2004 Saturn Vue - what oil to use?

I had the oil changed today for the first time on my Chili Pepper Red
2004 Saturn Vue V6 FWD. My husband told me to have them put in 10W40
- that's what he's always used in our cars. He also puts a bottle of
STP in.

He drives a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria with 216K miles on it - great
car, runs well.

Well, the dealership said they recommend the 5W20; that the 10W40 is
too heavy for the engine. I had them put in the 5W20.

When we picked up the Vue, he talked to one of the service writers who
told him the same thing. Husband got snippy and said we'd take our
business to Firestone and see what they say.

My question - has anyone used 10W40 in their Vue - what have the
results been? Does anyone have any good arguments to convince my
husband that the 5W20 is the best to use?

Thanks for your input - first time poster - lurker in many groups.

PR

 

Hardly any manufacturers recommend 10W-40 anymore. In fact, in a lot
of cases it will void the warrantee. While your Vue is under
warrantee I would use what Saturn recommends.

Ken

Ken

 

You should use what the manufacturer recommends. Your Vue actually has
a Honda engine. Honda has switched all their US engines to 5W20 (Ford
has also for most of their engines). People have the mistaken idea
that thicker oil is always better. This is simply not true. The 5W20
oil that you can buy is usually produced to a more stringent standard
than 10W40 oil (at least if it is qualified for Ford and Honda
engines). I've read a number of SAE paper related to the subject of
5W20 oil and none of the papers showed any adverse wear related to the
use of 5W20 oil. It is a fact that for engines in good condition, the
oil thickends with age (becomes more viscous). Starting out with an
oil thicker than necessary is not going to protect anything. And it
might lead to oil starvation during start-up, or oil bypassing the
filter media becasue of excess pressure. You husband is definitely
living in the past. Tell him your VUe is not his Father's Oldsmobile.

 

The only reason I would use 10w40 is if it had a lot of valve train
noise or piston slap (I never had either). The "thinner" viscosity oil
(5w10) is used to reduce drag which increase mpg and hp. It also
supplies oil through the system faster on a cold start. You're better
off using what the manufacture suggest unless you live in a extreme cold
or hot climate. Besides its a Honda, those motors are picky.