Accidentally added 5W20 engine oil

[babyduke]

Engine oil was a bit low so I added a quart of synthetic oil then realized I bought the wrong one(5W20). I've only had synthetic 5W30 all these years. Would this be a problem or is it ok to wait until the next OC and fill it back up with 5W30?

[crystalworks]

It'll be fine. I used a combination of weights when I first bought my X5. No problems.

[tmv]

Don't loose your sleep over this. It's fine.

[Bmwtvboy]

Actually, the 20 weight refers to temp and cool down. SO, a lighter oil will not adhere to your valves and parts like a 30 weight during full temp operation and during cool down. It's OK, but I wouldn't drive 15K miles on it either.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Bmwtvboy

Actually, the 20 weight refers to temp and cool down. SO, a lighter oil will not adhere to your valves and parts like a 30 weight during full temp operation and during cool down. It's OK, but I wouldn't drive 15K miles on it either.

I wouldn't drive 15k miles on any oil, under any circumstance.

OP, you'll be fine to go your regular service interval. Mine are ~5000-7500 miles depending on the oil I used. 1 quart of mis-matched oil won't hurt anything. Maybe if you were tracking it and frequently seeing extended periods of red lining and the like I'd be more concerned. But as a daily driver... "don't worry, be happy."

[squidzilla]

Geez, worse case the one quart will create new blend of roughly 5 25 or so weight with the rest of the 5 30 that was already in there. People make there own blends all the time on BITOG. No big deal.