I have a 2005 honda cr-v 145,0000 miles. My husband just resently changed my oil. My car manuel says to put 5w-20 but he put 5w-30. Now my low pressure light is on but dim in my dash. Could the wrong oil cause the pressure to turn the light on? But the wierd thing is it that after a short drive the light is is so faint you can barely see it? Did he wreck my car? Please help!! I dont want me and my 1 year old to be stuck on the side o the road!!!
Correction thats 145,000 miles
No. Substituting 5W-30 oil for 5W-20 oil isn’t going to cause the oil light to come on. More than likely the dim oil light is from a faulty oil pressure sending unit. This is usually screwed into the engine block next to the oil filter.
Tester
Why did he go with 5w30… Is he a mechanical engineer? Possibly knows the engine better than the folks who designed and built it?
There’s this misconception out there that thicker is better. If so, ask him to try 90w gear oil next time.
Likely it will cause a slight reduction in mileage and nothing else. I recommend that with the next change, that he return to the recommended oil. Cars today are a lot different than the cars of years ago. Many of those ideas about what oil etc. is good for a car no longer apply.
Since you probably are not going to race across the Mojave desert in July, the 5W20 oil is just fine for normal use. That’s why Honda specifies it; it also gives slightly better gas mileage than 5W30. Having said that, the 5W30 will do no harm.
Agree that you probably have a sensor problem; a good mechanic can fix that easily.
Enjoy your CRV for many more years. My previous neighbor had one for 10 years and it never failed her.
The difference in weight is not your problem, but before you start the car again check th eoil level. It is possible that he inadvertantly put the new filter w/gasket over the old gasket and the oil is leaking. Sometimes the old gasket will stay stuck to the machined surface rather than come off with the old fiter. Experienced oil changers always check, but newbies often do not.
Bottom line: check the oil level before starting the negine again. Just to be safe.
You may have a defective oil filter, not your husbands fault. I recommend that you have him change the oil filter immediately just to be safe.
Nikii, don’t worry about it. The 5w will get the lube going as soon as you start the engine and the 30w will help with the lubrication since your vehicle is highmileage. Notice the ad’s now days about high mileage vehicles? I’ve gone from 5w 30 to 10w 40 in my high mileage vehicle. By the way, in case you didn’t know. That W stand for winter testing by S.A.E. standard and 30 without the W means summer conditions.
How does the brightness of the light compare to when you turn the ignition on before you start the car. If the light is dimmer than it is supposed to be, you probably have an electrical problem.
He really should get the thicker 5W-30 out and go to the manufacturer recommended 5W-20. The 20 part of the oil is the maximum thickness your car’s oil should get to in order to perform as designrd. A thicker oil, such as the 5W-30, will not pass through some of the small ports in your Honda’s engine and you could be facing more problems down the road. Call the Honda dealer and see what he/she says. There are good reasons for sticking with the manufacturer’s recs for service. One is that the car will run better.