is 5w20 oil ok?

[stageup]

so i took my car in for an oil change @ the dealer, 2nd time.
first time they put on the paper, 5w30 6qt

today it said 5w20 5qt so i asked the service writer wtf
it should be 6qt's and 5w30. he said oh they just input
it wrong on my work order, the tech knows what to put in
the car. so i checked, the dipstick is full so i know they did
put 6qt's in. but is it ok to leave the oil in for now until my
next change? or should i change it again cuz the dealer
may have been lying to me.

i only went there cuz my first 3 oil changes are free.

[assman]

Well fwiw my owners manuel says 5w20. I think all the first MS3 manuels came like that. THen all of a sudden people started telling me that theirs said 5w30. Either way for one oil change your good. I did my first with 5w20 then jumped ship to 5w30 synthetic.

[lestat13]

Someone somewhere on here said that 5W30 is better insurance against oil seals leaking?????

[TonyMS3]

No way I would run 5/20. It was changed by mazda for a reason! Many choose 5/40w even to protect against the excessive heat a turbo generates.

[dread]

Well fwiw my owners manuel says 5w20. I think all the first MS3 manuels came like that. THen all of a sudden people started telling me that theirs said 5w30. Either way for one oil change your good. I did my first with 5w20 then jumped ship to 5w30 synthetic.

5w 20 is for the regular mazda 3. Mine was one of the first off the line 08/06 and it says 5w 30 for the ms3. Check your manual again. I think the dealer probably put in the correct stuff. I have gotten receipts that say 5w 20 several times. Now I just bring my own oil. Its cheaper that way.

[lestat13]

No way I would run 5/20. It was changed by mazda for a reason! Many choose 5/40w even to protect against the excessive heat a turbo generates.

Wouldn't you lose performance and put a greater strain on the motor and turbo (I know, not a lot, but its all relative) but running a thicker oil??

[SuperStretch18]

Dealers usually stock 5w20 in volume, so if they can get away with using it, they will rather than stock both types. It's shitty business practice though and for me would be enough to never take my car there again...

[ZyrehT]

Maybe 20 during the winter but no way during the summer.

[mrjoshyman]

i got my oil changed, they put in 5w 20 and once i realized it i immediately switched to 5w 30 synthetic

[Alexsered]

alright, so this is my big thing, I want everyone that can to check this out for themselves and let me know if anybody else can shed some light on this issue. I had one oil change done on my speed3 by mazda and that was the first oil change at 1000 miles. They put 5w 20 in the car and I made a big stink about it because the manual says 5w 30. Their explination is that mazda changed the manual so the mazdaspeed3 should take 5w 20.

Okay, so here is where it gets tricky, My manual says 5w 30!! I go online to the mazdawebsite and go through the mymazda thing and download their manual for my car. It says 5w 20!!!!! and nowhere does it say 5w 30!!. It gets even more tricky here though, the newest models like the 2008.5 mazdaspeed3 manuals still say 5w 30!!!

I have always used 5w 30, not because of the manuals, but more because I have a good knowledge about cars and you should not be running any lower than a 5w 30 on a turbo car, unless you are living in northern canada where it gets really cold. I will be switching to 10w 30 once my car hits the 50,000 mile mark.

But if anybody has any info on this whole manaul saying different things, please shine some light!! Also, I don't think the dealerships are lieing to you, I do think that they are looking up the manual online and it says very specifically to use 5w 20.

[assman]

5w 20 is for the regular mazda 3. Mine was one of the first off the line 08/06 and it says 5w 30 for the ms3. Check your manual again. I think the dealer probably put in the correct stuff. I have gotten receipts that say 5w 20 several times. Now I just bring my own oil. Its cheaper that way.

Thanks but no thanks, I really only needed to check it the one time to know what I read. My manuel says 5W20 and I have a Speed3. My build date is 2006 as well.

[Alexsered]

Thanks but no thanks, I really only needed to check it the one time to know what I read. My manuel says 5W20 and I have a Speed3. My build date is 2006 as well.


really, yours says 5w 20? My manual says 5w 30 for the turbo. weird

[SPEED3TYPE2]

5-20 is for the reg 3, look in the manuel its sais 5-20 for the non-turbo and 5-30 for the turbo.. common error.

[Alexsered]

5-20 is for the reg 3, look in the manuel its sais 5-20 for the non-turbo and 5-30 for the turbo.. common error.


Yeah, that is what mine says, but the one online for our car specifically says 5w 20. What is mazda doing?

[SuperStretch18]

Don't all the other DISI manuals say 5W30? I can confirm that's what it says for the CX-7 (all years)...

[FrequentFlyer]

No way in hell would I use a 5W-20 oil in a high-performance turbocharged motor. This lighweight oils are for FUEL ECONOMY. You cannot tell me the engines built today are that much tighter than they were 10 years ago. However, emissions and fuel economy stardards are! I'm using 5W-40 Shell Rotella T Synthetic right now. I really don't care if I get 1mpg less than I did before with 5W-30. In the scheme of things, it's nothing.

Most of the UOD's show a 30 weight oil sheering down to around a 20 weight after 4-5k miles in this motor. Lots of people think this is attributed to fuel dilution, however you'll find that 'most' UOD's done on this car don't show fuel dilution being an issue. I'm sure different driving conditions can attribute to fuel dilution, ie: lots of stop and go, short trips, not allowing the car to reach operating temps, etc... I'm not concerned with my driving habits, as 80% of the mileage I put on the car is at 70mph on the highway. The reason why the oils are thinning is that they're running through a turbocharger that is heating up to 1,000 degrees F and spinning at 100,000 RPM at times. Years ago, manufacturers would give you a choice of viscosities in the owner's manuals and let people choose which oil to use depending on temps. Most of them overlapped. In the summer, I see nothing wrong with using a 5W-40 oil. In fact, the bulletin Neuspeed released for the K04 turbo says to use 20W-50 for the summer and 10W-40 in the winter. I don't know if I'd go THAT thick, but doing a 5W-40 in the summer and then back to the 5W-30 in the winter is my plan.

FWIW, my 08.5 says to use 5W-30 and the one online is the same. Maybe some manuals had typos? I can see the possibility of a tech putting 5 quarts of 5W-20 in the car. Regular Mazda3's outnumber MS3's by like 100:1 and I'm sure it's force of habit. If the receipt says 5W-20, treat it as such. I wouldn't take their word for it. They're just looking to make a quick buck and they're going to hear it from the manager if they find out they had to do another FREE oil change because someone F'd up.

[phantom6294]

Screenshots of the 2008 User's Manual from the Mazda USA website... FTW. My printed manual in the car shows the same.

Without Turbocharger: 5W-20
With Turbocharger: 5W-30

[robin2660]

This concerns me also. How do you know the dealer is using the right oil, even if they say they are?

I have an oil sample for analysis from my last change and I'm pretty sure it's gonna show heavy in fuel based on the smell. Could this be a sign the dealer's using 5-20 vs 5-30?

I guess the only way to know for sure is to do it yourself or bring your own oil. Until then I'm just using up my free oil changes.

[phantom6294]

This concerns me also. How do you know the dealer is using the right oil, even if they say they are?
<snip>
I guess the only way to know for sure is to do it yourself or bring your own oil. Until then I'm just using up my free oil changes.

Providing your own oil certainly helps for one; but the paranoid ones among us may fear the tech keeps the oil for him/herself and fills your car with the shop oil.

I guess you could be 'that guy' and insist on observing the oil change to ensure they do it right -- just don't expect a warm reception from the service guys.

[FrequentFlyer]

This concerns me also. How do you know the dealer is using the right oil, even if they say they are?

I have an oil sample for analysis from my last change and I'm pretty sure it's gonna show heavy in fuel based on the smell. Could this be a sign the dealer's using 5-20 vs 5-30?

I guess the only way to know for sure is to do it yourself or bring your own oil. Until then I'm just using up my free oil changes.

That's just it. When you take your car for service ANYWHERE, you're putting your trust in their hands. As little of time I have these days to do my own maintenance on my car, I still manage to change my own oil and try to do most of the other wear items. I'd even go so far as changing my own brake pads because I just don't trust service departments. Sad, but true. If you've got a real good relationship with your service department/mechanic, then more power to you.

I've been changing my own oil in multiple cars I've owned for the past 13 years and I've NEVER drained a drop of oil that didn't smell like fuel. All oil is going to have a fuel smell, so I wouldn't be suprised if your oil comes back OK.

Even if you bring your own oil, you're going to have to physically stand there and watch them put it in to get a warm fuzzy. That would probably be a problem for some people who use synthetics, because some of these moronic service departments are claiming that Mazda does not recommend synthetics in a high performance turbocharged motor and probably wouldn't put it in anyway without voiding your warranty. Holy shit, hello! What kind of motor would benefit from synthetics more than this one???

[Alexsered]

Screenshots of the 2008 User's Manual from the Mazda USA website... FTW. My printed manual in the car shows the same.

Without Turbocharger: 5W-20
With Turbocharger: 5W-30


Okay, something very wacky is going on, these are the screen shots that I got just 5 minutes ago, with the page before clearly showing this is for the non turbo and turbo mazda. It clearly states something different.

[Alexsered]

sorry, i didn't realize I didn't post the pictures, here are the pictures from the manual I downloaded today. why the difference in oils?

[Alexsered]

No way in hell would I use a 5W-20 oil in a high-performance turbocharged motor. This lighweight oils are for FUEL ECONOMY. You cannot tell me the engines built today are that much tighter than they were 10 years ago. However, emissions and fuel economy stardards are! I'm using 5W-40 Shell Rotella T Synthetic right now. I really don't care if I get 1mpg less than I did before with 5W-30. In the scheme of things, it's nothing.

Most of the UOD's show a 30 weight oil sheering down to around a 20 weight after 4-5k miles in this motor. Lots of people think this is attributed to fuel dilution, however you'll find that 'most' UOD's done on this car don't show fuel dilution being an issue. I'm sure different driving conditions can attribute to fuel dilution, ie: lots of stop and go, short trips, not allowing the car to reach operating temps, etc... I'm not concerned with my driving habits, as 80% of the mileage I put on the car is at 70mph on the highway. The reason why the oils are thinning is that they're running through a turbocharger that is heating up to 1,000 degrees F and spinning at 100,000 RPM at times. Years ago, manufacturers would give you a choice of viscosities in the owner's manuals and let people choose which oil to use depending on temps. Most of them overlapped. In the summer, I see nothing wrong with using a 5W-40 oil. In fact, the bulletin Neuspeed released for the K04 turbo says to use 20W-50 for the summer and 10W-40 in the winter. I don't know if I'd go THAT thick, but doing a 5W-40 in the summer and then back to the 5W-30 in the winter is my plan.

FWIW, my 08.5 says to use 5W-30 and the one online is the same. Maybe some manuals had typos? I can see the possibility of a tech putting 5 quarts of 5W-20 in the car. Regular Mazda3's outnumber MS3's by like 100:1 and I'm sure it's force of habit. If the receipt says 5W-20, treat it as such. I wouldn't take their word for it. They're just looking to make a quick buck and they're going to hear it from the manager if they find out they had to do another FREE oil change because someone F'd up.

I agree with everything you said 100% except about the whole manual thing, there are some discrepencies in what they say like I posted.

[SuperStretch18]

sorry, i didn't realize I didn't post the pictures, here are the pictures from the manual I downloaded today. why the difference in oils?

The header on that sheet just says "Mazda3". It also says on the bottom if 5w20 is not available to use 5w30...

[Alexsered]

The header on that sheet just says "Mazda3". It also says on the bottom if 5w20 is not available to use 5w30...

the sheet before obviously shows the non turbo and turbo version. Also, onthe website, it specifically says 2007mazdaspeed3 manual. Why are there different information out there from the same manual. My in car manual doesn't show the same info.

[phantom6294]

sorry, i didn't realize I didn't post the pictures, here are the pictures from the manual I downloaded today. why the difference in oils?


The header on that sheet just says "Mazda3". It also says on the bottom if 5w20 is not available to use 5w30...

That is whacky indeed. The date on that sheet, May '06 would be a VERY early for the MS3. I wonder if in making some initial changes to add the car with the turbocharger, they overlooked the oil requirement?

It would be interesting to see what people's printed manual says compared to their build/purchase data.

[chippy]

Well, I got the same thing. Went to the local mazda dealer on Friday, and called them today. I told them that the car requires 5w-30, but on the invoice it said 5w-20. He just said that they only use that as a base on the invoice since all Mazda's now use 5w-20 he said, and that the tech puts in what is said on the oilcap etc... Well let's hope that is the case.

[FrequentFlyer]

Well, I got the same thing. Went to the local mazda dealer on Friday, and called them today. I told them that the car requires 5w-30, but on the invoice it said 5w-20. He just said that they only use that as a base on the invoice since all Mazda's now use 5w-20 he said, and that the tech puts in what is said on the oilcap etc... Well let's hope that is the case.

If it walks like a duck... what is so hard about putting what you actually did to the car on the invoice? Afterall, that is the customer's proof of service in which they'd be THE FIRST ONES to pull and claim you didn't use the right oil if you blew your motor.

[Buyer]

If it walks like a duck... what is so hard about putting what you actually did to the car on the invoice? Afterall, that is the customer's proof of service in which they'd be THE FIRST ONES to pull and claim you didn't use the right oil if you blew your motor.

anyone who thinks a car can blow the motor because they used 5w30 instead of 5w20 or vise versa is a complete moron.... And just to school you guys Turbo cars should use 5w30. 5w20 isnt going to kill your car and it isnt going to affect your gas mileage....the viscousity of the oil just isnt going to change as much as it should...it isnt a devastating problem if you ran the wrong one....the only thing it would probably affect is oil consumption...and if anyone you know tells you a turbo engine doesnt consume oil...well then they are retarded...

[TonyMS3]

your post has so much misinformation I don't know where to start Buyer.

[Alexsered]

anyone who thinks a car can blow the motor because they used 5w30 instead of 5w20 or vise versa is a complete moron.... And just to school you guys Turbo cars should use 5w30. 5w20 isnt going to kill your car and it isnt going to affect your gas mileage....the viscousity of the oil just isnt going to change as much as it should...it isnt a devastating problem if you ran the wrong one....the only thing it would probably affect is oil consumption...and if anyone you know tells you a turbo engine doesnt consume oil...well then they are retarded...

I think you need to do a little more research man.

[ZyrehT]

your post has so much misinformation I don't know where to start Buyer.

+++

[micronesia]

anyone who thinks a car can blow the motor because and if anyone you know tells you a turbo engine doesnt consume oil...well then they are retarded...Yes I also measure people's mental acuity by judging their prior knowledge about auto mechanics.

[FrequentFlyer]

A 5W-20 will be a 0W-10 after 4000 miles. It's been proven with UOA's. It may not hurt your motor if you've run it once or twice, but I wouldn't go more than 2-3k miles on it. I'm running 5W-40. I may switch back to 5W-30 in the winter time, but I really don't think we get cold enough here in Jersey to even bother, especially since they're both a 5 weight for startup and this car still runs damn hot. I've read the Aussie's MPS owners manuals specify various viscosities for different temps. Why doesn't our manual say this? Fuel/emissions regs our Feds are pushing.

[slo03.5msp]

Just to clarify I don't care what the manual says they take 5w30.

[Chaz243]

Screenshots of the 2008 User's Manual from the Mazda USA website... FTW. My printed manual in the car shows the same.

Without Turbocharger: 5W-20
With Turbocharger: 5W-30

Same here... In the real world you wont see a whole lot of difference if you do regular oil & filter changes... I run full synth in my 08; and there is no way that a 20 weight is going to break down in a normal oil change interval... The dealer put 20 in on the first freebie change and I went full synth M1 after that at 30 weight... I can tell you from running different oil weights in motorcycle engines with wet slipper clutches and 16,000 RPM redlines that 10 weight points is not going to matter for the most part... If you run WFO all the time then put some gear oil in and forget about it...LOL... Kidding of course...

As for the heavier oil causing seal leakage; there is some truth in that... If you go really high like 50 weight; the oil pressure rises and seal leakage will occur when the engine is cold and the oil dosent flow as easily... Thats one of the reasons for the low "W" number... 5w oil flows easier than 10w oil and so on... The "w" number is how the oil flows... Example: 5w30 is a 30 weight oil that flows like a 5w oil... Thus the difference between oils that have no "w" number... These are called "straight" weight (i.e. 5w30 ~vs~ straight 30 weight...

OK; now tell me how F'd up I am....(rofl)

[FrequentFlyer]

FWIW, the Neuspeed K04 report recommended using 20W-50 in the summer and 10W-40 in the winter. I don't think I'd use an oil that thick and this was K04's on Audi's and VW's, but it just shows you that a thicker oil is recommended on turbocharged motors.

[phantom6294]

<snip>Thats one of the reasons for the low "W" number... 5w oil flows easier than 10w oil and so on... The "w" number is how the oil flows... Example: 5w30 is a 30 weight oil that flows like a 5w oil... Thus the difference between oils that have no "w" number... These are called "straight" weight (i.e. 5w30 ~vs~ straight 30 weight...

You meant to say the "W" is how the oil flows when cold. Right?

[Chaz243]

You meant to say the "W" is how the oil flows when cold. Right?

In general thats the idea... Its not really such a big deal where I live, but it makes a huge difference in the winter months up North... Good clarification, Thanks!

[coololddude]

if i may, let me confuse you even more--the w does not stand for weight, it stands for winter. ha ha, im the smartest of us all!! ooops, i have to go now, the nurse is calling me for my medication.