Need Help understanding AECA A5/B5, A3/B3

[GRWOil]

I recently purchased a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport with the 2.0L turbo. The owners manual says it can take any oil between a 5w30 and a 20w-50 depending on ambient temperature, but the owners manual also says it requires ACEA A5/B5 oil. I was shocked when my favorite oil, Mobli 1, didn't meet the spec. I looked for oils that meet this spec, all I could find (in the USA, commonly available) were Pennzoil Platinum 5w30, and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 or 10w30. However, I did find a wide selection of A3/B3 oils.

So I've got some questions: Can Oils that meet A3/B3 specs be used in an A5/B5 engine? What's the difference between A3/B3 and A3/B4? Would substitute either of these for A5/B5 void my warranty?

 

[Ramblejam]

https://www.infineum.com/media/16389/acea-2012-oil-sequences.pdf

 

[dgn]

From http://www.oilspecifications.org/acea.php

A/B: gasoline and diesel engine oils

ACEA A1/B1 Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use at extended drain intervals in gasoline engines and car & light van diesel engines specifically designed to be capable of using low friction low viscosity oils with a high temperature / high shear rate viscosity of 2.6 mPa*s for xW/20 and 2.9 to 3.5 mPa.s for all other viscosity grades. These oils are unsuitable for use in some engines. Consult owner manual or handbook if in doubt.

ACEA A3/B3 Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use in high performance gasoline engines and car & light van diesel engines and/or for extended drain intervals where specified by the engine manufacturer, and/or for year-round use of low viscosity oils, and/or for severe operating conditions as defined by the engine manufacturer.

ACEA A3/B4 Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use in high performance gasoline and direct injection diesel engines, but also suitable for applications described under A3/B3.

ACEA A5/B5 Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use at extended drain intervals in high performance gasoline engines and car & light van diesel engines designed to be capable of using low friction low viscosity oils with a High temperature / High shear rate (HTHS) viscosity of 2.9 to 3.5 mPa.s. These oils are unsuitable for use in some engines. Consult owner manual or handbook if in doubt.

That may at least help with the difference.

 

[Garak]

You could use A3/B4 in an A5/B5 application, but you may lose some fuel economy benefits (marginal, of course) and have extra phosphorus content (marginal again). We cannot here answer what a dealer or an OEM would do in such a situation. The odds of a situation arising where something would go wrong with an engine and they would give you grief over an A3/B4 over an A5/B5 is pretty slim, but we're not the ones accepting the liability. Technically, the ACEA wordings only warn against using a low HTHS oil in a higher HTHS application, and not the reverse.

Castrol and Mobil did have A5/B5 5w30 before, but it disappeared not that long ago, with Castrol providing an explanation that it was the B5 side of the equation with respect to some biodiesel test, and that it's expected to return. Nonetheless, the Pennzoil product should be relatively readily available to you at reasonable pricing.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Originally Posted By: dgn
From http://www.oilspecifications.org/acea.php

A/B: gasoline and diesel engine oils



ACEA A5/B5 Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use at extended drain intervals in high performance gasoline engines and car & light van diesel engines designed to be capable of using low friction low viscosity oils with a High temperature / High shear rate (HTHS) viscosity of 2.9 to 3.5 mPa.s. These oils are unsuitable for use in some engines.


Why would these oils be unsuitable in some engines?

 

[weasley]

Because they have a lower HTHS than A3/B3 and A3/B4-type oils. Some engines require the higher HTHS oils.

 

[GRWOil]

Originally Posted By: Garak
You could use A3/B4 in an A5/B5 application, but you may lose some fuel economy benefits (marginal, of course) and have extra phosphorus content (marginal again). We cannot here answer what a dealer or an OEM would do in such a situation. The odds of a situation arising where something would go wrong with an engine and they would give you grief over an A3/B4 over an A5/B5 is pretty slim, but we're not the ones accepting the liability. Technically, the ACEA wordings only warn against using a low HTHS oil in a higher HTHS application, and not the reverse.

Castrol and Mobil did have A5/B5 5w30 before, but it disappeared not that long ago, with Castrol providing an explanation that it was the B5 side of the equation with respect to some biodiesel test, and that it's expected to return. Nonetheless, the Pennzoil product should be relatively readily available to you at reasonable pricing.


I'll probably stick with Pennzoil Ultra Platium 5w30 for now then. I bought the extended warranty, so why jeopardize it? I'll keep looking for a AECA A5/B5 that's a little bit heavier, this car is kind of noisy for a new car.

 

[Garak]

You'll pretty much be stuck with a low HTHS 30 grade if doing A5/B5, and there's nothing wrong with that. Every A5/B5 oil I've ever come across in North America is also ILSAC rated, which means its HTHS will be at the lower end of the spectrum.