I have a 2010 Honda Crosstour that I purchased new. I’ve been relying on the cars “maintenance minder” to service the vehicle at regular intervals. I just brought the car in for an oil change for the 5th time at 38K miles. (About 8K miles between oil changes) Here’s the question. I noticed that the dealer has only used synthetic only 2 times and a blend 3 times. The maintenance book calls for synthetic to be used, which I thought the dealer was using during these changes. By mixing up the oil changes will this hurt the car regular maintenance schedule using the “maintenance minder”? I called the dealer and they said that it is optional in the 2010 model year??? (I don’t recall seeing an option on the cars “maintenance minder” to change from synthetic oil changes to regular oil. Any discussion to make me feel better that switching out the oil type won’t hurt the car would be helpful. Thank You.
Answer is based on what viscosity your car is spec’d for. Is it 0-20? Or 5-20? 0 weight oil is only available in full syn versions. There is NO Dino zero weight oil. And all “blend” refer to syn/Dino mix. Not a high/low viscosity mix. If your manual says use 0-20 but it’s ok to use 5-20 than dealer can sneak in somedino oil which means they could use a blend.
From page 334 of the 2010 Crosstour owner’s manual
Recommended Engine Oil
"Oil is a major contributor to your
engine’s performance and longevity.
Always use a premium-grade 0W-20
detergent oil displaying the API
Certification Seal. This seal indicates
the oil is energy conserving, and that
it meets the American Petroleum
Institute’s latest requirements"
As @Cavell mentioned, 0W-20 is synthetic only. So they should be using synthetic oil.
Even if the Blend did not damage the engine, the MM is assuming that you have synthetic oil in the engine and recommending the intervals based on that.
Most probably, the same engine called for 5W-20 oil in the previous models and they changed it for fuel savings, BUT I am also sure the previous models had shorter oil change intervals.
At least it is the dealer show is messing with this, so should not affect the warranty, but you might pay a visit to the manager with your manual and receipts in hand to see what is your recourse if/when your engine has issues past warranty.