[pgarci01]

Today I went to the dealership for my first oil change because I could not find 0w-20 motor oil in any auto parts store here in the city. I checked in about 6 or 7 auto parts store and found nothing so I gave up and just took it in to my local dealership. The service adviser told me that it would be 59.99 to which I replied "why?" I then continued to say that oil changes for my sedan were 27 bucks and it was with synthetic oil so why is this oil change so expensive. He said because the car requires a zero weight oil and that I won't be able to find it at any auto parts store in the city for a while. I then asked him what if I put "regular weight" oil in the engine since its the same engine as my old car and of course he hit me with the "catastrophic things will happen to the engine that will not be covered by warranty" line. I figured to just do it anyway since I need an oil change and I don't know anything about oil. I just wanna know is there any truth to what he's saying regarding the zero weight oil? Would I mess up the engine by putting anything but 0w-20? Has anyone put any other weight oil in their car and gotten problems?

 

[chefmark]

I think I paid 43.00 for my first oil change.

 

[Army Dad]

Today I went to the dealership for my first oil change because I could not find 0w-20 motor oil in any auto parts store here in the city. I checked in about 6 or 7 auto parts store and found nothing so I gave up and just took it in to my local dealership. The service adviser told me that it would be 59.99 to which I replied "why?" I then continued to say that oil changes for my sedan were 27 bucks and it was with synthetic oil so why is this oil change so expensive. He said because the car requires a zero weight oil and that I won't be able to find it at any auto parts store in the city for a while. I then asked him what if I put "regular weight" oil in the engine since its the same engine as my old car and of course he hit me with the "catastrophic things will happen to the engine that will not be covered by warranty" line. I figured to just do it anyway since I need an oil change and I don't know anything about oil. I just wanna know is there any truth to what he's saying regarding the zero weight oil? Would I mess up the engine by putting anything but 0w-20? Has anyone put any other weight oil in their car and gotten problems?

There is a thread on the forum discussing the oil weights. I'll defer to someone else on that. For us old timers, engines of yore did not have real tight tolerances. I remember throwing straight 40 weight into an old car while in high school in the 60's. I read a few years ago that because of the tight tolerances of modern engines, the oil ports in the blocks are tighter too. This is supposedly why the 5 weight oils became almost standard, and now the zero weight. Again, stating this only for openers of discussion by one of our members not stuck in the stone age like me.

Any Wal Mart should have the Mobil 1 zero weight. I've seen it in their stores since last spring. Same price as the 5 and 10 weight.

 

[jnwfla]

See how much you can learn on here. I didn't even know the "w" on oil stood for weight. It never occured to me to even weigh a can of oil....LOL

 

[rkwagner44]

You might want to check your owners manual. I had a 2003 Civic hybrid that required 0W-20 oil. However according to the owners manual 5W-20 was acceptable if you couldn't get 0W-20.

 

[melchor1106]

Our local Walmart has a shelf full of 0w-20w oil. Is there a shortage? Should we start hording?

-fred

 

[veasnalong]

Our local Walmart has a shelf full of 0w-20w oil. Is there a shortage? Should we start hording?

-fred

Fred,
what brand?

thanks in advance

 

[CCT]

Today I went to the dealership for my first oil change because I could not find 0w-20 motor oil in any auto parts store here in the city. I checked in about 6 or 7 auto parts store and found nothing so I gave up and just took it in to my local dealership. The service adviser told me that it would be 59.99 to which I replied "why?" I then continued to say that oil changes for my sedan were 27 bucks and it was with synthetic oil so why is this oil change so expensive. He said because the car requires a zero weight oil and that I won't be able to find it at any auto parts store in the city for a while. I then asked him what if I put "regular weight" oil in the engine since its the same engine as my old car and of course he hit me with the "catastrophic things will happen to the engine that will not be covered by warranty" line. I figured to just do it anyway since I need an oil change and I don't know anything about oil. I just wanna know is there any truth to what he's saying regarding the zero weight oil? Would I mess up the engine by putting anything but 0w-20? Has anyone put any other weight oil in their car and gotten problems?

LOL, yeah, they're programmed to tell the customers to just follow what the O/Manual says and forget it.

I honestly can't see any effective difference between using 0W20 and 5W20 oils in our engines, save for maybe a 0.5 mpg penalty.-- read: they're both like freakin' water....

They're also hot to trot to get maximum mpg's to get better ratings and conserve oil.
I just drive more conservatively and get pretty darn good mileage. I would hazzard a guess and say that mine are better than average mpg's.

It's a real temptation to hype a new oil and double the price due to limited availability.....Is that oil really necessary? I don't think so.

Having said that, I will buy it when I need oil and the price is more 'normal'.

JMHO

 

[melchor1106]

Fred,
what brand?

thanks in advance

I don't remember, but it was in a silver and green plastic bottle. It was synthetic.

They also had it in 5w

-fred

 

[Army Dad]

Fred,
what brand?

thanks in advance

Walmart carrys Mobil 1 synthetic here. As stated in my posting the price for zero weight is the same as 5w.


I have got $28-$30 oil changes but only with dino oil. Sometimes they tell you it is a 'blend' with synthetic. Mobil 1 synthetic has always cost me 55-65- bucks. These prices include a filter and their labor. I use the mileage minder in the Ridgeline so have always gone synthetic for the 7500 mile duration.

 

[veasnalong]

I don't remember, but it was in a silver and green plastic bottle. It was synthetic.

They also had it in 5w

-fred

thanks for the response

 

[leek69]

Actually the "w" stands for winter. That is the thickness at startup and last number is what the viscosity ‘thickness’ is at operating temp. I know this because I have had same questions regarding zero oil when I first got my CT in March.
I did all my reading at: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
Kinda overwhelming on information, but you can read about oil and filters. The link starts with Mobil 1 oil............Hope it helps...it did me

 

[pgarci01]

Yea i found the oil at Pep Boys and its 8 bucks a bottle up here for Mobil 1 so the pricing is actually fair for the oil change. I spoke with a friend who's a manager at the dealership where I bought my car and he told me that in FL they charge 36 after taxes because they buy the oil in bulk. Over here in NY the dealerships know its not easy to find so they're charging whatever they want. He said within the next year or two all Hondas are gonna require a zero weight oil and that it used to be considered a European blend for European cars before 5 weight oil became a standard... The CR-V and Ridgeline had it for years now and the Crosstour and 2011 Accord require it too... Once it becomes more common prices will go down...

The zero weight oil is supposedly for better fuel economy... And according to him you should never put any other oil other than what the manual declares as acceptable which makes sense... If something goes wrong and its because you put in the wrong oil, you just bought yourself a 40,000 dollar paperweight lol...