Hi,

Had my oil and filter changed on my 2009 S60 2.5T at the local Volvo dealer here in Jacksonville, FL.

The Volvo manual says use 5W30, unless the outside air temperature is often over something like 104 degrees F, in which case you may want to consider 5W40 or 0W40.

Well, the dealer used 10W30 Castrol GTX, according to the receipt.

Is that okay for the car? Why would they not follow what Volvo recommends? Is it perhaps because I am in Florida which is generally warmer than other places?

By the way, around 10K to 15K miles I plan on switching over to full synthetic.

Thanks

 

Yep, tech and I both like 10w-30 for florida!

That said, with a turbo i would be running syn from the start... No point in waiting a few thousand miles to do it..

 

Your location (FL) was the biggest factor. The first number is Winter viscosity and should not matter much to anyone in an area that does not freeze. (That, and the dealer may just have a lot of 10W30 on hand). Synthetic is the way to go for a turbo.

 

The truth about the OW whatever and 5W whatever oils is that automakers specify them for fuel economy (i.e. CAFE standards) reasons. The EPA fuel economy test protocols include a cold start test, and these thin oils flow a little better when an engine is cold. Automakers fight for 1/10's of an MPG, and these thin oils help. Of course, they don't lubricate as well when the engine is warmed up. So, your dealership based where it doesn't (usually) freeze, appears to know what its doing. I'd gladly sacrifice a few tenths of an MPG over the life of any car I own for long-term protection from wear. And, it seems to me that the thin oils would be more likely to flow off metal surfaces where the engine never really gets cold.

It was 15 degrees this a.m. when I started my car, btw. That's cold. And it will be colder some mornings yet this winter. I'll trade your Volvo and winter weather for mine even though your dealer put 10W-30 in it! Mine uses 5W-30; but for winter temps, that's reasonable here.

 

I have an S60 T5 2002 and live in Puerto Rico which most of the time is warm or hot and I use 10W30 and works fine for me.

 

+ one

 

Thanks for the info guys. Seems like my dealer may actually know what they are doing after all.

But you guys made me think of two other questions.

1. Since the 5W30 is thinner, would it not protect the engine better at startup? And isn't startup where the most engine wear occurs due to the fact the oil has run down and it takes a momment for the pump to get it flowing.
2. The owners manual says to idle the engine for a while prior to shutting off so that oil flows through the turbo and cools it down. But what if my drive to work includes about 45 seconds of driving slowly through the parking lot before I stop. Is that enough idling or do I need to idle longer after I park?

Thanks again