2011 Kona Blue

Using 5W 30 weight does not void the manufacturers warranty.

grandpa mustang

based on what you people have said, I think I'll stay with the 5W20, although from the sounds of it, using the 5W30 wouldn't hurt anything.

I'll go get the Motorcraft filter tonight.

On the "oil change how to guide" that I found through a google search, it said the Motorcraft filter to get is a FL500S, But Gabe you had suggested a FL820S which apparently is a larger capacity filter? I'm safe to use that one?

the oil change guide I'm referring to is here - http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/F...-Change-Guide/

my questions probably sound kind of dumb, but my wife was driving an early 90's patch work 350,000 mile Subaru that I had a "I don't care" attitude about.

so with this Mustang, we are both moving forward in an entirely new direction that neither one of us has ever experienced before, so I want to soak up all the info I can so I don't screw this up.

Gabe

What does the owner's manual recommend for oil?
5w20 or 5w30?
5w30 is mentioned nowhere in there.
I'm not saying it can't be used, I'm saying that 5w20 is what the manufacturer recommends and if there was an engine issue,
the dealer is more than in their right to refuse warranty coverage if the receipts all say 5w30 on them. It's simply not what the manufacturer recommends.
And warranty is to cover manufacturer defects, not whatever the customer wants cuz the customer says so.


The 5.0 will be fine with either filter, and I doubt that any dealer will ever give you a hard time about using the FL820S over the FL500S.
If you worry about possible hassle at the dealership in case of an issue, simply use the 500.
Ford Racing includes a Ford Racing FL820S filter in their performance pack they sell for the 5.0 Mustang:
https://fordperformanceracingparts.c...KeyField=12345

2011 Kona Blue

Good luck prooving 5W30 weight caused the engine to fail!

Also, our same engine in Europe Ford calls for 5W 30 weight so good luck blaiming the 5W 30 weight for the engine failing when the same engine in Europe Ford recommends 5W30 weight

Gabe

If the receipt shows 5w30, the dealer doesn't need anything else to deny warranty coverage.
They can easily call in a report to Ford that says/shows the wrong weight oil was used, then good-luck getting warranty coverage anywhere.
You really think Ford WANTS to warranty an engine that's had oil in it that they don't recommend?
Oh, and if you DON'T show any receipts that show oil being purchased, then you basically didn't maintain the car.
Warranty repair denied again.

Again, Ford Service Writer for 10 years, I've seen and done it all.

Keep using 5w30 in your engine if you want, but to advise people to use it in their cars AND to tell them that Ford won't care in case of an issue, you're wrong.

Gabe

We're not in Europe, are we?

Ford's story can certainly be that there's different fuel formulations, different tuning, whatever they want to say to justify the 5w30

2011 Kona Blue

Nope, not Europe but same engine so Ford is not voiding any engine issue for people who use an API 5W 30 weight oil. Not gonna happen.

70monte

Why even risk it while the car is under warranty? 5W-20 is not going to kill your engine and I've not seen any proof that 5W-30 or higher makes the engine last longer.

I'm so leery of Ford's warranty process that I won't even think about using the bigger filter. After the warranty is up, then we will see.

Wayne

2011 Kona Blue

I only have used 5W 20 once when I first got my pony and that was done by the dealership for free. After that first oil change I exclusively use 5W 30 oil weight. The 5W 20 weight is strictly for CAFE regulations regarding fuel economy. That's it. Ford is not voiding a warranty for using a 5W 30 weight!

By all means, use 5W 20 weight oil. Will it destroy the engine? I'm confident it won't. Will it shorten the engines life? Maybe! Maybe not. Like many topics, that's debatable on an engines life being shortened by using 5W 20 weight. Some say yes and others say no.

Since I'm the type of person that plans on keeping my pony for 200k plus miles I won't take any changes. 5W 30 is not going to hurt the engine so why would I want to take a chance of using a thinner oil that may shorten the engine life. 5W 30 weight is not going to blow up the engine or shorten the engine life. It will lubericate all those tight spec areas just fine so why use 5W 20 weight? I don't live in a super cold climate all year long!

Let me ask you this? A 5.0 non track pack model gets 5W 20 oil recommended by Ford. The 5.0 trac pac gets 5W 50 weight oil recommended by Ford. Both the trac pac and non trac pac models have the same identical tight spec 5.0 302 engine. Ford recommends the trac pac model get 5W 50 oil because Ford assumes people will be racing the car because of the upgraded suspension parts, trac pac.

If someone does not race their 5.0 trac pack and use 5W 20 oil (which non trac pacs get) are you saying that Ford can void the warranty? Also, you might want to read this. It's not gospel but just another perspective on 5W 20 weight oil.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2884476

Joeywhat

Considering Ford's track record in doing warranty work, I probably wouldn't even bother bringing it to them in most cases.

2011 Kona Blue

Ford does have a different story. The story is Europe doesn't have CAFE regulations. USA does. Case closed! Lol

GrabberBlue5.0

Yes it does.

2011 Kona Blue

Okay. I would love to see any documented cases where a warranty claim was denied because the owner used 5W30 oil. Perhaps you could be so kind and provide some documented cases. I would love to review them!

Good luck to Ford, proving that 5W 30 weight oil caused engine failure. You made a blanket statement saying that using 5W30 oil will void the warranty. That's just not true. Ford has to prove the 5W30 weight oil caused the failure.

So in reality the answer is not it will void the warranty. The warranty MAY be voided if Ford can prove the 5W30 weight caused the damage to the broken part. Key factor is MAY and I bet there is not one engine failure recorded by Ford because someone used 5W30 weight oil. So good luck to Ford proving the 5W30 weight was the culprit which is why I say 5W30 weight oil isn't voiding the warranty.

grandpa mustang

sorry I got you guys going on an oil argument, I didn't meant to cause that.

I got the oil changed today, I found a local shop that said they would do it for 15 bucks if I brought in my own oil and filter, so I decided to take advantage of the offer, I got an alignment done on our Jeep, they also checked the alignment on the mustang, it was fine, no adjustments needed, and we got the oil and filters changed on both the Jeep and the mustang.

for the mustang, they put in the 5W20, and that larger capacity FL820S filter, I'll go back in 7,000 miles and have the oil changed again.

it took me a while to figure out how to reset the oil life monitor thing in the dash, it was at 69% when I reset it to 80% I'm still not sure if I did it right, but I wrote down the mileage so I'll know when it hits 7,000 miles anyway.

2011 Kona Blue

No argument here good sir. Just a friendly debate / discussion. You will find on these types of forums people often disagree and are very vocal about their stance. Its all good. That's what I love about these sites. Talking car talk!

I'm not familiar with the larger motorcraft filter you were given. I'm now using the Royal Purple extended drain oil filter. I change my oil every 10k miles or once a year which ever comes first. I prefer 5W30 weight but you will be fine with 5W20 weight.

crjackson

I had the oil changed on one of my 2014 Track Pack cars yesterday at the Ford dealer. The service writer insisted I purchase 5-20 Penzoil Synthetic Blend. He argued vehemently that Ford states this oil must be used. I nearly had to demand the service manager's attention to get the proper oil.

I had to show the guy the oil cap, and the owner's manual (see attachment) to get what I wanted.

Looking for a new dealer now...

2011 Kona Blue

You sir are totally correct, the track pac model takes recommended 5W 50 weight. The non track pac 5.0 takes recommended 5W20 weight. Its the same engine, same tight specs for both models so how can you have two different recommended weights for two cars that have the same identical engine?

I'm lost on this? What happens if you use 5W 20 weight in a track pac 5.0? Can the engine blow up? Of course its the same identical engine as the non track pac model that gets 5W 20 weight.

Can someone please explain the logic in this? How can it be safe to run 5W 50 weight in the 5.0 trac pac yet run 5W20 in a non track pack? Is it dangerous to run 5W 50 weight oil in a non trac pack

crjackson

Here's another thing. The Track Pack car has different computer calibrations for some things. So does the computer on the Track Pack car's OLM take into account, and base its numbers on the expected the Full Synthetic 5-50?

If you use 5-20 blended where the calibration is set for FS 5-50, won't that screw up the OLM report?

BudgetPlan1

Why not just do what the Owners Manual suggests? Why deviate from that, I don't get it? All the hand-wringing about oil seems especially silly given the ridiculously short intervals some use between changes.

SpectreH

At the temperatures the oil reaches on the track, the 5W-50 is essentially running at the same viscosity as 5W-20 in a car being driven normally.