Can I use 5W20 motor oil ?

[rouge-rogue]

my 2009 Nissan Rogue AWD S users manual suggest that I use 5W30 motor oil, but at my local store they currently have the Quaker state 5W20 on sale. Can I use 5W20 instead of the recommended 5W30 ? Will this void my warranty ?

[philipa_240sx]

Can I use 5W20 instead of the recommended 5W30 ?

Personally, I would not recommend using 5W20. 5W20 was brought about for high efficiency engines (mainly from Honda), AFAIK Nissan has never recommended 5W20 for any of it's engines.

With the lighter 5W20, you may encounter increased engine noise at start up (piston slap & valve noise) and possibly increased engine wear. I actually use Castrol 0W30 oil which is at the upper end of the 30 weight range.

Will this void my warranty ?

This could be debatable, but bottom line Nissan could decline warranty coverage if they felt oil was a factor.

From the Warranty Booklet (Canada):Quote »WHAT IS NOT COVERED:• Any repairs required due to a lack of required maintenance asper the Maintenance Schedules in the Service andMaintenance Guide.• Failures resulting from the use of improper or contaminatedfuel, fluids or lubricants.[/quote]

[Pescakl1]

Funny thing to know is that while Nissan recommends us to use 5W30 oil, they put 5W20 at the factory before delivering them.That means that we use our car for about the first 6000 kms of its life on an oil which is not recommended by the manufacturer .

Another thing to know is that almost every 5W30 oil used will thinned into the 5W20 category during its use before thickening again at the end of its useful interval (going up to close to 10W40 if you let it too long in the sump).

As contrary as Philip, I use one of the thinnest 5W30 on the market (Pennzoil Platinum), and I might, by pure mistake , have put some 5W20 with it (I have probably mix up the bottles, I don't know ).

Using 5W20 oil may give Nissan a good reason to void their warranty if they are in a bad mood this day.

So, I am still using 5W30 oil while I am under warranty, but as soon as it is done, I will use xW20 oil for sure (Should help a little bit for fuel economy, I think they say about 1%).

[kerrton]

Pescakl1, I had a little trouble following you on this one. Since you're planning on using 5W20 in your car, I assume you're disagreeing with Philip about 5W20 offering less effective lubrication, particularly at startup which could also result in more engine noise and friction wear?

I realize 5W20 could possibly result in very minimal fuel efficiency gains, but is it really worth it if you end up with more engine wear? I suppose temperature has an effect too, for example in cold winter temps a thinner oil is better since the cold causes oil to become more viscous and it flows less effectively, so maybe 5W20 would be good for winter but in summer I'd say the thicker oil would be best.

[Pescakl1]

Yes Kerrton, it is a little bit all of that.

Since I am not pushing hard on the engine at any time (always below 2000 rpms), I can allow myself to use thinner oil for my engine.On BITOG forum, there is a famous member who uses 5W20 oil in his Ferraris which are rated for 15W40 oil with no wear problem at all. Why? Because he babies his cars.From the oil analysis I have done on my oil, I have absolutely no excessive wear at all. In fact, They are ones of the cleanest analysis on the oil forum.

I strongly believe, even if it is contrary to Nissan recommendations (but it may be too complicated to explain to people), that for the ones using their cars normally, xW20 oil is good enough for winter time (up north), and even better as good lubrication happens faster at cold temperature.For those who babies their engines, xW20 oil all year (with monitoring of the oil level and use of oil analysis once in a while) should be OK.

But that is only my personal opinion on this subject... and below that you should read the usual disclaimer that I am too lazy to write.

[rouge-rogue]

so does that mean that I can safely use 5w20 after my warranty period is up ?

[kerrton]

Your question shouldn't have anything to do with the warranty period in my opinion, because you want to take good care of your vehicle regardless if it's on warranty or not.

The question is, is it safe to use 5W20 in this engine? My answer to this would be: Nissan recommends 5W30, so why would you use anything else? What is to be gained by using 5W20, and is it worth the risk of not following the manufacturers recommendation? I honestly don't get why you are asking this question

What does the warranty period have to do with the debate? Either it's good for the engine or it's not.

[philipa_240sx]

If you are going to experiment, Pescakl1 is doing it the right way: with proper oil analysis at every OCI. Everyone uses their car differently and what might work for Pescakl1, may not be the best for everyone.

This is why I endorse Nissan's 5W30 recommendation. You can be sure that they have tested the motor using 5W30 under a wide variety of conditions and they feel it's the best oil for the application. Why doubt this?

The warranty question is still there however. I cannot guarantee that there won't be a warranty issue in the future by using something other than the mfg. recommended oil... no one can.

[rouge-rogue]

I am not doubting that 5W-30 is the best oil to use for my Nissan Rogue but as I said on my original post, there was a sale on the 5W-20 and I know the new hondas and Toyotas are now using 5W-20s, so I was just wondering if 5W-20 would be ok to use as I already bought a couple of 4 liter jugs that was on sale. Well since majority who replied suggests to use 5W-30s then I guess I will just exchange them for 5W-30s next week when the sale is over.

[philipa_240sx]

5W20 has been used by alot of Honda's and Toyota's to squeeze the last bit of efficiency from their motors.

But in general, Nissan has never recommended 5W20 for their engines.