2003 Honda Odyssey Synthetic oil or Conventional?

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johnwayneswife

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We are the 2nd owners of a 2003 Honda Odyssey and need to change the oil. We do not know what type or brand of oil has been used in the van previously. We bought the honda filter from the dealer and we know it needs 5W-20 but I keep getting conflicting information. The dealership said use conventional oil but I am told synthetic is better for the life of the engine.
 
Let the oil change people look it up for you. Synthetic oil is expensive, much more than conventional oil. Once you change to Synthetic, you can never go back to conventional without a whole host of tasks, and expense. A regular oil change costs about $35, synthetic is around $60. If the car manufacturer suggests regular oil, use it. The life of the engine depends on your maintenance on it, not an oil type.
 
I have no clue where the person above gets oil changed but new car dealers in Up State NY will change your oil for less than $24.00. I'll also take issue with the totally untrue statement that you can't ever change back from full synthetic to regular motor oil. In a small high temperature gasoline engine full synthetic 5W-20 motor oil will allow the engine to spin over faster on cold Winter mornings. A greater volume of oil reaches critical engine parts faster. More volume of oil cools frictional surfaces more efficiently.

To preserve my new car warranty I lug in my own Mobil1 and let the Toyota dealer change it for $22.00. As soon as 60,000 miles rolls around yours truly will be changing the oil in this car. Actually what I just said can be misleading. Any one can change their own oil even on a new car. The trick is proving with dated receipts for the oil and filter every time you do it! This is necessary should you ever have an engine issue.
 
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