No more 0W-20 What to do?(Honda Hybrid)

[Fred Bear]

My mother has a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. Her car calls for 0W-20. With Mobil no longer making that, She is left with buying the Honda branded oil (I believe it is an Exxon/Mobil Oil)
I bought all the 0W-20 I could find. I told her to just use the M1 5W-20. Why would Honda insist on 0W-20? The oil will still be a 20 weight when it is warmed up. The engine shut off feature does not even work when the engine is cold.

 

[buster]

Mobil was ahead of the game to their credit. Wait until the PDS come out and see how much it's really changed. They might just slap a 5w on the bottle even though it could still be a 0w oil. Regardless, the 5w will be fine.

 

[ruking77]

I have a 2004 Civic gasser which calls for 5w20. I also did the research and came to the conclusion I wanted Mobil One 0w20 and indeed bought 80,000 miles worth!?

I would have no operative issues given Mobil One 5w20 and or if you wanted to go conventional the Honda OEM 5w20 made by ExxonMobil. EM's own brand that meets the same Honda specifications is their 5w20 Superflo.

 

[Razl]

I was in my local Honda delaships to pick up some ATF and noticed that Honda specs 0W-20 for the hybrids, including the Insight. To answer your question, "Why would Honda do that?" I think it has to due with maximizing fuel economy on their hybrid line. While there is no advantage to running 0W20 versus 5W20 once it gets up to temp, the 0W20 will not be as thick as the 5W20 on start-ups and short drives. It is in these conditions one could see a slight gain in fuel efficiency.

 

[Schmoe]

Run M1 5W-30.

 

[integrare]

Will Honda still warranty if anything besides 0w-20 is used?

 

[Fred Bear]

The owners manual says "5W-20 will do if 0w-20 is not available" so It will not be an issue with Honda. I told my mother time and time again 5W-20 will be fine. But she keeps tossing "It says use 0W-20" back at me. The specs I have seen on the M1 5W-20 are CLOSE to the 0W-20. So when my supply of 0 weight goes away, I will use it...

 

[Alvon]

I was at the Honda dealer (Larry Hopkins in Sunnyvale, CA) last week, and I saw Honda brand 0W-20 dino oil on the shelf for $3.50 per qt. There you go, if your mom must use 0W-20 oil.

 

[sprintman]

Fuchs Titan GT1 0W20 is a superior oil. It's available in the U.S I believe.

 

[JohnBrowning]

M1 still makes a 0W20 for Honda. Honda's souse brand 0W20 is M1 0W20. So you can still get M1 0W20 at your Honda dealer for your Insight.

Anyone ever wounder why more companys do not make a 0W20? I am going to guess that their is about as much demand in the world for 0W20 as their is for 25W70! It does not pay to make a product almost no one wants! This is especialy the case when most vechiles calling for 20Wt. specifiy a 5W20. In order to meet Fords reqirements it must be a 5W20 not a 0W20. So a 5W20 can be used by all vechiles calling for a 20Wt. made by any OEM Honda, DC, and Ford with the exception of the Insight! It seems like a no brainer to me. I can not imagine that many Insight owners changeing their own oil!! They would have to make up a very very small market!! The good news M1 0W20 is still available though just not at retail!

[ February 23, 2005, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: JohnBrowning ]

 

[John_E]

What's wrong with using Mobil 1 5W-30 in a Honda or Ford spec'd for xW-20 oil? At 10cSt, the stuff is practically 20-weight, anyway.

Also, is it not true that 0W- and 5W- oils differ only in low-temperature pour point, such that most of us can use, say, 0W-30 and 5W-30 (or 0W-40 and 5W-40) completely interchangeably?

 

[MikeySoft]

I believe the new Pennzoil is coming out with 0w20 this summer. So they will have both 5w20 and 0w20.

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

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Originally posted by John_E:
What's wrong with using Mobil 1 5W-30 in a Honda or Ford spec'd for xW-20 oil? At 10cSt, the stuff is practically 20-weight, anyway.

Also, is it not true that 0W- and 5W- oils differ only in low-temperature pour point, such that most of us can use, say, 0W-30 and 5W-30 (or 0W-40 and 5W-40) completely interchangeably?

---

Absolutely nothing wrong as far as the mechanical considerations. It just matters if you have engine problems and the dealer/manufacture really doesn't want to fix it on their "nickel". Then they may TRY to give you a hard time. But if push comes to shove they'll lose, not you. A 0W-30 will have a better cold start pumpability than a 5W-30 oil. But unless you're in the land of Nanook, it wouldn't make any great difference in start up wear or fuel mileage.

Whimsey