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FC · 12-02-2021, 08:17 PM

Now I REALLY feel stupid. My oil change has become a headache.

I've been doing yearly oil changes using Mobil1 EP 5W-20 since the car went out of warranty, or 4 years ago. My last change was 14 months and ~3200 miles ago. Anyhow, I usually have a healthy supply of motor oil, but after draining the oil on Monday I realized I only had 3 quarts left. I poured them down only to find no Walmarts within 100 miles carry it M1 EP 5W-20. I wasn't going to use the LR4 so I figured I'd just order it from amazon. Today the package arrives and I open one of the three 5-quart bottles only to find I am pouring 5W-30. Apparently amazon is out of stock of the 5W-20 and in its infinite wisdom, it thought 5W-30 would work just fine (GRRR). Shame on me for not triple checking.

Anyhow, my LR4 now has 3 quarts of Mobil1 EP 5W-20 and ~1 quart of Mobil1 EP 5W-30.

1) Should I drain what's in there, or should I assume ~1 quart of 5W-30 won't make a difference?
2) Should I hunt for Mobil1 EP 5W-20 to top off, or should I just use Castrol EP 5W-20, which is readily available?
3) If I use Castrol, should I use it to top off the Mobil1 that is in there, or drain and pour only Castrol?

There are endless threads about which oil to put in this car. Technically you are supposed to use unobtanium Castrol Professional blah blah available only through the dealer at the price of a kidney.

Conventional wisdom is that any good oil changed frequently (<5k miles) is just fine. Many, myself included have used M1 EP with no issues.

12-02-2021, 08:17 PM	#9
FC Solving problems Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: M5 / 718 GTS / Cooper S / GTI / LR4 Location: Metro Boston Posts: 25,260	Now I REALLY feel stupid. My oil change has become a headache. I've been doing yearly oil changes using Mobil1 EP 5W-20 since the car went out of warranty, or 4 years ago. My last change was 14 months and ~3200 miles ago. Anyhow, I usually have a healthy supply of motor oil, but after draining the oil on Monday I realized I only had 3 quarts left. I poured them down only to find no Walmarts within 100 miles carry it M1 EP 5W-20. I wasn't going to use the LR4 so I figured I'd just order it from amazon. Today the package arrives and I open one of the three 5-quart bottles only to find I am pouring 5W-30. Apparently amazon is out of stock of the 5W-20 and in its infinite wisdom, it thought 5W-30 would work just fine (GRRR). Shame on me for not triple checking. Anyhow, my LR4 now has 3 quarts of Mobil1 EP 5W-20 and ~1 quart of Mobil1 EP 5W-30. 1) Should I drain what's in there, or should I assume ~1 quart of 5W-30 won't make a difference? 2) Should I hunt for Mobil1 EP 5W-20 to top off, or should I just use Castrol EP 5W-20, which is readily available? 3) If I use Castrol, should I use it to top off the Mobil1 that is in there, or drain and pour only Castrol? There are endless threads about which oil to put in this car. Technically you are supposed to use unobtanium Castrol Professional blah blah available only through the dealer at the price of a kidney. Conventional wisdom is that any good oil changed frequently (<5k miles) is just fine. Many, myself included have used M1 EP with no issues.