Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 28

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

OIL CHANGE

As a stopgap, some
dealerships store
0W-16 engine oil in
portable tanks

 Switch to thinner lubricant offers benefits,
poses challenges to service departments
JEFF YIP

S

foj@autonews.com

ervice departments at U.S. Toyota
and Honda dealerships are wielding
a slick weapon in the battle for better
fuel economy and lower emissions:
thinner engine oil.
Both automakers are adopting 0W-16 oil for
use in some North American cars, and are
working with their dealerships on the transition. Nissan is testing the synthetic lubricant
for use in some U.S. and Canadian vehicles.
Compared with 0W-20, the oil it is replacing,
0W-16 flows more easily at higher temperatures. That reduces friction, allowing engine
parts to work more efficiently.
Hydraulic systems also work better, proponents say, and emissions are reduced. Some
automakers are eyeing even thinner 0W-8 oil,
in use in some overseas markets.
The crankcases of Dynamic Force direct-injection, four-cylinder engines in the 2018 Toyota Camry are filled with 0W-16. Honda is using
the oil in its 2017 Accord Hybrid.

Toyota partnerships
Toyota and Honda are working with dealers
to promote 0W-16 in engines designed for the
thinner lubricant.
Hiroyuki Tsuboi, deputy chief engineer for
midsize product planning at Toyota Motor
Corp., told Fixed Ops Journal that the automaker plans to ensure that service departments have the oil on hand. The 2018 Camry
arrived in showrooms last month.
Jonathan Boswell, the team leader for training specialists at Southeast Toyota Distributors' technical center in Jacksonville, Fla., says
that use of 0W-16 is "one of the biggest learning pieces" for service technicians who will
work on the 2018 Camry.
The training center conveys information
from Toyota engineers to techs at 176 dealerships in Florida, North Carolina, Alabama,
Georgia and South Carolina. Instruction in
0W-16 oil use is provided online, Boswell says.
Longo Toyota, in the Los Angeles suburb of
El Monte, Calif., has ordered its first pallet of
Toyota's branded 0W-16 at $4.08 a quart - the
same price as 0W-20, says Jose Uribe, fixed

PAGE 28

AUGUST 2017

Sweet 16

0W-16 oil flows more easily at high
engine temperatures than the OW-20
it replaces. Used in Japan for about
20 years, 0W-16 is starting to show
up in U.S. vehicles such as the 2018
Toyota Camry. It offers these
advantages
 Reduces friction in pistons,
bearings and valves
 Increases engine efficiency and
fuel economy
 Contributes to reduced fuel
consumption, thus fewer emissions
 Enables hydraulically operated
systems, such as variable valve
timing, to work better

operations director.
A pallet has 168 six-quart cases; that's enough
for more than 200 oil changes, Uribe says.
When Longo customers start to bring in their
2018 four-cylinder Camrys for oil changes, the
dealership will charge them the same amount
- now $72.88 - as they do the owners of 2017
Camrys that use 0W-20, Uribe adds.
He says he expects no difficulty persuading
Camry owners to use the superslick oil. "The
biggest issue we had was in convincing customers to use synthetic oil and go 10,000 miles
between oil changes, and we've already
crossed that hurdle," Uribe says.
David Lee, a product training specialist in
the Denver region of Toyota Motor Sales
U.S.A. Inc., says he expects the cost of 0W-16
to come down once it becomes available in
bulk and more vehicles adopt its use.
ToyotaCare, the automaker's maintenance
program for new vehicles sold in the United
States, covers oil changes for the first two
years or 25,000 miles.
At Don McGill Toyota in suburban Houston,
switching to 0W-16 is "a little bit of a challenge," says Service Manager Chad Mahaffey.
The dealership will store the oil in portable
25-gallon metal tanks, along with keeping it
on hand in quart bottles. Eventually, the service department will provide permanent stor-

age for 0W-16, with plumbing and metered
dispensers, Mahaffey says.

Honda, Nissan gear up
Honda started using 0W-16 in Japan and Europe in 2008. It recommends that its U.S. dealers use 0W-16 instead of 0W-20 in the 2017
Accord Hybrid.
Using 0W-16 improves fuel efficiency without sacrificing engine performance, says Bob
Proctor, principal engineer at Honda R&D
Americas Inc. and a veteran in the development of engine oil and specifications.
James Herzog, the service manager at College Hills Honda in Wooster, Ohio, says the
switch to 0W-16 in the Accord Hybrid was well
covered in Honda's online training classes.
"Even the sales classes talk about it," Herzog
adds. The dealership's website offers Honda-branded 0W-16 for $8.61 a quart.
As Nissan North America prepares to use
0W-16 in some vehicles, the company's vice
president of aftersales, Wally Burchfield, notes
that "most manufacturers are pushing the envelope of what you can do with internal combustion engines."
Not all automakers embrace 0W-16.
General Motors says the current version of
its branded engine oil, dexos1, meets the
needs of advanced turbocharged engines and
exceeds industry standards, according to Ashwin Medhekar, an engine oil specialist with
ACDelco, a GM parts brand.
Robert Boss, a manager in Ford Motor Co.'s
dealer and customer service division, says
Ford "has no plans to launch an engine that
uses 0W-16 engine oil at this time." 



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017

Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017
Contents
Need a lift
Tire track
Mobility devices
Times to recall
Slick trick
Fatal fire
Players club
Online parts
Lean inventory
Loyalty test
Patent pending
Open minded
Editor’s Letter
Service Counter
Legal Lane
Richard Truett
Feedback
Five Minutes With
Letters
Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Intro
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Cover2
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Contents
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Editor’s Letter
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 5
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Service Counter
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 7
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Legal Lane
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 9
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 10
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Need a lift
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Tire track
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 13
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 14
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 15
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 16
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 17
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Mobility devices
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 19
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 20
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 21
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 22
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 23
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Times to recall
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 25
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 26
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 27
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Slick trick
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 29
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fatal fire
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Richard Truett
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Players club
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 33
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Online parts
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 35
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Lean inventory
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 37
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Loyalty test
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 39
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Patent pending
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 41
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Feedback
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Open minded
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Five Minutes With
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Letters
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Cover3
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