20w-50 oil change.

[Lewzor]

I’ve been using 20w-50 in my 2017 EX Hatch since new and have just switched over to just SAE 40 for the winter here in Austin. Now do I absolutely have to use Honda CVT fluid? O’reilly’s has theirs on sale for $11.99/qt.

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[BrandonSmith]

Now do I absolutely have to use Honda CVT fluid?

YES.

Do not be cheap. The CVT is very sensitive to the fluid. Stick with Honda HCF-2. It should not be more than a couple dollars more than O'Reilly's "sale". You only need 4 quarts, that's maybe $10 more total for Honda fluid. That will save you many more dollars in the long run.

 

[BrandonSmith]

I’ve been using 20w-50 in my 2017 EX Hatch since new and have just switched over to just SAE 40 for the winter here in Austin. Now do I absolutely have to use Honda CVT fluid? O’reilly’s has theirs on sale for $11.99/qt.

Why in the world would you put a THICKER oil in during colder temps?? Seems ass backwards. Now you're making a thicker oil even thicker due to cold temps. This is going to prevent oil from getting where it needs to as quick as it needs to on those cold starts, leading to more wear.

Based on viscosity numbers, your SAE 40 @ 0*C (32*F) is making your oil pump work THREE TIMES harder than a 0W oil, and TWICE as hard as a 5W oil. That change in flow is horrendous.

The 20W-50 is much better suited for both the mild cold in Austin as well as the extreme hot temperatures.

 

[Lewzor]

I’ve been using 20w-50 in my 2017 EX Hatch since new and have just switched over to just SAE 40 for the winter here in Austin. Now do I absolutely have to use Honda CVT fluid? O’reilly’s has theirs on sale for $11.99/qt.

Why in the world would you put a THICKER oil in during colder temps?? Seems ass backwards. Now you're making a thicker oil even thicker due to cold temps. This is going to prevent oil from getting where it needs to as quick as it needs to on those cold starts, leading to more wear.

Based on viscosity numbers, your SAE 40 @ 0*C (32*F) is making your oil pump work THREE TIMES harder than a 0W oil, and TWICE as hard as a 5W oil. That change in flow is horrendous.

The 20W-50 is much better suited for both the mild cold in Austin as well as the extreme hot temperatures.

Thank you very much for your reply. I think for the “winter” here in Austin I will go with the 0w-20. Just in case.

 

[Lewzor]

YES.

Do not be cheap. The CVT is very sensitive to the fluid. Stick with Honda HCF-2. It should not be more than a couple dollars more than O'Reilly's "sale". You only need 4 quarts, that's maybe $10 more total for Honda fluid. That will save you many more dollars in the long run.

Thanks for the info! I found it on Amazon for $67 for five quarts. I’ll go with the Honda stuff from now on.

 

[BrandonSmith]

Is this your first CVT fluid change? How many miles are you going between changes?

 

[Lewzor]

This is my first change. It has 73K and the guy I bought it from (at 46K) said he had it done once at around 30K. So I guess it’s been around 43K. After reading around, I will be doing it more often (30K).

 

[BrandonSmith]

This is my first change. It has 73K and the guy I bought it from (at 46K) said he had it done once at around 30K. So I guess it’s been around 43K. After reading around, I will be doing it more often (30K).

Ok, just asking because you said "since new" earlier, made it seem like you had the car since it was new.

Did previous owner use Honda fluid? I hope so. That way nothing is being mixed. Multiple quarts remain in the CVT when doing a standard fluid change.

Nothing wrong with 43k. Don't go over 50k (this is the Maintenance Minder interval for CVT fluid changes).

 

[Lewzor]

Ok, just asking because you said "since new" earlier, made it seem like you had the car since it was new.

Did previous owner use Honda fluid? I hope so. That way nothing is being mixed. Multiple quarts remain in the CVT when doing a standard fluid change.

Nothing wrong with 43k. Don't go over 50k (this is the Maintenance Minder interval for CVT fluid changes).

Great. I don’t know what fluid was used. If we pretend that it’s different should I put Honda in and then run it for a month and do it again?

 

[BrandonSmith]

Great. I don’t know what fluid was used. If we pretend that it’s different should I put Honda in and then run it for a month and do it again?

How does it feel? You’ve driven it for 40k miles, I doubt it’s an issue. I would assume they used Honda and forget I said anything.

personally, I am very, very anal about things like this, so I would drop the pan to get 99% of the fluid out, change the filter, etc. but that is way overboard. Even having the thought of mixing fluids is something most people wouldn’t think of, and probably would never notice.

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