[hroot]

So I took my 2.0l 2016 mazda3 to Big O for a full synthetic oil change (I had a coupon, I would have taken it to the dealership otherwise) and when I looked at the receipt after getting home, I saw that they put in 5w-30 oil. My car calls for 0w-20.
I looked in the owners manual and noticed that in the USA and Canada, Mazda recommends 0w-20, but in Mexico, they recommend 5w-30. Does that mean I’m ok? Is oil viscosity measured differently in mexico? Do mazda3s ship with a different engine there? I don’t understand why they would call for different oil types. I don’t want to have to drive back down to Big O and yell at the staff but I definitely don’t want to damage my engine, so I’d like to know what you guys think. Do I need to get it changed out for 0w-20?
Also, Summer is beginning here in Vegas, so it’s about to get really hot, which makes me think the extra viscosity should be ok.

 

[Brian.]

It's about market availability, that's all.

You'll probably suffer a hit in fuel economy, but other than that you're not doing any irreparable damage to the engine. Who knows, given the summer heat (I've done time in Phoenix) you may not see much difference in fuel economy from the oil.

Regardless, don't sweat it.

 

[MrBen]

Thicker motor oil may hinder the circulation to vital components (especially @ higher rpms)

Colder temperatures make it more thicker

Thinner oil works well to very low temps

If you ever opened up the cam cover... there are a lot of small oil drain holes.
Voids warranty

 

[M3Nitro]

Without going to much into details you are fine!

And the use of other motor oil will not void the auto maker warranty at least here in the US. See and read complete , The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Oil choice usage and auto warranty has for the most part been a long time MYTH!

Basic outline of the LAW:

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637) is a United States federal law (15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq.). Enacted in 1975, the federal statute governs warranties on consumer products. ... The law was created to fix problems as a result of manufacturers using disclaimers on warranties in an unfair or misleading manner.


Other information:
Learn exactly what and how motor oil does, how it works, what advise and recommendation to use in your engine operating area and usage of vehicle, and for the sake of posting information the proper terminology having to do with aspects of motor oil. Example : Viscosity!

 

[RalphVa]

Just switch back to 0w20 at the next change. The 5w30 won't kill your engine.

Ralph

 

[minsanity]

Mazda recommends 5w-30 for the tropics, 0w-20 for temperate/cold regions.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[hroot]

thanks for the help guys. good to know my engine wont be exploding. I don't think I'll be going back to Big O anytime soon though...
Should I be more careful when the engine is still cold? (like i said, its very hot here so even at a cold start the engine is already at 90+ degrees) Should i avoid high RPMs? Or can i just drive normally?

 

[Datsun1600]

Seriously, your engine will be fine, even at high RPMs. With the Vegas heat you won't notice a drop in fuel economy. Like RalphVa says, just switch back to 0W-20 at the next oil change.

And don't completely write off Big-O. If you have another coupon, then next time just ask them if they have 0W-20 available. And when you get there, remind them that your car is supposed to get 0W-20 instead of the 5W-30 they put in.

FYI, my son has a "high mileage" Mazda 3. He bought the car with over 90k miles on it. We're switching over to Royal Purple (full synthetic), but they recommend using their HMX for high-mileage engines which they define as anything over 75k miles. The HMX adds some extra conditioners for old seals and gaskets. After two 5k intervals with HMX we can switch over to their 0W-20 API oil and extend the oil changes out to 10k miles. Supposedly the engine may have enough build up inside that the oil filter will get clogged due to the cleaning power of Royal Purple. Hence, two short intervals are required before going to 10k mile intervals.

So, don't sweat the viscosity difference this time.