10w-30 vs 5w-20 in a Ford Focus

[AndreaNoelle]

I just purchased a 2003 Fored Focuse SE Sedan yesterday, it has 79K miles, and a 2.0L L4 PFI DOHC engine (Just copying info... not sure what any of that means

My boyfriend and I went to Wal-mart to get an oil change and a few other items, and the mechanic asked us what kind of oil we wanted and my boyfriend just said Pennzoil 10w-30 without thinking, well right after our oil gets changed with 10w30, we pop the hood to refill the windshield fluids and I notice that the cap says 5w20. My boyfriend says it shouldnt matter and that it should be fine, but my point is then why do they make different types of oil if it doesnt matter?

Should I be worried and get the oil changed again today or tomorrow, or can it wait until next 3000 miles, or does it even matter?

 

[woodie1]

It does matter if you live in an area where it gets cold.

 

[AndreaNoelle]

The low here is going to be 35 for the week, is that considered cold?

 

[Apex]

Should be fine, don't worry about it overly much. Use 5w20 for the next fill.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Keep an eye on it...it DOES matter. Fortunately, you aren't in that cold a climate, but I'm in NC which isn't that cold, and I've seen quite a few problems with Fords that had the wrong oil put in them.

But the oil you have is pretty close....most of the ones I've seen that had problems went to 10w40, or 15w40.

Look at your owner's manual...it should have a temperature chart for oil...and you can see if 10w30 is on there and if it is okay for your climate. Otherwise...honestly, I'd drain and refill it with 5w20. Don't worry about changing the filter again, there isn't enough oil in it to matter. Oil is cheap, engines are not.

 

[CrackRabbit]

You might get a tad bit lower gas mileage this oil fill. I wouldn't worry to much about it, just fill it with the right oil next time.

 

[thecritic]

No problem, just use 5w-20 next time.

The 5w-20 will give you slightly better fuel economy without compromising engine wear (under most operating conditions), but you are not hurting anything with 10w-30.

 

[alpineranger]

Under normal road driving conditions, you will have higher wear with the 10w-30, but the damage is limited and probably not worth addressing until the next oil change.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: alpineranger
Under normal road driving conditions, you will have higher wear with the 10w-30, but the damage is limited and probably not worth addressing until the next oil change.

Impossible. We're comparing 5w-20 to 10w-30, not 5w-20 to 20w-50 here. Most wear occurs during start-up and 10w-30 will do fine here.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: alpineranger
Under normal road driving conditions, you will have higher wear with the 10w-30, but the damage is limited and probably not worth addressing until the next oil change.

Impossible. We're comparing 5w-20 to 10w-30, not 5w-20 to 20w-50 here. Most wear occurs during start-up and 10w-30 will do fine here.

It's not impossible. It might not be anything to worry about, but the car calls for 5w20 for a reason.

I've seen engines running rough (Fords) simply because the customer had their oil changed at an lube shop and they used 10w40 instead of 5w20. We changed the oil, and the problem went away.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: PacfanwebImpossible. We're comparing 5w-20 to 10w-30, not 5w-20 to 20w-50 here. Most wear occurs during start-up and 10w-30 will do fine here.

It's not impossible. It might not be anything to worry about, but the car calls for 5w20 for a reason.

I've seen engines running rough (Fords) simply because the customer had their oil changed at an lube shop and they used 10w40 instead of 5w20. We changed the oil, and the problem went away.[/quote]

Sure, the move to 5w-20 was partially due to fuel economy. Many engines that run 5w-20 could 5w-30 or 10w-30 without any problems. I still agree with you that 5w-20 is optimal considering the technology with the lower viscosity oils.

Your example of 10w-40 vs 5w-20 is very different compared to 5w-20 vs 10w-30.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: PacfanwebImpossible. We're comparing 5w-20 to 10w-30, not 5w-20 to 20w-50 here. Most wear occurs during start-up and 10w-30 will do fine here.

It's not impossible. It might not be anything to worry about, but the car calls for 5w20 for a reason.

I've seen engines running rough (Fords) simply because the customer had their oil changed at an lube shop and they used 10w40 instead of 5w20. We changed the oil, and the problem went away.

Sure, the move to 5w-20 was partially due to fuel economy. Many engines that run 5w-20 could 5w-30 or 10w-30 without any problems. I still agree with you that 5w-20 is optimal considering the technology with the lower viscosity oils.

Your example of 10w-40 vs 5w-20 is very different compared to 5w-20 vs 10w-30.[/quote]
Agreed...we are really splitting hairs here. The differences are very small. Can they technically be measured? Yes. Is the difference enough to talk about? No.

Should the OP get her oil changed to the correct weight? If she's worried about it, yes. Oil is cheap. If she's not, then no, because it's very likely nothing will happen.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: AndreaNoelle
I just purchased a 2003 Fored Focuse SE Sedan yesterday, it has 79K miles, and a 2.0L L4 PFI DOHC engine (Just copying info... not sure what any of that means

This just came to my mind, and it is very important:

The Focus is one of the few vehicles that Ford specifically requires a transmission fluid change every 30,000 miles even under normal conditions. Chances are, unless you have records, the fluid has never been changed before.

Do not delay, or else it will cause irreversible damage to the transmission. Have the transmission flushed at the nearest quick lube (most stock universal fluids that are Mercon-V approved). You do not need to replace the transmission filter until 150k miles according to Ford, but the fluid must be replaced every 30k.

Also, replace the fuel filter and cabin air filters. Ford requires a fuel filter change every 30k on this vehicle as well, and the cabin air filter needs to be done every 15k.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Most Focuses don't have a cabin air filter, though they can have one put in very easily. If you did have one, it wouldn't be mileage-specific....it simply needs to be checked and replaced when dirty.

I don't recommend one, though...not because they don't help (even though they really don't, much) but because the cowl panel it's located under doesn't take too kindly to being removed and replaced. Unless care is taken to reinstall it correctly, it'll end up not fitting properly and causing a water leak down the HVAC intake and onto the passenger floorboard.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Most Focuses don't have a cabin air filter, though they can have one put in very easily. If you did have one, it wouldn't be mileage-specific....it simply needs to be checked and replaced when dirty.

I don't recommend one, though...not because they don't help (even though they really don't, much) but because the cowl panel it's located under doesn't take too kindly to being removed and replaced. Unless care is taken to reinstall it correctly, it'll end up not fitting properly and causing a water leak down the HVAC intake and onto the passenger floorboard.

Hmm, the Ford maintenance guide said to replace it every 15k, but I didn't know that some of these don't have one.

Most of the cabin air filters that I have changed look VERY nasty at 15k, so I would say that's a good interval and the filters are necessary. Just my opinion though.

 

[The Stigenator]

You should be fine..

funny enough ford used to recommend 5W-30 at one time and then they moved to 5W-20 to gain a few more miles in teh CAFE standard..

I use 5W-30 in the summer and 5W-20 in the winter (even though in LA it never becomes that cold). You should be fine. I got 157K on my car. By the way ford recommends 5000 mile changes until 100,000 miles and 3000 after that. I still run 5000 mile changes but I keep an eye on my oil at all times.

If you got an auto get the fluid changed.

A good forum for the focus is www.focusfanatics.com/forum

I am on there, good crew!

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuyBy the way ford recommends 5000 mile changes until 100,000 miles and 3000 after that.

Where does it say that? I can't find that info.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Most Focuses don't have a cabin air filter, though they can have one put in very easily. If you did have one, it wouldn't be mileage-specific....it simply needs to be checked and replaced when dirty.

I don't recommend one, though...not because they don't help (even though they really don't, much) but because the cowl panel it's located under doesn't take too kindly to being removed and replaced. Unless care is taken to reinstall it correctly, it'll end up not fitting properly and causing a water leak down the HVAC intake and onto the passenger floorboard.

Hmm, the Ford maintenance guide said to replace it every 15k, but I didn't know that some of these don't have one.

Most of the cabin air filters that I have changed look VERY nasty at 15k, so I would say that's a good interval and the filters are necessary. Just my opinion though.

I've probably fixed water leaking through the cowl on a good 100 Focuses. I've seen maybe 3 with the filter, the rest had the housing for it but no filter. Maybe the newer ones have them more frequently.
As far as their interval and necessity, I agree that 15k is a good average, but it really depends on the climate you live in.
And cars got along fine without them....plus, I haven't heard anyone claim their allergies got any better once they got a car with a cabin air filter.

 

[AndreaNoelle]

Thanks for all the input! You guys are great! It looks like I will be changing the oil and getting a transmission flush and some other things!

 

[chucky2]

Just make sure when they do the trans flush they use real Mercon-V rated fluid, and not Mercon rated fluid with an additive to "bring it up" to Mercon-V levels. Stealerships and sh1t garages like to do this because they only have to stock Mercon fluid instead of both Mercon and Mercon-V fluids...plus then they can mark up the bottle of additive. That your trans suffers in the long term they could give 2 sh1ts about...

Chuck