Question: My owners manual species 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil. Do I really need to use 5W-20 oil?

Answer: You certainly can use a 5W-20 or 0W-20 if you choose to, however you do not need to use a 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil. You do not have to use 5W-20 or 0W-20 to maintain your warranty, even though some dealership personnel may lead you to believe that you have to use a 5W-20 or 0W-20.Your warranty is still valid and has to be honored whether you choose to use a 5W-20, 0W-20 or another viscosity of oil, such as a 5W-30 0r 0W-30 for example. Once you know the facts and the Federal Magnusson Moss Act law you will be much better informed to protect your rights and use the type of oil you want to use.

One of the main reasons 5W-20 and 0W-20 was specified for your engine is to increase the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) reported to the Federal Government. CAFE is the combined average fuel economy of all of a vehicle manufacturers product line. Minimum CAFE levels are specified by the Federal Government. In order for a vehicle manufacturer to continue selling profitable large trucks and SUV's, which typically have poor fuel mileage ratings, as compared to smaller cars, and still meet mandated CAFE requirements, they must also sell enough of the smaller cars which have much better fuel economy ratings to offset the poor fuel economy ratings of the larger vehicles. The change to a 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil will allow and an auto companies overall CAFE to increase by a very small amount, typically in the tenths of a mile per gallon range. 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil is a lighter viscosity than a 5W-30 oil and therefore has less internal engine frictional losses, or less drag on the crankshaft, pistons and valvetrain, which in turn promotes increased fuel economy. This increased fuel economy is virtually undetectable to the average motorist without the use of specialized engine monitoring and testing equipment under strictly controlled test track driving when compared to a 5W-30, 10W-30 or a 0W-30 viscosity motor oil.