Using thicker oil in 2022 Tahoe 5.3L Engine

[ZKWBQD]

My 22 Tahoe has a 5.3L engine. It's now out of warranty. I've never liked the EPA forced 0-20W oil. I would like to start using 5-30W oil. I'm curious if anyone has done something similar and if the dealer objected to doing the work.

 

[2024 White Tahoe]

My 22 Tahoe has a 5.3L engine. It's now out of warranty. I've never liked the EPA forced 0-20W oil. I would like to start using 5-30W oil. I'm curious if anyone has done something similar and if the dealer objected to doing the work.

Why don’t you like the 0-W-20 oil?

How did you determine the EPA forced GM to use / recommend 0-W-20 oil?

 

[Marky Dissod]

1. Lake Speed Jr does a far better job of explaining, but as to why we prefer 0W30 / 5W30 / 0W40 / 5W40:
@ operating temp, 0W20 / 5W20 is thinner than the other four I mentioned.
Under load, 0W20 is more likely than the other four to get squeezed out from between two metal surfaces.

'LIKE' as such has nothing to do with it.

2. The EPA didn't FORCE any car companies to do anything,
but they apply coercive pressure.

Every car company gets judged by the aggregate fuel economy of ALL the vehicles they sell.
0W20 will always get better MpGs than the other four motor oil grades in whatever engine,
so GM is incentivized to use 0W20 whenever reasonably possible.
'vette owners whinge too loudly and are willing to pay premiums for everything including 93 octane,
but many people will buy a Navigator instead of an Escalade on account of MpGs (and vice versa),
so 0W20 it is.

Plenty'd use 0W30 / 5W30 / 0W40 / 5W40 instead of 0W20 if they understood motor oil better,
but if they don't have the patience or time to wield the Magnuson Moss Act,
they wind up defending 0W20 without getting paid to do so.

 

[ZKWBQD]

1. Lake Speed Jr does a far better job of explaining, but as to why we prefer 0W30 / 5W30 / 0W40 / 5W40:
@ operating temp, 0W20 / 5W20 is thinner than the other four I mentioned.
Under load, 0W20 is more likely than the other four to get squeezed out from between two metal surfaces.

'LIKE' as such has nothing to do with it.

2. The EPA didn't FORCE any car companies to do anything,
but they apply coercive pressure.

Every car company gets judged by the aggregate fuel economy of ALL the vehicles they sell.
0W20 will always get better MpGs than the other four motor oil grades in whatever engine,
so GM is incentivized to use 0W20 whenever reasonably possible.
'vette owners whinge too loudly and are willing to pay premiums for everything including 93 octane,
but many people will buy a Navigator instead of an Escalade on account of MpGs (and vice versa),
so 0W20 it is.

Plenty'd use 0W30 / 5W30 / 0W40 / 5W40 instead of 0W20 if they understood motor oil better,
but if they don't have the patience or time to wield the Magnuson Moss Act,
they wind up defending 0W20 without getting paid to do so.

Thanks for these comments. I did not want to get into the debate about what grade of oil is best. I'm trying to see if there's anyone here that's had the DEALER put in a different oil viscosity than the one originally recommended.

 

[Sgt1411]

My dealer Service Adviser told me they are mandated by GM to use recommended oil and they have no choice. When I asked about doing it myself I was told they recommend against it but if its done it would have to be shown to be the cause of any issues. Given that its so new and under warranty I wont be going against the recommendations of the GM Engineers. But I enjoy learning more about oil here.

 

[West 1]

It is out of warranty, my main concern would be longevity. Switch to 5-30 unless you live in very cold area of the country and don’t look back. If your MPG is 17 on 0-20 it may change to 16.95. It is not like you will suddenly get 15 rather than 17 mpg. You will never notice and your engine will be a little better protected. If you are in a hot state like AZ I would consider 5-40 in summer months and 5-30 in winter.

Same for differentials, they used to all run 140 in the rear axles but now it is 75-90W. The 140 offers a little better protection against wear.

 

[SpareParts]

I found it interesting when Lake Speed mentioned how the same vehicles will have different oil recommended in other countries without the EPA.

 

[jfoj]

As mentioned, the dealer will not likely deviate from what the manufacturer requires.

But do what you want.

5W30 or 0W40 will not hurt anything. I dumped 0W20 at 544 miles and have not looked back. Have almost 10k miles on the vehicle and will be performing my 4th oil change very soon.

These are 6000 lb trucks, not some 3000 lb compact with a 4 cylinder, 0W20 is really borderline for the application, especially when hauling loads or towing.

A lot of people drink the 0W20 punch, not in my world. My 2005 Vortec 6.0 has 275,000+ miles running on mostly 5W30, but soon to be running on 10W30/10W40/0W40 due the wear on the engine at this point. As many engines get up in mileage you often need to increase the oil viscosity to compensate for increased bearing clearances due to engine wear.

 

[GMCnewbee]

The oil science is great, but here is a real world story. I had a 1979 Chevy Malibu Wagon with the small V8 (267 CI?) On a very hot summer road trip in 1987 she was running way hot, and I stopped to replace the upper radiator hose. The oil looked like black water. I think I had 10W-30 in it. I did an oil and filter change to 50W racing oil. She purred like a kitten all the way up the East Coast and back to Miami. After that I used 20W-50 and had no engine trouble at all until she was sold with 170k miles.

 

[fondupot]

5W30 will be fine in the both V8's. If I was out of warranty I would consider running it as well.

 

[B-train]

My 22 Tahoe has a 5.3L engine. It's now out of warranty. I've never liked the EPA forced 0-20W oil. I would like to start using 5-30W oil. I'm curious if anyone has done something similar and if the dealer objected to doing the work.

Just use 5w-30 full synthetic and call it a day. My 2017 specifies 0w-20 garbage. I haven't used it since I bought it and I do my own service. I did have some free oil changes and I just told the service writer I wanted 5w-30. No red flags or blaring sirens, they just put it in. Got 177k and am fine.

Give your motor what it needs to have a long life. Plus, if they say anything, which they won't, just say you want to be proactive because of all the 6.2L failures and going to a thicker oil. Don't overthink it, it's just a motor........I doesn't have feelings, or give a shit. I just runs better on proper inputs.

 

[viven44]

Let us know what your dealer says about 5W-30... but they will likely play it safe. What they make off oil changes isn't worth paying for a new engine just in case something happens so they may deny it..... but it also opens up the door for some strange things (totally unrelated to the oil itself but lets say someone is careless and they botch the job like start the engine without oil or dropping something in the crankcase that clogs up the oil pick-up (its happened before!), they'd have the opportunity to blame it on the oil before you blade it on their workmanship). They may require you to sign a waiver potentially.

If I were you I'd switch to 5W-30 ASAP DIY if possible.... check with other local places like Firestone and Walmart. Even they may refuse to use anything except 0W-20. We live in an unforgiving world.

 

[Ont240]

I have an 07 Tahoe 5.3 flex with 330k KM . it called for 5w30 and that's what it gets with the Amsoil XL. Runs like a top. approx 15-18,000 km between oil changes. Wix oil filter. engine has never been touched.

 

[Anomaly]

I have an 07 Tahoe 5.3 flex with 330k KM . it called for 5w30 and that's what it gets with the Amsoil XL. Runs like a top. approx 15-18,000 km between oil changes. Wix oil filter. engine has never been touched.

Same for me when I owned a 2013 Yukon with the 5.3L. 5w30 was specified and it ran well for me at trade in with 150K miles.

 

[blanchard7684]

5w30 gives a good safety margin for load bearing capacity in the 5.3 during high loads and low rpm ( a scenario that is stressful on engine bearings).

The 0w20 has a slim margin of safety in same scenario.

 

[jerry455]

Chnged my oil from 0W20 last week to 0W40. I was towing last weekend and it was in the 90's around here, so I figured if GM is going to that oil if the engine passes the test, then I might as well start using it. I was using 0W30 since I bought it a year ago. It is a 2021 Suburban HC with 88,000 miles, bought last summer at 70,000 miles. The used 0W20 looked like water draining out of the oil pan. I put it in a month or 2 ago after I got the first letter but after so long I figured heck with it, lets use the better oil.

 

[jfoj]

Wise idea. Sometimes towing can add more fuel to the oil as well do to engine loading. Contrary to everybody's thoughts and ideas 0W40 is not going to hurt anything. Relax it gives you more safety margin. I dumped a factory fill on my engine at 544 miles and I've never looked back. I have 10,000 miles on the truck now and I'll be performing the fourth oil change this week.

I'd rather invest my time and money changing oil more frequently than waiting on the dealer or a shop to replace the engine and be concerned about things going back together correctly because somebody's trying to beat the clock.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I switched to 5w30 in our 5.3 Yukon last oil change. Feels smoother and happier. Did the same last year with my previous 2019 Silverado 1500’s 5.3 with the same results.

Interesting tidbit - I now have a 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota specs 0w16. I ran 0w20 and then last oil change switched it to 5w30. With it being a hybrid the engine goes off and on a lot and I can REALLY tell the start ups are smoother and it runs quieter. I’m 3,000 miles in and can’t tell a noticeable difference in mpg.

 

[jfoj]

0W20 and under is not for your benefit!!!

 

[Z15]

Watch this till the end.........................