bulletin for it.
 
Things like this irritate me beyond belief. I would demand a redo as soon as possible. I would also make sure that the service manager knew what happened, the dealership manager, and the regional manager. If necessary I would consider legal action. I would also make sure that dealer knew that you would never be back there again. That oil would only have to reach 207F to be out of grade as originally specified for your car.
 
JSP: I spoke with the Service Advisor, he said they put 5w30 in & he confirmed what you said, that for their receipts it prints out 5/20. He offered for me to come back tomorrow for a redo, seems honest here, I don't want to be a jerk about it, but I also don't want to hurt an engine on a car that I have the pink slip on.

TO ALL: So, the new spec for all Honda engines is 5/20? Mine is the 1.6, Civic CX model, manual trans, but I have hit 47 MPG in and routinely get 39 to 40 highway. Only 80k for mileage. From the receipt, they put in Mobil blend, which I am assuming is the part syn/part dino, 7500 Mobil.

Thank you for all the responses!
 
Honestly, even if the engine wasn't back-specced to run 5W-20, I wouldn't worry about it if they used a good oil like Mobil clean 7500. Since they probably did use 5w30 anyway I wouldn't bother taking it back.
 
Originally Posted By: RevRider
Good Evening,

I just picked up my 97 Honda Civic from the dealer, which is spec'd for 5w30 oil, and they have listed on the service receipt that they put in 5/20, Mobil Blend.

I am wondering if I should insist on a redo with the right spec'd oil?

RevRider


Heck no, enjoy the better oil! Don't touch it. Trust. Done.
 
5W20 will be just fine for one time. In my opinion; some engines are not back-spec'd from 5W30 to 5W20 for a reason. Something as subtle as a change in the timing chain guide material may provide longer service with the 5W30 spec'd oil.
 
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Things like this irritate me beyond belief. I would demand a redo as soon as possible. I would also make sure that the service manager knew what happened, the dealership manager, and the regional manager. If necessary I would consider legal action. I would also make sure that dealer knew that you would never be back there again. That oil would only have to reach 207F to be out of grade as originally specified for your car.


Legal action? You must be very retired, very bored, and have money to waste.
 
I had two cases where I had to bring legal action against a dealer to get results and there should have been no reason for such action.

On the first, I took a new car, about a week old, back to the dealer to get something adjusted. Some mechanic laid something on a white vinyl top. They tried to clean it and just created a stain. They said they could stain it back white, but that isn't what I bought. I had to have an attorney write a letter to get them to replace it.

I took another new car, maybe 3 months old, in to get timing adjusted. The dealer told me that was a common problem with that model. I told them that was not what I bought and I wanted another model. They said no way but they would give me an excellent trade in on another model. It took an attorney to get them to give me another model with no cost to me other than the difference in base, not sticker, price.

Money I do not have. In my family I do have two attorneys, uncles, a county judge, nephew, a county sheriff, nephew, a forensic criminologist, daughter, and a commander in military investigative services(whatever that is, keep changing names) nephew.

When you bend over backward, give them ever chance in the world, and they tell you they "don't have to," or "aren't going to," you may need to get their attention and splain things to them. Then when you come in, they may treat you a little better.
 
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Originally Posted By: RevRider
From the receipt, they put in Mobil blend, which I am assuming is the part syn/part dino, 7500 Mobil
Not necessarily. When the latest spec oil was released (API SM), ExxonMobil stated that the oil they sold in bulk was lower quality than the retail bottled oil. It still met spec, but not for as many miles in service.
 
I can speak from personal experience in our 1998 Civic

that when 5w20 first came out, I decided to try it in my wife's Civic to see if 5w20 would improve gas mileage.

Not only the car got worse gas mileage, but the engine consumed a quart of oil in only 5K miles. I switched back to 5w30 and consumption went away, gas mileage went back up.
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