^^ That. You paid for an oil change. It's expected that it will be to your specifications (or Honda's if you don't specify). If they didn't do that, take it back and have them redo it. If they push back, time to find another mechanic.

 

Iggy, your concern was whether something terrible was going to happen. The answer is that nothing terrible is going to happen. In 3,000 (or whenever you like), change it back to 0W20.

Everything that everyone said above is more or less correct. Your next step just depends on how much crazy you want in your life.

List of Crazy:

1) Go back to Midas and argue with them. — Expect to reduce your total life expectancy by 25%.

2) Worry about the wear on your engine. —If you could find 20 Japanese engineers in white lab coats, maybe they could measure it for you.

3) Kick yourself for not doing your own engine oil changes. — New Year's is coming. You could make a resolution.

4) Most people on car forums are good, sane citizens. It's just when they go online that they lose their minds. (I'm looking at you, sneefy. )

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Not even worth the time to argue and go back IMO. 5W-20 ain’t gonna hurt it.

 

Good to know I'm keeping up my up my reputation as a raving lunatic, lol.

 

First of all, thank you for all your thoughts and opinions. At this point I don't feel like arguing with them (even though I'd be well within my rights to) and it seems like 5w-20 should be fine for this cycle. In the future I'll either do it myself or just be extremely specific when asking for 0w-20.

 

yes...and that's why I change the oil myself. Easy and it gives me a chance to look things over in the engine bay and underneath. I've caught a few CV boots starting to fail that the dealer never caught.

 

2019 sport cvt im in mtl canada... winter its 0w20 summer is 5w50 yes 5w50..brand is whatever cdn tire has on sale. filter is the mobil 1 from cdn tire or the syntethic one from fram, what ever is cheeper on that day . i red line it all day long and the 5w50 in the heat of summer is more protection . you guys are crazy worring about this stuff... i avg 35-40 mpg year round....in 4 years its someone elses problem,,,,,

 

popular thread........do it yourself.....other people are generally idiots.....you can LOOK at the oil and see whats coming out..yes, some metallic particles....the more of them..the sooner your getting a new car..must admit..the fits pretty easy....i never drop the plastic cover from the 2 rear grommets...fold down...love how they have an "absorbance pad" built right in

 

It says 0W-20 right on the cap for the hole where you pour in the oil. Most cars built after 2000 have labels right on the cap. The technician should have known that, seen the label even if he hadn't known that, checked the label, seen the spec, and put in the correct oil. If she didn't have 0W-20 in synthetic on -hand, she should have contacted the customer before even starting to drain the oil. If for some reason the cap label was illegible, she should have consulted on of the many on-line free maintenance info web sites before draining the oil. You should not put in any oil until you have learned what the spec is for the correct oil. That is basic requirement for being a mechanic.

That said, I think that probably the main reason Honda specifies 0W-20 rather than 5W-20 is for improved fuel efficiency. Except on very cold days, I would think that the car should start, and run, just as well with 5W-20, and not have any significant amount of increased wear even if you only let it warm up for only 30 seconds before driving off, cold. By very cold I mean below about 5 degrees C (about 20 degrees F). Nevertheless, I would consider the company that changed the oil to be incompetent.

If the tech couldn't look up the correct oil, very likely he couldn't look up the correct torque for the drain plug, over-tightened it, damaged the threads, and caused a need for a very expensive repair. They also probably wouldn't have put the under-engine shroud on correctly.

I would ask the company to refill the car again with the correct oil. You don't need a new filter. If they refuse, I would point out, as gently and politely as I could possibly muster up the acting ability to do, that I've been a good customer in the past, and that if they don't change the oil I would be inclined to be a non-customer in the future.You don't say that last thing directly; you kind of just hint at it in a good-natured manner. Of course, it is very possible they will just drain out the 5W-20, and put in 5W-20 again. Unless you spend about $100 on lab tests, you wouldn't know the difference. Or they might just say: I'm sorry, we put in 0W-20, but we made a mistake on the invoice. Then I would ask them to change the invoice, just in case you needed it for a warranty claim. Not that I think Honda would give you a problem if you put in the the wrong viscosity, by one level of viscosity wrong.

 

... I'm not going to begin to unpack this "special post". You are the reason I'd be cautious buying a used car.

Yep, it really makes you wonder just how many led pipes are carrying some peoples drinking water to them...

 

Sorry Dude but clearly you have no concept of the complex job oil does in the engine (things like cooling of the lower end) nor do you understand just how oil moves through all the parts of an engine nor how it actually works to lubricate parts nor do you have any insight into how current production engines differ greatly from engines of the past and why we use different oils today.

I am not flaming anyone but I would advise people not to read posts like this and think its OK to treat a precision machine like a modern automotive engine with such disregard. I have seen the internal damage in engines when too high a viscosity oil is used. Unless you are a qualified expert or engineer who has run millions of miles of tests on engines under tightly controlled conditions you would be best served by following the advice of the manufacturer who designed this engine and actually did such testing.

Have a good day....and use the oil that was factory recommended....your engine will love you for it!

 

this is all kinds of hilarious.
first of all..if 9 out of 10 Discount Tire workers are not so bright, what were u expecting going to Walmart? Walmart is for buying toilet paper and Hot Pockets.
second, can u explain to me how to spot a "sick restaurant worker riding the bus who cant afford to take a sick day"? I have heard about these folks, and have possibly seen them at the bus stop, but cant yet distinguish them from our walter white meth-heads.
and one last thing. if you eat at home...how do u know you didnt touch the same door handle, check out line, Hot Pocket package, or debit pin pad the sick restaurant worker previously touched in Walmart?

just wondering so i know how to not get sick.

ps. i dont work or know anyone that works at walmart or a restaurant.

 

Maybe they have their restaurant work shirt/hat on?

Before I eat, I wash my hands like my Momma taught me...

 

This thread caught my eye, even though it's fairly old. I just bought a 2020 Fit and know about the 0w-20 specification. However, my wife and I also have a pair of 2009 Fits. On those, the owners manual specifies 5w-20 oil, but part way through the life cycle of that generation, Honda switched to specifying 0w-20 for new Fits. Somewhere (can't find a source), Honda then specified that our 2009 Fits could use 0w-20 or 5w-20. The engine hadn't changed a bit, so as someone else said, I think it was more a matter of 0w oils becoming more available and Honda recommending their use to improve fuel economy. I found this article from consumer reports that appears to support this view:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...cars/index.htm

I believe the engine in the current Fits is still the same 1.5L, essentially unchanged from the previous generation. Based on that, I'd say 5w-20 oil is not going to do any harm and would just result in very small increased fuel usage while the engine is cold.

 

Pay in wear or pay in miniscule MPG loss. You choose. (EPA would rather you choose MPG for the 'ment).

It isn't - it's the high temperature viscosity that matters - the 20 in 5W20 for operating viscosity for engine wear. The 5 in 5W20 is the viscosity at low temperature - indicative of how well it clings to parts at staratup and to a lesser extent the cold flow viscosity.

Rem: The EPA is mandating gas mileage above all else - no care for engine wear. I'd rather run 5W30 in that motor and deal with a 0.4% loss in MPG (that's 0.2 mpg less folks). As soon as my warranty is up - I'm moving to 5W30 in my 2019 LX. I did the same in my 200000 mile+ Integra (went from 5W30 to 10W40) and my Mazda RX-8 (5W20 specd then moved to 10W40). No issue and about 0.5% less MPG. Better wear and longevity.

 

How much total wear on an engine you figure comes from cold start-up? Most of the experts I've been reading for the last few decades say cold start-up is a high-wear event in an engine's life.

Not really disagreeing with you. Just saying you may be underestimating the 0 or the 5 part of 0W20 and 5W20.

 

What are the chances you wear out an engine?

 

I'm guessing it would take a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of neglect to wear out an engine, but that's not what we're tailing about. We are talking about the best maintenance for the best performance and the best (least amount of) wear. If your goal is no more than to have the car get you down the block, then a lot of the discussion on this forum will seem unimportant to you.

And I mean that in a nice way.

 

Okay, how much difference in wear is there between 0W and 5W? Almost none, right? So if 'best performance' is the difference between 0 to 60 in 10 seconds vs. 10.000001 seconds, I'll go with what Honda recommends and save the fifteen cents in gas over the life of the car.

 

Am pretty sure my local Honda dealer uses a 5W-20 synth blend when they do oil changes....and I'm fine with that, at home, our cars live in the garage, and east TN doesn't get terribly cold even in the winter (used to live in MI). I'd consider it a non-issue unless you just wanted to bust their balls...maybe politely let them know, but I wouldn't be bothered by going in for another oil change...especially with them probably not properly dealing with the stupid plastic under engine "splash guard" or whatever. Bought ours used, didn't have one on it...and I don't miss it