How accurate is Mobil 1's Product Recommendations Results?

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Feb 19, 2009
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Quick question, i was on the Mobil 1 website and came across a product recommendation page for the type/weight of oil for your vehicle. https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/what-to-buy/find-the-right-motor-oil/

And was kinda surprised by the results for the Hyundais that we own. This site has a recommended oil for the 09 2.0L Elantra as a synthetic 0W20/0W30/5W20 with 5W30 at the very bottom. Okay fair enough - 5W20 it is... But I am not against trying a 0W30 in it if i can find it.. But then i ran the 13 Sonata 2.4L and the ONLY recommended oil is Synthetic 5W30.. :unsure: Does Mobil know something that maybe i dont about this 2.4L? I just picked up another jug of Mobil 5W20 EP for this 2.4L, as i use synthetic 5W20 in the fall/winter, and 5W30 if in stock every spring/summer. I change it twice a year (sept 5W20 and april 5W30) or about every 6000-7000 miles it comes out to be.. This engine runs extremely well knock on wood, and uses zero oil even at a couple longer 8K OCI's. This engine also uses the whole RPM range esp when merging onto the Thruway, but is never abused. It is direct injected, and has a timing chain... Both of which are a little harder on the oil i know that.

So what im asking is, do i take the Mobil results with a grain of sand, and continue my routine, or do i make a switch to exclusively 5W30 no matter the season?

Also not trying to start a war, this is genuine question.

Thanks!
 
Typically the site will recommend only what the mfg. recommends. They are not going to make any recommendations that go against the mfg. They're guided by a strict legal department it appears. I take their recommendations with a grain of salt, if I didn't I'd be using 5w20 in both my Jeeps.

Edit: I see they changed the recommendation of my 2016 Rubicon, now I can use 0W20 or 5W20. A while back it was only 5W20.
 
Mobil 1 the best you'll get without a prescription. Hyundai at one time was following a severe service and switched to 5w30 because of a fuel dilution issue in GDI. If your 09 elantra doesn't have GDI no reason you can't get 7500 running 5w20 especially with Mobil 1 and no need to switch between 20 & 30
 
They only recommend what the manufacturer recommends. In one of your previous threads, you learned that thinner oils are for fuel economy.
 
Mobil wouldn't say to use say, 5w20 wt if the mfgr say to use 10w30. But might say your can go 15k miles on their oil and filter, where the mfgr might call for a 5k oci. Going 3 times what the mfgr suggests might sound like what your looking for, due to your driving habits. Now if their oil caused engine damage, they would be up to their ears in damage lawsuits. Sure a motor here and there will blow, but it would be hard to impossible to place blame on the oil. Poor motor design more often then not, is what cause's catastrophic damage.,,,
 
Typically the site will recommend only what the mfg. recommends
They only recommend what the manufacturer recommends
This.... Sadly, it's all about liability and they won't dare recommend differently than what the automakers recommend for each application. For a period of time, Castrol was listing 0W-20 as an alternative to 5W-20 but stopped doing that. They even labeled the products with that for a while.
 
Mobil wouldn't say to use say, 5w20 wt if the mfgr say to use 10w30. But might say your can go 15k miles on their oil and filter, where the mfgr might call for a 5k oci.
The oil manufacturers that promote longer intervals all still use fine-print, asterisks, etc that say something to the effect of "during warranty, follow the automaker's interval".
 
This.... Sadly, it's all about liability and they won't dare recommend differently than what the automakers recommend for each application. For a period of time, Castrol was listing 0W-20 as an alternative to 5W-20 but stopped doing that. They even labeled the products with that for a while.
Why would they recommend an oil grade that contradicts what the manufacturer recommends?
 
An 09 Elantra is well out of warrantee so they can be a bit loser with
oil options. Newer vehicles have tighter specs. But it's YOUR car so use what
makes you happy. Many look to oil specs in other countries, like Australia or Germany
which typically allows thicker oils.


My 2¢
 
Why would they recommend an oil grade that contradicts what the manufacturer recommends?
Look up the definition of "recommend". They have to "recommend" the same thing but the vehicle owner can do what they want. Their lawyers determine this.... and for their own good reasons (to protect them, not us). In the US, Honda says use 0W-20 in one of my cars and every oil manufacturer says the same thing but if I tell Castrol I'm in another country (and not necessarily one with a drastically different climate), they may list multiple oil choices. Why ? Because the automaker does too.
 
Look up the definition of "recommend". They have to "recommend" the same thing but the vehicle owner can do what they want. Their lawyers determine this.... and for their own good reasons (to protect them, not us). In the US, Honda says use 0W-20 in one of my cars and every oil manufacturer says the same thing but if I tell Castrol I'm in another country (and not necessarily one with a drastically different climate), they may list multiple oil choices. Why ? Because the automaker does too.
Huh? Didn't you just prove my point?
 
fair enough thanks for the replies, I will continue what I have been doing as it’s working. 🙏 bitog members are always ready to answer questions. Also why does every question get turned into a t vs t? I was asking about the m1 website and explained what I have been doing to give back ground that’s all…. Lighten up a little it’s only oil 😂 anyways thanks again.
 
fair enough thanks for the replies, I will continue what I have been doing as it’s working. 🙏 bitog members are always ready to answer questions. Also why does every question get turned into a t vs t? I was asking about the m1 website and explained what I have been doing to give back ground that’s all…. Lighten up a little it’s only oil 😂 anyways thanks again.
You literally started a thread about different viscosity oils. I thought you were switching to 5w-30?
 
After running our 2006 Merc E350 for years on Mobil 1 0W-40, was surprised their recommendation tool advised there was no suitable M1 oil for a 2016 BMW 328i. Got to believe some of this is marketing, as in the oil manufacturers pay something to secure vehicle recommendations from vehicle manufacturers? And yes, I understand that each and every oil is different, some more than others!
 
Wasn't the 09 port injected, and the 13 uses a direct injected engine, I presume they recommend the 5W30 on the 13 to counted GDI fuel dillution.
 
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