Hey group.

My wife brought our 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid in to get an oil change today. I told her to tell the folks at Firestone to use 5w-20 (since that it what it says in the manual) but they said they would have to special order it... and instead put 5w-30 in. Now that this has happened... do I need to continue using 5w-30? Or should I switch back to 5w-20? Even if I have to bring it there myself.

Also, since we are talking about... should I mess with the full synthetic stuff... or just the blend? I am at 80,000 miles now btw.

I live in Southern California... just to give you some more info about the conditions I drive in.

Thanks!

Joe

 

Mobil 1 0W20 is used by more than a few of us over the years and it works well. You can purchase your 5W20 elsewhere and give it to the "place" that does your oil changes. This might save you a few bucks over the 10,000 miles between oil changes.

 

5W-30 is fine. Your mileage might suffer a tiny bit. Switch to 5W-20 or 0W-20 at your next change. If the Firestone has to special order 5W-20, take your work elsewhere.

I use synthetic Mobil 1, 0W-20 in the civic hybrids. IMHO, don't bother with synthetic unless you're comfortable changing at 5000+ mi intervals... typically 7-10K. Replacing more frequently has no benefit and only adds to wasted $ and waste.

 

Agreed: when you next change use 5w-20 or 0w-20.

As to full synthetic I'd go with it. So long as your engine is in reasonable shape it'll work just fine. I change my cars over to full synthetic immediately after the drive home from the dealership. Check the label, if it doesn't say "full Synthetic" or "100% synthetic," it isn't. Several brands out there say they're synthetic relying on you not to notice that they don't say full or 100%. They're a dino oil base (~80%) with a small synthetic package added. I won't use them.

 

I used Mobil 1 0w-20 for 8 years and 140,000 miles while living in the upper mid-west.

I used the more commonly available Mobil 1 5w-20 now that I live in California and never see below freezing. (Now just shy of 180,000 miles)

I went ~7000 miles on the Ford Blended oil that came with the car.
I went ~10,000 miles on my first change of Mobil 1.
I've been going OVER 15,000 miles on each oil change since.
(Usually I drive 15,000 miles in less than a year.)

One time (at about 120k) I went 18,000 miles & 12 months on my Mobil 1.
I sent a used oil sample to Blackstone Labs.
The oil was pretty clean still with over 20% of the additives to combat acidity (TBN) still there. Blackstone recommended 20,000 miles per oil change interval based on my test results. I never get there... I change it every year which for me lands between 15,000 and 18,000 miles.

With Mobil 1 you get what you pay for.
-John