5W20 in 2000 Accord?

Hi all,

At my last oil/filter change on my 2000 Accord 4 cyl (at the dealer), the
invoice indicated 5W20 - service advisor explained that they are using 5W20
now for all years/models. This despite the factory recommended 5W30 for a
'2000. I have had my car serviced at the dealer since new on the
assumption that they should know the car best - now I am not sure - any
opinions? I will insist on 5W30 the next time (as warmer weather
approaches!)

Cheers,

Cameron Tilson
Montreal, Qc
Canada

 

You'll find a lot of threads on this if you search. The current
generation of Hondas are using 5W20, and they are recommending this for
some older ones now. Some owners are okay with this, and some are
ticked off and ignoring the recommendation. The mechanical specs of
Honda engines haven't been changed, just the oil recommendation. To
get a tenth or so additional miles per gallon. So it should be just as
good (or bad) to use 5W20 in a 2000 as in a 2005.

Personally, I'd stick with 5W30 or even 10W30 where conditions allow.
Only 10W30 has a 6,000 mile/10,000 km lifespan to the oil. 5W30 is
less before it starts breaking down, and 5W20 is even less, about
3,000mi/5,000km. So you can use it, but you've gotta keep changing it.
IMHO, using 5W20 with a 10,000mi oil change interval is crazy and not
supported by actual oil sample testing, but it is the recommendation
for current I4 models.

JM

 

Over an oil change interval, if the engine's not loosing any oil, I'd go
with the thinner stuff. I'm assuming that the 5W20 is thinner then 5W30 and
thus flows better at regular operating temperatures.

Or, if the engine gets excessive use and/or driven hard, I'd go with Mobe-1
5W30.

Pars

 

Maybe--MAYBE--they can show you a Honda bulletin that shows 5W20 oil is
approved for your car.

IF they can, that's good news, and I wouldn't worry about it.

But more likely, they want to cut costs by carrying only one type of
oil. Too bad, so sad, they're losers, you should lose them.

 

Bobistheoilguy.com posts oil test numbers. Mobil 1 0W20 is apparently
beating out Mobil 1 5W30 for reduced engine wear. Go figure.

JM

 

Assuming it's changed frequently enough, this isn't really surprising.
0W20 presumably would start flowing through the engine more readily on a
cold start, which is when a lot of engine wear occurs. But you wouldn't
want to leave it in there too long. You might also consider a low
viscosity oil with better high-temperature characteristics, like Mobil 1
0W40, for longer change intervals.

 

When the weather starts to warm up, I'm planning on changing over to OW40
(instead 5W30).

I've increased my oil change interval to 15,000km. Perhaps another car will
'gum-up' the oil too quickly and thus require more frequent oil-change
intervals, but after 15000km of use, the mobel-1 oil in my Honda engine is
still silky smooth. I've heard that VW's and Toyota engines are susceptible
to gunk build-up and in those cases, frequent oil changes would be a
necessity.

Note: I only use Honda's air filter and oil filter (Forced intake and
performance air filter will cause the oil to become more dirty, more
quickly).

Pars
98 DX Hatch with 220,000km

 

With the VWs, it's really only the 1.8T that has that problem, as
opposed to the normally aspirated engines; as a result, 5W40 is recommended.

 

That's too bad. Hopefully, VW's got the problem beat with there new 2.0T. My
friends 1999 1.8T Passat has over 220,000 miles and he's had the oil pump
replaced twice (the first time was under warranty). The engine/car still
kicks butt, but it's costly to maintain (His Passat is a sweet setup with
5sp, leather and sunroof).

Pars