I went to Acura of Lynnwood to pick up some extra oil to top off as my TSX breaks in. I specified the car I have and they provided the oil. When I got home I noticed they gave me 5w-20 vs. 5w-30 specified in the Owner's Manual and on the fillcap. ANyone have an idea whether it's OK to top off with 5W-20 or if the dealer's made a grave mistake? Any help is appreciated!

 

first, congrats on becoming a acura-tsx.com member
yes, it is wrong that they gave you the wrong oil viscosity. DONOT USE IT in you car. Go and exchange it for 5W-30. As for topping off your oil, wow. You must drive you car HARD... the harder you drive, the more oil you will burn. Heh, the same goes for gas. But hey, its all in fun

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've read in other posts/boards that folks are generally burning a small amount of oil during break-in. I'm probably not driving any harder than anyone else, but want to be prepared when I check the oil if it's low before I'm ready to change it. What's the danger of putting this in if it's only a half-quart or so to top it off? The oil indicates it's made for all Honda and Acura engines - I'd just like to separate hype from reality. Thanks!

 

I went to the local honda dealer to buy a quart of 5W-30. The guy tried to sell me the 5W-20. He didn't believe that the tsx took 5W-30. Apparently the only other Acura that uses the 5W-30 is the RSX-S. The only Honda using it is the S2k (what he told me..).

Perhaps they just made a mistake?

 

Go to Walmart and buy the 5 qt jug of Mobil 1 5W-30 for $18.88. Honda oil is Mobil anyway. It used to be Castrol, but they converted over about a year or 2 ago. That may be a simple answer as to why most of the cars now specify a Mobil only oil weight.... ummmmm maybe??

 

Have you guys ever heard of Amsoil synthetic? I use the 0w-30 in my 4runner. Usually the 0w is very fluid at low temps for starting in the winter so the oil gets to the engine quicker, but usually 0w's dont protect really well, but in Amsoil's case. It simply blows all the 5w-30's away in the 4 ball wear test chart. Could you guys check it out for me and give me your opinion? the site is www.amsoil.com and it's the 0w-30 stuff. The thing has a 36000 mile/12 month change interval and a 6 month filter change interval for the oil. I've been using it in my 4runner and actually... it gets a LOT better mileage and i dont have to change oil as much and my engine actually feels a lot more power. Even more so after i switched over to amsoil synthetic tranny fluid and differential fluid. I got like a 3+ MPG increase when i switched over to all those. Plus i save tons on the longer oil change intervals. I was skeptical about the long intervals at first. But after the first 5000 miles with the oil inside, i sent in an oil sample to be analyzed by a lab. The oil came back as "continue use". I then took another analysis at 15000 miles and the result read "change oil filter and continue use". Strange huh?

 

This is a little late but since it says 5w-30 on the cap, chances are the factory put 5w-30 in it. NEVER mix different grade oils. Different brands is ok, but if you're running extended drain intervals like with Amsoil, you may have a problem.
But other than that, Just NEVER mix grades. Mixing brands under normal circumstances is ok as long as the grades are the same.

 

They put in 5w-20 in my car as well. Does this really make that much of a difference?

 

I questioned that too. I found out too late, that I had 5W30 put in my the mechanic.

Should I get it drained and have 5W30 in?

 

5w20 may give some improve MPG. it has lots of moly in it, and it's synth-blend

0w30 is good oil for low temp, but most 0w30 that bear A3 (long drain) is very thick at operation temperature so it carry some MPG penality.. i felt it's a little too thick for TSX when i tried. i am sure it protect the engine very well since it's so thick it is close to 0w40 in my case with GC 0W30.

i saw many 5W20 UOA that indicated the oil is doing it's job, the dealer give me 5w30 but i switch to M1 5W30 after 1000km.