Oil Breakdown With 5w-20

[The Critic]

My friend's 2009 Fit had about 5k on a fill of Valvoline 5w-20, conventional. The Honda Maintenance Minder system still showed 60% oil life remaining.

I noticed that on cold starts, the engine was very, very noisy until warm. By noisy, there was a noticeable amount of engine clatter until the engine warmed up. And even after the engine was warmed up, the clatter was occasionally noticeable. The engine also sounded rather rough, though I understand this to be very subjective. I checked the oil and it was full, though the oil was very dark and smelled a bit burnt.

So I took the car to the Honda dealer for their $19.95 oil change special. 4 qt of new CP Genuine Honda 5w-20 and a new OE filter later, the engine is noticeably quieter. The same result occurred when I did an oil change on this car last year-- when I drained out a 10k old fill of Pennzoil 5w-20 and replaced it with Valvoline SynPower 5w-20, the engine became noticeably quieter. Though, I don't know if the improvement was as significant that time.

This is a bit disturbing to me, as I have never noticed a significant reduction in engine noise after an oil change until now. I may be wrong, but my gut instinct is telling me that even with normal use, the 5w-20 is breaking down after a few thousand miles and is not providing good lubrication. Otherwise, I am at a loss to explain why the engine is significantly quieter after an oil change.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues with 5w-20?

Thanks.

 

[chubbs1]

You are full of it Critic. It's all in your head.

Really I am just joking, I have noticed the same thing with my Honda Civic. When I change the oil it is good for 2k(sometimes less) and then it seems really rough. I thought I found the holy grail in EDGE 0w20 but it now is at 2500mi. and the same rough everything, cold or hot. So I don't know what to think.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
You are full of it Critic. It's all in your head.


Thanks, I'll have to come your clinic for a brain check-up once you get your MD.

 

[mechanicx]

Well thicker oil tends to make for a quieter engine. 5W20 is suppose to be fairly shear stable but it wouldn't have to thin much to be pretty thin. Maybe your friend would be ahead to use 5W30 and by the time it shears down it will still be slightly thicker than a 20 grade

.

 

[CharlieJ]

It's not because it is 5w-20, it's because the oil is old and used. My Valvoline Synpower 5w-30 with 7K miles was noticeably louder than the new Pennzoil Platinum that I put in my Mazda3 a few weeks ago. I remember that when the Valvoline was new in the car it was quiet then it started to become noisier over time. I expect the new PP 10w-30 in my car to become increasingly louder over time as well.

Or maybe the Valvoline 5w-30 sheared down to a 20 grade. Well, that's why I put in PP 10w-30 to help prevent shearing. Only time will tell.

 

[brentalan]

Get a UOA and see if something else is going on. If you have a lot of fuel dilution that would certainly cause it to thin prematurely!

 

[Summerwind]

I switched my 4.6 Modular today over to 5w30 for those same concerns. Of course, this motor had been specked for that weight for a long while anyway.

 

[sangyup81]

I think you should wait until 5w30 provides a different result before blaming it on the only weight you have ever tried on that car unless you left out that you tried 5w30 already with better results?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: sangyup81
I think you should wait until 5w30 provides a different result before blaming it on the only weight you have ever tried on that car unless you left out that you tried 5w30 already with better results?

I have never tried 5w-30 in this car, and don't plan to at least until the 5/60 warranty expires.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I may be wrong, but my gut instinct is telling me that even with normal use, the 5w-20 is breaking down after a few thousand miles and is not providing good lubrication.


On that note, I'm seriously tempted to start bashing 5W-20 in this thread. I must resist, I must resist.

 

[wolfc70]

I would not worry about it. My friends Fit is also very noisy when cold. Most of the noise is valvetrain clatter. The fit has mechanical adjusters, so when it gets cold, the clearances are just a bit bigger than normal. My Vibe has the same issues. Mechanical lifters can sometimes just be noisy.

If the Fit has some noise when warm and is past 60,000 miles, then it might be time to check/adjust the clearance.

 

[tig1]

The 5-20 I use, and have used, in my Duratechs shows no differance at all up to 11K OCIs. I listened for a differance and I can't tell any after an OC.

 

[addyguy]

What say you try something like Havoline 5W-30, or Castrol Sytec 5W-30 - both are just barely 30-weights, being 9.7cst.

You could see if a slightly thicker oil quiets the engine, and they will shear down to under 9.2, so if a warranty problem comes up, the oil will test like a 20-weight, if it comes to that.

 

[demarpaint]

Two of my neighbors bought new Honda CRV's within the past two months and both are noisy with the Honda FF. At least to my ears. These people are good friends of mine and first time Honda owners, both miss the bigger SUV leases they had, one Ford one GMC. When I sold Hondas I noticed them to be a bit more noisy than most cars. PLEASE NOTE NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY! SO HONDA LOVERS DON'T ATTACK ME.

Having said that is the car is still under warranty bring it back and ask what is going on. I would not make my own diagnosis, nor would I use an oil not spec'd by Honda until the dealer told me in writing to use a different oil. JMO

 

[chaser06]

Should have had an oil analysis performed.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: wolfc70
I would not worry about it. My friends Fit is also very noisy when cold. Most of the noise is valvetrain clatter. The fit has mechanical adjusters, so when it gets cold, the clearances are just a bit bigger than normal. My Vibe has the same issues. Mechanical lifters can sometimes just be noisy.

If the Fit has some noise when warm and is past 60,000 miles, then it might be time to check/adjust the clearance.

The Fit has 45k on it, and already had a valve adjustment and ECU reflash at about 30k due to a stored misfire code and light engine vibration.

Originally Posted By: chaser06
Should have had an oil analysis performed.


Doubt anything is going to come up.

 

[mjo]

Fuel dilution can lower the viscosity of the oil. You can measure that in an oil analysis report.