I've just returned from my loacal Scooby Dealer having just serviced my car. As usual I requested that Mobil 1 Oil be used for the Oil change. I was informed today that Subaru UK have issued a communication to all dealers that Mobil 1 should NOT be used. Has anybody else heard of this ? Also where would those of us who have fed our cars Mobil 1 stand with regards Engine Warranty ?

 

The subject was raised many months ago on the IWOC mailing list, with communications between owners, dealers, Mobil and Subaru UK taking place back then.

It re-materialised a month or two later on here when it was raised by someone new to the BBS and not on the mailing list, by which time it seems that the subject has been investigated in some detail by both Subaru UK, Fuji HI in Japan and possibly Mobil. This was probably the catalyst for the memo being sent out recently.

 

Am I the only person who thinks it strange that this memo has only appeared a short space of time after the subject first cropped up on this BBS?

Possibly even as a result of it?

 

Call me an old cynic, but I reckon this sort of stuff has more to do with tie ups between motor manufacturers and oil companies than the technical merits/de-merits of the oils themselves.

You know the sort of stuff..

"Peugeot recommend Shell lubricants"

"Only use Valvoline in your Dagenham Dustbin"

"Your Yamaha warranty will only remain valid if you use the recommended Motul lubricants".

The Yamaha and Peugeot are real examples from vehicles I have owned. In the case of the Yamaha (an FZR1000) I found out there were different lubricants specified in other european countries!

 

Doesn't Peugeot recommend Total oil? Anyway which oil company sponsors Prodrive in their WRC programme? It's likely that that brand will be the recommended oil.

 

The Peugeot was a 1992 car. I guess they have changed their allegiance.

 

without wishing to sound toooo boring, all I want to know is whether my STI V is gonna crash and burn (actually the other way round) if I feed it mobil 1..... Now can anybody answer that question without deviation, repetition, or hesitation?

there I am, close to the rev limit, wondering about my poor little engine now.....

 

My dealer in Australia said that Mobil was not recommended due to the 0W cold rating. They recommend Shell synthetic because it retains a 15W rating when cold.

 

Geoff, we don't get the 0W stuff here in Australia. We get the Mobil 1 5W-50.

One of the service guys at my Suby dealer said "The recommended oil is Shell, but I think you should use Mobil 1".

I think you should change dealers.

 

Guys
Posting recently recived on the IWOC..


message from Subaru technical service ( I happened to stumble across) From
John Baker no 1-1B-015 27/1/99

Subaru UK technical department have recently been receiving a large number
of queries from both the Subaru dealer Network and Subaru Turbo owners,
relating to the use of Mobil 1 0w-40w engine oil and the companies official
policy regarding its use in our 2.0 Turbo engine.
The only engine oil specifications we would recommend for use in the 2.0
Turbo engine are oil grade APIclassification SG, SJ, SH, SAE viscosity
10w-30, 10w-40. Using a SAE 5w-30w or lower viscosity for the Turbo models
is not recommended, as stated on page 10-14,10-15 of the Impreza owners
handbook A1790GE page 10-14, 10-15.

So their you are , if all else fails RTFM.

Hope this assists, oils were getting boring!

and second mail.............


From: "Darren Soothill" <darren@soothill.com>

I have just been talking to Power Engineering who are going to give my car
its first service and they have recommended the use of Mobil one 15-50W as
they say that they have found the others too thin for the cosworths they
have dealt with in the past.

I then went to Mobil's web site and found this statement about 15-50W

http://www.mobil.com/oneracing/about/products/engineoil/15w_50/index.html

"15W-50 is perfect for hot-running or heavily loaded vehicles and special
high tech imported cars"

And as we dont get very cold conditions in the UK which is where a lower
rated oil such as 0W-30 comes in then I think this is certainly the right
oil to have in the car over summer.

 

Ian,
1) what did you expect to find being discussed on a thread entitled, Mobil 1 Motor Oil........

2) What if you don't have an FM to R?

 

Service car last week used mobil 1, thought this would be a good make to use, 7 days later, spun a bearing. Thats 1 week, now need engine rebuild and had mobil 1 0-40 don't use any mobil, i say.
any body here what make and ratings you use.

 

Dean,

Who did the oil change.? Mobil 1 may not be the preferred oil on here but there's not much wrong with it and I have used it in the past with no problems on 03STi which is ragged rotten and tracked, now on Motul 5W-40 for ultimate protection. More likely to be issues with not prefilling the filter and turning engine on starter only to fill oilways. Dealer may be at fault, hard to prove.

 

i DID IT MYSELF DUE TO MY OTHER SCOOB BEEN SERVICED AT DEALER, 1 WEEK LATER PISTONS GONE. NOW IT CAN ONLY BE THE WRONG GRADE, I LOK AFTER MY CAR AND SERVICE IT MYSELF TO MAKE SURE NOTHING IS GOING TO BE MISTED. BUT AFTER MY SERVICE SPUN A BEARING, I WAS GIVING IT SOME BUT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. ITS A SUBARU FOR OOD SAKE, IF AFTER THE REBUILD AND I HAVE A FAILER AGAIN, I WILL MOVE ON TO A CAR THAT DONT LET YOU DOWN.
AFTER LOOKING ON HERE MONEY MORE PEOPLE SAY MOBILE 1 0-40 IS A BIG NO NO.
THANKS

 

A few years ago, Subaru approved Mobil1 5w/40 (not generally available) for use by dealers when owners specified a full synthetic oil. I know of a dealer who refused to use the Mobil1 0/40 supplied by the customer for a service.
JohnD

 

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pmsl

 

that bulletin is 9 years old!