2012 Ford Escape V6 - Can I use 5w30 or 5w/40 oil instead of 5w20 oil?

axtenar · Feb 1, 2023

so I live in a very hot climate area, in summer heat can reach 115F and even higher.
people here always prefer thicker oils (because of the extreme heat) it will get much thinner.

this is against factory recommendation, can you guys give me your opinion?

bangster · Feb 1, 2023

I also live in a high ambient temp location (100F+ 80-100 days a year, 110+ 5 times last year, 115 once), and many people opt for a higher weight oil. 5w30 should be no problem, and I am sure that 5w40 would be fine as well. Some newer Fords have details for higher weight oils for places like Sadia Arabia and Africa, but most US spec vehicles only have alternate weights for colder weather.

Personally I stick with 5w20 even in my higher mileage vehicles, that I would idle for 4+ hours at 110 degrees, 800 mile trips in 100+ temps, mountain/hilly driving at 100+ degrees, and it has 330,000 miles on it when I got rid of it, engine still worked fine.

axtenar · Feb 3, 2023

330K miles, that's pretty impressive.

I guess I could stick with 5w-20 and in the summer I can go for 5w-30 and see how the car reacts.

your feedback is appreciated, have a good day ahead buddy!

JohnCT · Feb 1, 2023

I would use the 5/30 in the summer and the 5/20 in the winter regardless of recommendation.

John

axtenar · Feb 3, 2023

that's a good advise, really appreciated

Trilogy · Feb 3, 2023

5w/30 year around for me. Im not even sure what is recommended by Ford for my 08... never even looked lol

axtenar · Feb 3, 2023

how many miles on the odometer for you?
I guess not a huge difference between 5w-20 & 5w-30, I wonder what the manual says for non-US 2nd gen escapes is saying about oil.
in the US manual, it only specifies 5w-20 and it doesn't mention the weather at all.

Squirrel · Feb 7, 2023

5/30 for me year round. 3.0 274,000 miles now. This is my work truck so does ALOT of idling as well as driving.

Captain Chris · Feb 10, 2023

Here's the deal: 'Multi-weight' or 'Multi-grade' oils are formulated to have specific viscosity, or flow characteristics at certain temperatures: a 'cold' temp', and a 'hot' temp'. The higher temp' is specified in the test standards, based on engine operating temp's but, fast-forward ~50 years, and that's become even more variable.
Todays engines are designed with tolerances, and part of that is to allow for oil flow through, and between moving parts.
When the oil gets hotter and thinner, it may not maintain a film layer between moving parts, however, if you use higher viscosity oil, you may have a problem with not having adequate flow when it is at normal operating temps...
If you are running in the heat all the time, you are still probably better off addressing that: installing a different thermostat valve, as well a discreet temperature gauge, upgrade cooling fan under the hood, and look into getting a lower temp activation switch...also, look into changing/adding radiator capacity.

Keep the engine temp correct, and stick with specified oil.

Good luck!

mozz · Feb 14, 2023

5w30 or 10w30 in all 4 of my Fords, never burned a drop or leaked a drop. I won't use 5w20, it's for a slight gas mileage increase so they meet standards. And the tolerance thing is internet bull. Motors built many years ago had the same or even better tolerances on internal engine parts. These days tolerances are crap, ask any Subaru owner or Jeep 2.4 owner how much oil their cars burn.

Captain Chris · Feb 18, 2023

If your car is still under warranty, using oil not according to the manual/book can void the warranty on the engine.
After that, it's a free country!

But tolerance issues are not "internet bull".
Do manufacturers have different priorities than you do? Yes.
Do manufactureres have different priorities today than they did 10 years ago?
20 years ago...?
Etc...
That is nothing new.
Engines today are different than 20 years ago; which are different than engines from 40 years ago; which are different from engines 60 years ago...and for many different reasons.

Engines & drive trains are guaranteed for a certain service life, and the objectives are to have some fairly high percentage of them survive beyond that, in order to minimize overall cost of warranty services, and support, to some extent, resale value of the vehicles.
Tolerances on engine assemblies, and versus lubrication needs are a real thing that engineers study and can specialize in: I know, because I studied it in university, though I did not specialize in it.
Of course, just because an engineer does some calculus, does not mean that the engine ends up being built exactly that way...

That being said, I am not impressed with with the idea of the super small turbo engines they started putting in lately, and it would appear that they are doing worse than I expected...

But do what you gotta do...

Waloshin · May 27, 2023

Stick to what the engine was engineered for you are asking for problems running a 40 weight oil in your engine.

mozz · Jul 3, 2023

10w-40 is fine. It's not a 40weight oil, it's 10w40. Our Fusion is 11 years old, I think problems would have showed by now? Does not burn any oil and does not leak any oil. I admit some cars use the oil viscosity to change the valve timing. Do you know for a fact the engine was "designed" for 5w20 or that was the oil that was chosen for cost saving? Having worked for a major equipment company, i know for a fact if 1 cent can be saved they will do it, also they do not want your car to last forever, they would never be able to sell you another. 5w30 5w20 10w30 are all going to protect your engine, if you change your oil at 3000-5000 miles. Do not believe the oil monitor or the oil packaging saying 10,000 miles. Maybe you think you are saving money.

As to the small turbo engines, i agree, i do not like them. They don't have the torque broad curve and actually run out of steam if you hold it to the floor trying to merge. Do not believe the HP or Torque numbers used to sell cars. I also do not believe your portable stereo has 1000 watts. Going to take a newer Escape for a test ride, 3 cyl 1.5l. We are looking for a newer suv and I'd just about buy anything except some with a CVT, horror stories on those, it's only a money saving feature for the manufacturer.

Captain Chris · Oct 13, 2023

Yes, car makers (or any equipment manufacturers) don't want their products to last forever; but well all know that if some product gets the reputation of dieing within a couple months after the warranty expires, then, that is going to impact the new car price, as well as the resale price...different products have different consumer distributions, and so they are designed with consumer sensitive life-cycle projections...
As for the CVT, I don't think that technology was 'road ready'...might never be...

2012 Ford Escape V6 - Can I use 5w30 or 5w/40 oil instead of 5w20 oil?

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