Professional Service - WRONG OIL!

flashg67

Put your reg no or car details i to Castrol's oil checker. Most cars can use a variety of oil types, eg for different temperature ranges etc, but there is a lot of crossover - I think you'll find 5W 30 is ok.

lil.smartie

The UK doesn't have the extremes of temperature that would make the difference between a 10w40 and a 5w30. As long as it's the correct type ie fully synthetic you'll be fine.

Kate

Buzby

Car is 2008, however the handbook has dire warnings that only 10W oil should be used.

That said, using an unapproved or un recommended oil type should not be at the discretion of a professional garage IMHO. Te are paid to be competent in their tasks!

gilbert_and_sullivan

Try here, i suspect 5W 30 is recommended too.

http://www.millersoils.co.uk/whichoil.asp

bigjl

If your vehicle has a DPF fitted then the oil spec should be 5w30.

If it is the earlier non Dpf model (usually called FAP with Renaults) then you could use 5w40 or 0w40.

The thing to remember is that sometimes "knowledgable friends" sometimes aren't.

What is of more significance is what kind of 5w30 oil they have used, A3/B4 or A3/B4/C3?

I have not seen any mainstream oil for sale in Europe that is either petrol only or diesel only.

The only time you will see such a distinction is in HDEO, which would be used in an LGV or similar, and would have ACEA code "E" and a number.

I would suspect a 2008 Espace with a the 1.9dci engine to have a FAP system and therefore should use 5w30 C3.

The thing to remember is that there is a wide range of oils that can be used in any given engine.

And if you live in a fairly mild place like Scotland then you are even less likely to need a 5w40 or 0w40 even in a pre FAP/DPF engine.

The garage would have likely got the data on what oil to use from Autodate using the chassis number.

But more importantly it will not make any difference to your engine even if you have no FAP. Apart from maybe improving your fuel consumption slightly.

The turbo on the 1.9dci was always a bit on the fragile side, though the turbo failures were less common from 2007/8, though could usually be traced to owners operating in severe service conditions but not readucing their OCI, severe service being lots of stop start, urban use, lots of idling etc.

I would have no issues running the wife's 1.5DCi Clio on 5w30, but at the moment I can get Mobil 1 0w40 for £30 for 5 litres at Costco so doing so would cost me more money as the only 5w30 they sto I in my local Costco is Castrol Edge which is £30 for 4 litres.

The 1.5dci engine with a FAP/DPF is specced for 5w30, the engine and turbo is the same though, the egr may be different but I don't think it is to be honest.

If you are still concerned ask the garage the specs of what they put in as you are curious and ask them why.

Don't go in there saying they have killed your engine because it will just get their back up.

Buzby

Thanks for your considered response. All I can go by is what the handbook states - complete with the warning that only 10W (not 5W) is suitable.

I did enjoy your comment about 'mild' Scotland - I checked my external thermometer which stores Low/High max readings. The coldest we experienced one week in January was -12C, but the winter average was -2C. It also triggered OAP fuel payouts.

Despite this, I would have a greater worry of the effects of higher temps affecting the engine with the oil becoming less dense the hotter it became leaving the real possibility of damage. Not an issue this month certainly, but if the service book recommends 10W, then refilling with 5W simply because 'other cars use it' or because they couldn't be bothered to find out seems a tad negligent!

Lucero_2

There will literally be nothing wrong if you leave it as it is. Some cars, as they age and gain mileage will naturally require a different oil for better protection. If you want your old tired engine to be lugging a 40w around in hot temperatures rather than a lighter 30w then be my guest. The lower cold weights are not going to matter one bit in the UK climes.

forgotmyname

5/30 to 5/40 are the correct grades.

5/30 is not a petrol oil, My diesel takes 5/30.

If you were driving across the desert at 100ºC in the shade then get that 5/40 now. Its not going to kill the engine in the UK temperature range.

At least its had a good flush.

DaveF327

Can anyone please tell me the technical difference between 5W30 and 5W40?

My car's handbook says to use 5W40 (N2) but my garage have changed the oil and used 5W30 - says "5/30 sintetic (sic) oil" on receipt.

Having put my reg number into the millersoils checker, it returns 5W30 whether I have a DPF or not. I'm confused :undecided

I drive a 1.9 turbo diesel.

bigjl

You need to give a little more info than just a 1.9 diesel as there are a car few of those.

Give the full vehicle details, year, model etc and I will double check for you, I don't need the reg no.

The only difference between 5w30 and 5w40, say both are Castrol Edge C3, is that the 5w40 is thicker at operating temps.

But there are different kinds of 5w30 and 5w40, low saps, high saps, low HTHS, high HTHS.

But just a few examples, a 2006 Clio 1.5 DCi can use 0w40, 5w40 and 10w40 and I think also 5w50 and 10w50, but newer Dpf equipped use low saps 5w30 (C3) but not low HTHS oils such as used by Ford and Volvo.

My Pathfinder can use high HTHS oils, low HTHS oils, anything from 5w30 to 10w40 there is also a Dpf and non Dpf versions which like the Clio use different saps and viscosities.

I have use 5w40 C3 Castrol Edge and Carlube 5w30 C3 in the Pathfinder and I am about to put in 5w30 A5/B5 Mobil Super 3000 X1 FE which is the same as I use in my V50. I have checked compatibility with the workshop manual and the Mobil Super also has Saps the same as C3 oils so the Dpf is safe. An A5/B5 can't meet C3 due to being a reduced HTHS oils (for improved fuel economy) I believe.

But less of my digression, post up the details.

Lots of cars can happily run on 5w30, 5w40 or even 5w50.

As an example.

If I was running a WRX that was remapped to over 300bhp and using it hard say doing time attack or track days I would be thinking about using 5w50 or 10w50. The same car used for normal day to day running is happy with 5w30.