I need help with info on my car's motor oil!!!!!

[Alfonsom866]

so I recently bought a car and as soon as I turned it on it said that oil life was 0% . The car is a 2005 ford five hundred . 40,000 miles.
I purchased some Mobil 1 10w40 motor oil as I was told by the seller and went to put in the motor oil.As soon as I put the oil cap back on, I saw the letters recommending 5w20 oil. That cant be too good, can it? What do I do .

 

[Billb2]

Car manufacturers spec thinner oil to get better gas mileage ratings at the expense of increased wear.
Your 10w40 oil is just fine.

Of course thicker oil makes for harder starting in extremely cold weather. If you live somewhere where the temps get to zero °F you may want to change to the thinner oil.

 

[Alfonsom866]

Car manufacturers spec thinner oil to get better gas mileage ratings at the expense of increased wear.
Your 10w40 oil is just fine.

Of course thicker oil makes for harder starting in extremely cold weather. If you live somewhere where the temps get to zero °F you may want to change to the thinner oil.

I live in Texas, should I be fine?

 

[JEDIYoda]

personally you could even use 5w80 and be just fine!!

 

[NesuD]

Car manufacturers spec thinner oil to get better gas mileage ratings at the expense of increased wear.
Your 10w40 oil is just fine.

Of course thicker oil makes for harder starting in extremely cold weather. If you live somewhere where the temps get to zero °F you may want to change to the thinner oil.

Ok that's not really accurate. The purpose of lower oil viscosity is because the tighter tolerances used in modern engines require the lower viscosity to lubricate properly. Using a higher viscosity oil will increase wear over time because of less efficient lubrication. It's best to use a quality synthetic at the manufacturer recommended viscosity ratings.

 

[lxskllr]

Ok that's not really accurate. The purpose of lower oil viscosity is because the tighter tolerances used in modern engines require the lower viscosity to lubricate properly. Using a higher viscosity oil will increase wear over time because of less efficient lubrication. It's best to use a quality synthetic at the manufacturer recommended viscosity ratings.

My truck recommends 5w30. I change my oil twice a year, and put in 5w30 at autumn, and 10w30 in spring. I'd prefer 10w40, but walmart doesn't seem to carry that for their house synthetic.

 

[jlee]

personally you could even use 5w80 and be just fine!!

no...

 

[razel]

I've never seen a 10w40. 10w 30 or 0w 40 I've seen. Mobil 1 doesn't have 10w30. Their Mobil Super (a conventional dino) has 10w30, so I take it you mean 0w40. Either way using thicker oil is fine. I wouldn't worry about the 1st 'w' number. That's the flow rating when it's Alaska North Pole cold outside. It's the last number that matters. So it's when you go thinner than recommended for a long time that should worry you. If you still have trouble sleeping change it out after 1 to 2k miles. Nothing wrong with changing oil other than costing you time and money.

What'd worry me is the seller (I assume was the owner?) using 10w40 when right on the cap it says a 20 weight. If they did own it, then I'd take the car to my mechanic and tell him that story and have him check it to see if anything else is ok. Best of luck.

 

[jlee]

I've never seen a 10w40. 10w 30 or 0w 40 I've seen. Mobil 1 doesn't have 10w30. Their Mobil Super (a conventional dino) has 10w30, so I take it you mean 0w40. Either way using thicker oil is fine. I wouldn't worry about the 1st 'w' number. That's the flow rating when it's Alaska North Pole cold outside. It's the last number that matters. So it's when you go thinner than recommended for a long time that should worry you. If you still have trouble sleeping change it out after 1 to 2k miles. Nothing wrong with changing oil other than costing you time and money.

What'd worry me is the seller (I assume was the owner?) using 10w40 when right on the cap it says a 20 weight. If they did own it, then I'd take the car to my mechanic and tell him that story and have him check it to see if anything else is ok. Best of luck.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produ...remium-protection-10w-40-synthetic-motor-oil/

 

[razel]

amsoil is Mobil?

 

[LTC8K6]

so I recently bought a car and as soon as I turned it on it said that oil life was 0% . The car is a 2005 ford five hundred . 40,000 miles.
I purchased some Mobil 1 10w40 motor oil as I was told by the seller and went to put in the motor oil.As soon as I put the oil cap back on, I saw the letters recommending 5w20 oil. That cant be too good, can it? What do I do .

Just drain the 10W40 yourself and put 5W20 in. Leave the filter alone.

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/05500og3e.pdf

 

[NutBucket]

Ok that's not really accurate. The purpose of lower oil viscosity is because the tighter tolerances used in modern engines require the lower viscosity to lubricate properly. Using a higher viscosity oil will increase wear over time because of less efficient lubrication. It's best to use a quality synthetic at the manufacturer recommended viscosity ratings.

It's true and false at the same time. For example, both Honda and Subaru use the same engines in multiple markets yet spec different weights. Yes, climate plays a role but there are plenty of climates in the US so why is the factory fill different?

I once accidentally filled a car with 5W-20 instead of 0W-20 and there was a definite difference in fuel economy.

 

[tcG]

10W-30 is considered an obsolete weight of oil. It has been replaced by the superior characteristics in all applications by 0W-30.

 

[master_shake_]

get the right oil back in it asap.

 

[pauldun170]

so I recently bought a car and as soon as I turned it on it said that oil life was 0% . The car is a 2005 ford five hundred . 40,000 miles.
I purchased some Mobil 1 10w40 motor oil as I was told by the seller and went to put in the motor oil.As soon as I put the oil cap back on, I saw the letters recommending 5w20 oil. That cant be too good, can it? What do I do .

Step 1 - Get oil change (How do you know that the previous owner\shop\dealer even used the correct oil?)
Step 2 - Read owners manual

 

[Torn Mind]

Duratec 30 is likely the engine in there. Mostly aluminium.

I wouldn't go over 30 weight oil.

If you want to salvage the Mobil 1, get some Mobil 1 20 weight oil and blend the oils together with equal parts or more 20 weight then 40 weight.

 

[iwajabitw]

Its a Ford, I'm a Ford guy. Use only the 5w-20. $15 at Walmart. The cam phasers like to make a lot of chatter if the oil isn't the right viscosity, get a Motorcraft 400 or 500 series oil filter, depending on which liter V6 motor it is, that's the 2 most common. Ususally $4

2014 Shelby GT500 Cobra 5w-50
2012 Fusion 5w-20
2007 F150 5w20
2006 Taurus 5w-20

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If the oil life is 0%, you don't put more oil in, you do an oil change. Probably should be doing them every 5k miles or so. (The old 3k rule is largely obsolete.)

If the manual says different, the manual is right and I am wrong.

Just run it to the quick-lube on your way home from work today and be done with it.

 

[iwajabitw]

Forgot about the OP 0% oil life. On the steering wheel there should be a system info button that you can scroll through and reset the life to 100% after you change the oil, or where ever you take it will do it for you.

 

[HarryLui]

Drain it and refill it.

 

[Pacfanweb]

get the right oil back in it asap.

This.

It is NOT "fine".

I've seen hundreds of engines damaged from people just continuing to use 15w40 when the switch to the lower viscosity oil was happening.

Now, for just a top off? You probably are fine, but do not make that big a switch in viscosity for a complete oil change and if you do, don't do it again.