Used Oil Analysis - 30k to 40k

That must be Toyota oil? I see the cSt @100 C is about 7, Mobil 1 usually runs about 8. Aluminum in my two samples was 5 and 6, yours at 7 doesn't seem that high to me.

I would challenge that technician to show you his documents requiring a 6K to 8K oil change interval. I think, based on our UOA reports, we could go to 12K or even 15K with no problems. Of course there could be warranty problems with longer intervals.

 

You can't argue with good results, though. You now have documentation telling you to go to 11,000 miles ;-)

If you haven't heard of bobistheoilguy.com, take a look. Post these results there, and you'll get plenty of comments...

 

The computer system the guy has is probably OnDemand5 or Alldata. The accuracy of the info in those systems can be questionable sometimes.

Your UOA looks OK, but note how much the oil has thinned out due to the fuel. Blackstone uses closed cup testing (IIRC) for fuel dilution so the actual fuel content is substantially higher. So, this UOA reinforces my theory that these hybrids DO have a fuel dilution issue that must be watched.

Which local shop are you using in Pleasanton?

 

6000-8000 is an odd range. A quick lube is going to recommend 3000-5000, so I don't think there was any profit-seeking motive in the recommended range. I could see 7500, that being the interval spec'd by Honda when they first came out with 0w20. If you look at it another way, by making a conservative interval recommendation, the shop is less likely to see the customer come in at 100K miles with a main bearing knock.

 

Very familiar with Precision. My dad had his 84 Civic worked on by them for many years when he worked in Pleasanton.

MB860 ?

 

I read "trace," while in spec is less than 2%.

 

It depends on the testing method. Blackstone method is not accurate. The shearing tells the story, usually M1 stays in the mid to high 7 cST range.

MB860 ?

 

It can change them a good bit. My 2nd oil change & analysis showed higher fuel dilution and i'd only let the car complete the initial warm up cycle. By running the car to full operating temperature it allows the excess fuel dilution to burn off. When I did my last oil change, it was back within normal ranges because I'd driven it and warmed it up.

 

Blackstone is a well regarded lab and they certainly follow established testing methods. We've sent samples to Blackstone and two other quality labs of the same sample of oil and have found all tested resuts to be VERY close And we've done that on more than one occasion to verify the accuracy and closeness of the resuts.

In our observations, there is no reason to make a statement that
they are "inaccurate." !!

There will always be slight variances, but that is to be expected.

 

This definitely has an effect, but that alone would not cause the oil to thin as much as it did.

What oil was this? I am guessing that it was the API SN version of Toyota 0W20?

It is inaccurate, though I somewhat agree that misleading may be a more accurate description.

My understanding is that Blackstone is using an open cup style test for fuel dilution, which is not accurate. Some labs, such as the one Dyson Analysis contracts with, uses a closed cup testing method which more accurately measures the fuel dilution in the oil. I am not familiar with the technical details of the test, but reports where closed cup testing was done always shows a significantly higher percentage of fuel in the oil.

There is more info in this thread, and probably lots more info on it throughout the internet: I am Tired of Hearing About Fuel Dilution Thinning - Bob Is The Oil Guy

Regardless, the discussion of the fuel dilution may be a moot point since the oil is still doing an adequate job of protecting the engine, as it shows-- at least under the OP's conditions. However, I am not sure what the long-term effects are, for this level of fuel dilution. Clearly this amount of shearing will result in less engine protection under certain conditions, but it may or may not be relevant depending on the individual driver. Still, I think this and other UOAs shows that Toyota's 10k oil change intervals are likely adequate (maybe not ideal) for most conditions.

 

NO ! Blackstones open cup procedure is NOT inaccurate at all. And nothing in the link you provided ( except the OPINION of one person with an issue ) proves otherwise. Note that Bruce ( Molecule ) states that closed cup may be the "preferred" method, but the test MUST BE CALIBRATED TO THE SPECIFIC OIL BEING TESTED. According to
Savant, this is rarely done.

In addition, Gary Allen listed flashpoints done by both Blackstone
and Dyson and the were only 10 degrees off, well within testing tolerances.

In our own comparision testing, flashpoints and fuel dilution by Blackstone and other labs were almost spot on with just .02 to .03 variance. Hardly "inaccurate!"

 

SN or SM ? SN GP 5 is the new formulation.

 

Everything in the report indicates the engine is fine. The more interesting thing to me is how much the report tells you about the oil. I use AMSOIL (0W-20 or 0W-30 depending on the car) and there are some significant differences with AMSOIL.
1) The TBN of AMSOIL is significantly higher (4.57) for longer life. The 2.6 in the oil you have is rather low for a long endurance oil. Depending on how long you want to have the oil last this may be a factor. For 10k miles it probably is not, but for significantly longer, there are better choices.
2) The Molybdenum and Boron additives are really higher in this oil than what I have in AMSOIL. Note that all synthetics are NOT equal and a long life synthetic is a different oil than your usual auto store synthetic.
3) The trace of fuel in your report is not even worthy of a comment. There is always a trace of fuel in the oil. It's when it becomes measurable that you can see where you stand. When I run an oil for really long life, I can see fuel percentages up to above 2% at the end of the oil life.
4) The lab I use (Oil Analyzers) provides Silicon, Oxidation, and Nitration feedback. I find these very useful in determining when to change oils.

Note that I run oils for 15000 to 25000 miles.....but only because I can track oil/engine results with exact reporting of where I stand.