Can I use 5w-30 instead?

[Alfissimoint.]

Not necessarily. Synthetic can and does run better most of the time. Putting new standard group III oil (typically hydrocracked) in and it running quieter and smoother at the beginning is most likely the seat of your pants analysis! Typically the synthetic which is a group IV or higher will not break down and reduces noise and runs much smoother. anyway. I am sure if he used a good synthetic like Mobil one or a German oil he will not hear the noise come back. valve clatter is normal with these motors but synthetic can really make a difference and give you longer intervals. I change mine every 10K with 1 filter/L oil at 5K

 

[zoomzoom_fan]

If you want to be on the conservative side with warranty claim,
you should stick with 5w20 and keep the same oil change schedule as in OM even if you
are using synthetic (which kind of defeats the purpose since we don't race CX9s
on track).

I bet most of you do the oil change in your garage. I've been replacing oil in all of my cars for years, and have never eperienced any issues. However, one question has always puzzled me - if something went wrong with the engine how would I be able to prove that the OM was followed when it comes to oil change intervals. Would this give dealers a reson to void the warranty?

 

[Alfissimoint.]

They can do an oil analysis and check for certain amounts of Silicone, metals, dirt and so forth. If they are fairly high they can argue that you went over the interval. But in that case as well you could argue that the oil was the problem and it broke down too quickly thus causing excessive wear.

 

[sts7049]

your best bet is to save your receipts from oil and filter purchases. although it can't prove you actually changed it, if you show up with a bunch of receipts i'm sure that would quiet any challenge on their part.

 

[ceric]

Remember a while back when Toyota had some oil sludge issue with their engines (on Camry if I recall correctly),
Toyota asked owners to present receipts of oil changes (be it DIY or at indie shops) to have the engine
covered by warranty. In many cases, the engines were replaced (big $$$). Saving your receipts is THAT important
if you don't visit "stealerships"

Put down date and mileage on the receipts if you DIY.

 

[qck]

Just had my oil changed at the dealer and they used Mazda's 0w-20 full synthetic.

So I have almost 30,000 miles on my CX-9 and am ready to do an oil change this weekend. I want to change to synthetic and will probably use Mobile 1. I have a few questions:

1) Are the dealers putting in 0w-20 instead of 5w-20?

2) Would it be better to use 0w-20 or should I stick with 5w-20?

3) Should you use a different type of filter when using synthetic?

4) As a separate question from the CX-9, my girlfriend has a 2003 Ford Taurus with 147k on it. Is it too late to start using synthetic oil in it?

 

[ceric]

1) Are the dealers putting in 0w-20 instead of 5w-20?

2) Would it be better to use 0w-20 or should I stick with 5w-20?

3) Should you use a different type of filter when using synthetic?

4) As a separate question from the CX-9, my girlfriend has a 2003 Ford Taurus with 147k on it. Is it too late to start using synthetic oil in it?

1&2) Better stick with OE spec 5w-20 before your powertrain warranty expires. Dealers most likely stick with OE spec.
3) No need for diff filter. Use OE before warranty expire. Do whatever you feel like after that.
4) IMHO, it is never too late to switch to synthetic. However, some technicians believe (this needs MythBuster guys to verify) that
switching to synthetic might develop leakage. I can't come up with a scientific explanation for that. So, I don't believe it.
On my BMW 540iA. It came with dyno oil. Two years later, BMW decided that synthetic should be used from that point on.
I saw no issue with leakage at all for following 6 years I owned it.

P.S. only synthetic oil has 0w grade.

 

[qck]

Thanks ceric, so just to be clear changing to 5w-20 synthetic will not void the powertrain warranty correct?

 

[ceric]

Thanks ceric, so just to be clear changing to 5w-20 synthetic will not void the powertrain warranty correct?

Correct, but you still need to adhere to the 5000 miles change schedule.
Synthetic oil can easily last 10K w/o issue, but you don't want Mazda to pick on you in case something goes wrong with the engine.

 

[Alfissimoint.]

What do you mean only Synthetic oil has 0W grade? Thats not true at all. Mobil 1 as mentioned above is Synthetic Group IV base stock synthetic oil in all grades. The EP range is GRP III hydrocracked base stock.
You can use 0W-20, 5W-20, 5W-30 without any issue. The W part is useless for the most part until winter time. But between 0W-5W, its not much of a difference. 0W will get through smaller galleys and up lubricating camshafts faster in the winter but again not much faster than 5W. 20-30 is not much either. I use 30. It should not have any ill effects on your engine. It will not cause issues like not lubricating bearings due to tight tolerances or anything. Any of the Mobil 1 synthetics are in-fact synthetics. I personally use Pentosin High Performance 100% synthetic 5W-30 German made oil. Fantastic oil and base stocks and additive packages are 100% synthetics. Changing to synthetic on these types of modern motors are no issue. Older motors can be an issue with leaks if changed over later. Go ahead. Change to Synthetic and up the interval. Use 5W-20 if still in warranty just incase but I would not worry about it regardless.

 

[ceric]

Alfissimoint,
What I meant was if you see engine oil that is 0W-xx, it is fully synthetic.
Find me a counter-example, and I will stand corrected.
Synthetic oil has all grades, but only synthetic has 0W grade.
That was what I meant.

 

[Alfissimoint.]

Ahh Ok. Did not make sense to me the way you wrote it.
What you should have said was 0W oils only come in Full Synthetic.

But here is one that is not:

http://www.conocophillipslubricants.com/documents/76/engine_oil/76 Super Syn Blend MO TDS Web.pdf

Shell Helix Racing Engine Oil 0W-20 is a semi-synthetic high performance lubricant
developed to provide high levels of engine protection and maximum engine power
output for Formula 3 type engines. Obviously not going to be used due to no detergents. But its not fully synthetic.

Honda and Toyota use Blends for their 0W- oils

Anyway, they are not really Full synthetics in 0W anyway, at least US based OILS. If you want full Synthetic you need to go with a EUROPEAN MADE oil, such as the mentioned Pentosin that I use or, Motul, Elf etc... Amsoil is full so is Redline.

 

[ceric]

I figure that it is possible to blend in enough synthetic to make it 0w.
I used to think that 0w has to be full-synthetic. This is new to me as well.

 

[blackntan]

I drained the factory oil out of the CX-9 at 2,500 miles. I put Amsoil SS 5w-20 in it, which is what I'm also running in my truck. I'm going to drain it and take a sample at around 10k miles (7,500 miles on oil), and send it in for analysis. I did a UOA on my truck with about 5300 miles on the Amsoil SS, and the lab said that I could easily go to 8k or so miles on that oil. It still had plenty of active additive remaining, and wear metals were very low. When I drain oil from both vehicles, I'm switching to the German Castrol 0w-30, and will do a UOA on it after 7,500 miles on the CX-9. I've read a lot of good things about the GC, so I'm hoping for some pretty good results, as well as some really good extended drain intervals. For the CX-9, I'm planning on 7,500 mile oil sample and filter change, then 15k mile oil drain and filter change (depending on what the 7,500 mile oil sample results are). I highly doubt that a 30w vs. a 20w oil will cause any issues with the motor.

Also, FWIW, the Amsoil SS yielded better results than Mobil 1 in my truck.

 

[table5511]

Isn't that a little early to be analyzing oil? just wondering if your results might not be accurate due to manufacturing lubricants/greases/oils + breakin period residual leftovers?

 

[blackntan]

My specific purpose for paying $35 for oil analysis is because I want to go to extended drain intervals, not necessarily to diagnose the motor with any problems. I believe in lab results, not a piece of paper that says I have to craw up under there every 3-5k miles and do an oil change. The UOA will give a good idea of how much active additive is remaining in the oil (TBN), as well as how good the oil is protecting the motor (wear metals), which in turn will let me know how many miles I can put on the oil before it needs to be changed.

My second reason for taking UOA is to compare 2 different Group IV oils, to see which one works best for my cars. (Amsoil SS 5w-20 vs. GC 0w-30) With my truck (almost 40k miles on it), I've compared my UOA from Mobil 1 5w-20 and Amsoil SS 5w-20, and Amsoil was the clear winner, based of having less wear metals apparent in the sample. Simply put, it protects my motor better than the M1. My next experiment with my truck is to put the GC 0w-30 in there, put 8-10k miles on it, and sample it. The results should give me a pretty good indication of which oil is best for me, and what is the longest time I can go between oil changes. I will still change out the filter every 5k miles on my truck, but looking to go to 10k oil changes. With the CX-9, I'm planning on the same thing, or better. My truck is supercharged, so technically, I'm exempt from extended drain intervals, but I'm working on trying to establish the most miles I can put on the oil before it needs to be changed. Since the CX-9 is completely stock, I'm hoping to get to 10-15k mile oil change intervals, with the right synthetic group IV oil. (either Amsoil or the German Castrol).

I'd assume that when I dumped the factory oil at 2,500 miles, any residual lubricants went with it. I didn't take a sample of that oil. I will take a sample of the Amsoil SS when the oil gets 7,500 miles on it. Either way, I'm pretty sure the lab can do a pretty good job of analyzing everything that is in the oil sample.

Sure, I used to have my head in the sand, and thought (for most of my life) that cars HAD to have oil changed every 3k miles, because that is basically what we are taught, or is common knowledge. Thanks to a little research, and discovering oil analysis, I've changed my opinion.

 

[table5511]

I agree a lot of 3k interval propoganda is propoganda. I had my B4 passat vr6 through college. I used Mobile 1 15w50 exclusively full synth. Due to funding shortages, I had a couple 20k intervals, but mostly 15k intervals with the 15k Mobile One advanced full synth. I sold the car at 100K because everything kept on breaking. But the motor itself was like new at 100k, no signs of aging. Of course that was not true for the water neck, water pump, mounts, a/c, window regs, clutch pedal welding failure, cruise failure, exhaust, wheel bearings, tie rods, etc etc.

 

[MSke390]

Huh, in reading through this post I see this one:

Thanks ceric, so just to be clear changing to 5w-20 synthetic will not void the powertrain warranty correct?

So why was I told that by Mazda Gallary in Norwood, MA at my first oil change that Mazda recommends using synthetic oilfor my 2012 CX-9? Boy my recent relationship with Mazda just keeps getting better!

 

[ceric]

It is not the use of synthetic oil that could potentially void your warranty.
It is the oil change interval that might cause the problem.
As long as you stick with Mazda's recommended change period, warranty coverage is not an issue.
However, if you want to go more than 10K miles before oil change, ....you better ask your dealer ...

 

[blackntan]

I made a mistake in my previous post, when I referenced Castrol 5w-30 as the "GC". (I corrected previous posts) Castrol 5w-30 is a synthetic, but the German made 0w-30 (says "Made in Germany on the back of the bottle"), is a group IV true synthetic, and is known as the German Castrol.

I stocked up on some I found on sale at Auto Zone, 5 qts. plus oil filter for about $30. I bought 15 quarts. I'll be dumping the Amsoil SS 5w-20 from the CX-9 next month, and filling it with the GC. The Amsoil will have about 7500 miles on it, and I will have it analyzed to see how much life was left in it, and to see what the engine wear looks like. I expect to be able to get 10k-15k+ miles on the GC...time will tell.