The memo says use 0w20 where recommended. It is not recommended nor is it the factory fill on any 4.0 frontier up to 2020. 0w20 is now recommended for the 3.8 though.

 

If I’m reading correctly, further down it says 0w20 can be used in place of 5w30.

 

The operative term is "Therefore, for warranty purposes...." Nothing about "for maximum engine life" with 0w-20.
Also, they are not saying any 0w-20 is acceptable. It clearly states "Nissan Genuine 0w-20 oil." It doesn't say it once, it says it six times.
Also, this notice is put out by Nissan Canada, Not Nissan USA.
The notice is dated January 2017 with a Copyright of 2016. Yet, the owner manuals for Frontiers 2017, 2018, and 2019 all recommend 5W-30, so there is a significant conflict in these recommendations.

I'll be sticking with 5w-30, thank you. I haven't seen one single good reason to change.

 

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The operative term is "for warranty purposes." Nothing about "for maximum engine life" with 0w-20.
Also, they are not saying any 0w-20 is acceptable. It clearly states "Nissan Genuine 0w-20 oil." It doesn't say it once, it says it six times.
Also, this notice is put out by Nissan Canada, Not Nissan USA.
The notice is dated January 2017 with a Copyright of 2016. Yet, the owner manuals for Frontiers 2017, 2018, and 2019 all recommend 5W-30, so there is a significant conflict in these recommendations.

I'll be sticking with 5w-30, thank you. I haven't seen one single good reason to change.

Agreed. It's not like one viscosity is cheaper than tne other, so why risk it?

 

I called my dealer. They said they will only use 5w-30. Nissan bulk oil for conventional or mobil 1 for synthetic. For the vq40 the tech told me to use 5w-30 conventional and warned against synthetic. I found that rather odd.

He basically told me I sounded like I knew what I was doing and there was no reason for me to ever get service there for maintenance.

 

warned against synthetic

Did he give any specif reasoning not to run synthetic? I run conventional myself but am curious as to why he would warn against it.

 

Just thought I would post this up here for information purposes for anyone that has run into the 0W20 vs 5W30 concerns when a dealer uses the 0W20 for a fill. Not directly specific to the Frontier, but helps alleviate some of my concern. For some reason beyond my understanding, the dealers here and Nissan Canada have told me (in writing) there is a warranty bulletin saying to use 0W20, but REFUSE to show me a copy. Like WTF! I also have a formal support case opened with Nissan Canada in case a "motor oil" related issue ever arises....highly strange IMO.

Anyways, I will continue to use their 0W20 option in the winter months, where it might actually be a better option here (I used 0W20 this winter and after carefully listening to startup dozens of times, was a bit consoled with the smooth, noiseless starts. I will use a different mechanic for summer changes where I can get a 5W30 without the ridiculous costs the dealer wants - and I don't actually trust their mechanics to use it even when asked.

Don't want to start the discussion again as this has been beat to death, but this was the first form of any type of document I have seen so just thought others may be interested. I know oil is "one of those topics".

Sounds to me like they maybe don't want to have to have too many different viscosity oils to store?

My dealer in Nova Scotia used 0W20 for my last oil change and it'll be the last oil change they do for me. I want what is recommended in my manual, not what Nissan wants to use to cut costs.

Walmart has Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic on sale for $26/4L right now.

Car dealers are getting ridiculous in the name of "efficiency". Look at the Honda issues where many of the CRVs won't produce heat in the winter. Honda's solution is to try and not stop while driving.

Sent from my VOG-L04 using Tapatalk

 

Gotta remember just because the dealer states it doesn't mean it's accurate...

This dealer lists Mobil 1 5w30 as recommended for Frontiers.

Linky

 

Absolutely!


I personally plan to use plain silver mobil 1 synthetic and oem filters until my warranty is up with 3,750 mile oic.

 

The old heavier weight oil is better because grandpa said so story, sorry i'm not buying. Todays engines aren't exactly grandpas 350 chebby that came with loose tolerances from the factory

 

Get yourself an old service manual and you will find engine tolerances haven't changed since the late 1950's right up to today.

 

My Tacoma came with 0w20 factory fill. Hell, they didn't even want to change oil until 10k. I pushed it at 5k(bought new 7/18)
My Frontier, was serviced by Nissan dealers, by the original owner, and had 0w20. I changed it at 25k, with 5w30 M1, and been doing that every 5k since.
No reason not to run synth. At all. Even new engines are coming with it. The break in myths are just that.
If you're burning oil, consider how much per 1k, and go from there. If it is excessive, do a leak down test.

When I do a bike, I run conventional on initial break in, only due to how much I change the oil. I have seated rings with amsoil.

The dealers are filling with 0w20 because they can get away with buying 1 type. Cheaper. End of story.

 

Are dealers really saving money by buying only 0w20, which is only available as a synthetic, rather than carrying both 0w-20 and conventional 5w30?

 

Maybe "saving money" isn't the best term. But, yes.
If you buy 110gals of 5w30 every 3 months, and 550gals of 0w20 in the same period. It is easier to absorb that cost into the barrels, but, a slight increase in rotation.
Plus, there is also the fact of keeping multiple drums, and now you need 2, 55gal drums on the tote, etc.
From a shop standpoint, better/easier to use 1 common drum. Plus, less chance of a "oops"

 

I just found out on my first oil change at the dealer (1030 miles), that it's $20 cheaper than my Outback. Subaru required synthetic 0/20w on their engines, charged $75, 5 qts plus filter and labor. My dealer is $55. I'm happy. And they used 0w/20.

 

What is this hydrodynamic oiling you speak of ??

 

My 2018 Frontier was bought Dec 2 and came with Mobil 1 5W30 from the Nissan dealer with a 5000 mile change interval. I live in TN and we don’t get the cold temperatures y’all are talking about, although we got close 2 weeks ago. Lol in great cold temps I can see the advantage until summertime as the 0W20 will flow through the engine easier in extreme cold. But I wouldn’t use it in the summertime or if I was towing or some other heavy work on the engine.

 

The auto manufacturers are not necessarily interested in making vehicles that last as long as possible. Especially when it comes to transmissions, it is blatantly obvious they have some longevity target where they say a certain life is good enough. Why not omit dipsticks and associated hardware to save millions if the transmission generally lives long enough without an oil change. Makes sense if customer acceptance is there.

Now look at the engine and it too will have some sort of acceptable lifetime. I have no idea what Nissan is thinking for an acceptable lifetime but they apparently are willing to bet the odds are in their favor even though they seem to be driving to a 0W20 oil requirement. Is 0W20 the optimal weight in all temperature and usage environments? No, but in Nissan's eyes it may be good enough. So again, why not simplify and standardize to save more money. Add on top of this the pressure to run thinner oils to improve mileage, even if the gains are minute.

I've got a 2020 Frontier 3.8L. I'm fairly far south right now and so I'll probably run 5W30 this summer. The 3.8L is no mythical beast that defies heat related viscosity changes.

 

@gschwartzenberger is exactly right. They have done the math, % of failures at what mile/age is acceptable and made their decision...
No car company is making money building vehicles to go 300k miles... reliable so you buy more? Sure. 300k mile vehicles? no.

 

Reliability is a fine balance. If you make a bunch of crap that will blow up as soon as you're out of warranty, word gets around. Nissan's reputation for CVT issues in their lineup is well known by many. I don't think that any smart automaker is making vehicles that are just reliable enough to save a few pennies if it means that they are known for making crap that blows up 5 miles past warranty.

This isn't the 1970s and 1980s anymore. Any vehicle, no matter the make, will generally make it to 100k and more with routine maintenance. Change your fluids when you're supposed to and you'll be fine. Going one or two steps up or down on oil viscosity will not blow up your engine as long as you change it when you're supposed to. There are always going to be outliers of course. Toyota is known for reliability, but while some people make it to 400k miles in their Camry with nothing but oil changes, not every single Toyota will.

 

My wife’s new car recommends 5w30 in the colder months and 10w30 in the hotter months.

 

0W-20 oil only comes in synthetic

 

If you driving very easy in cool weather probably will be ok but in summer time heat pulling a load could damage the bearings quickly using light oil