Conflicting Oil Standards in Owners Manual

[Mchurch52]

I just took my truck in for its 2nd oil change (12,000 flawless miles, I love this truck). The first time the dealership put Rotella in and it took quite a bit of back and forth getting FCA to work with the dealership to identify the proper oil. I had to take my truck back in to have them swap the Rotella for Pennzoil Platinum Euro.

Fast forward to today and I'm watching the techs to make sure they had the right oil this time (same two techs as last time), when out they come with a case of Rotella T6. I ran over to the guy at the service desk and told him he needed to stop the techs and get the right oil. He disappeared for about 20 minutes, then finally came back with a case of MOPAR MaxPro 5W40 (68231020AA). The tech apparently didn't understand what was wrong with the T6, because he threw his arms up and shook his head (they're both 5W40, what's the problem...).

I cut them some slack the first time due to conflicting guidance in the owner's manual, but they were corrected on it at the time and the manual has since been updated. Again, makes me wonder how many Gen 3 trucks are running around with the wrong oil in them.

 

[Rebelguy2020]

I know it is confusing what the owners manual states for the oil but I don’t think that the euro oil is appropriate for the 3rd generation ECODIESEL. This is on the mopar website. The first image of 5w40 Pennzoil Platinum European formula shown is for the old 2.8 diesel that was in the Jeep Liberty and other gas engines. The other image shows the 5w40 Shell Rotella T6 and says approved for the Cummins diesel but doesn’t show the 3 litre V6 Vm Motori Eco Diesel. Still confusing, but there is no other option of synthetic 5w40 oil.

 

[Mchurch52]

The updated owner's manual for the Gen 3 Ecodiesel recommends oil meeting MS-12991/API SN. There are a bunch of oils meeting that spec besides the Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40. Unfortunately, Rotella T6 does not meet that spec. On the MOPAR site the MOPAR MaxPro 5W-40 (part no. 68231020AA) is listed as the proper oil for the 2020 Ecodiesel.

2020-2021 Mopar 5w40 Engine Oil 68524020AA | My Mopar Parts

2020-2021 Mopar part # 68524020AA - 5w40 Engine Oil

www.mymoparparts.com

 

[Rebelguy2020]

This is so confusing, mopar #68321020 oil 5w40 is for all gasoline engines and flex fuel engines, it does not say Diesel engines. The complete list of 5w40, Mopar, Shell and Pennzoil.

 

[ssgtprice5]

I agree, I pick my 2021 diesel up next Thursday and will read through the supplement. I still think rotella t6 is better. My question still stands what is the difference between the two engines that makes them change the oil. It was pennzoil euro low ash 2014 -2016 then shell rotella t6 2016 to ??? Now pennzoil again. I just know that my 2016 eco diesel at 36175 miles crater the engine running pennzoil, metal all in the oil and oil pan it sounded like an old Cummins loud and the whole vehicle shook with it. Shortly after they sent out a techincal bulletin to change to shell rotella t6 5w40

 

[ssgtprice5]

I did find this list of oils that meet ms-12991 and api sn
I haven’t look at them to verify, but if anyone is interested it’s a good starting point. Since the manual says an oil that meets those standards

 

[WXman]

So after 9 pages of hashing out why they switched to API SN oils that are low or low-mid SAPS, we're back to questioning whether or not Rotella is better again?

Sigh.........

 

[JGRaider]

So after 9 pages of hashing out why they switched to API SN oils that are low or low-mid SAPS, we're back to questioning whether or not Rotella is better again?

Sigh.........

Yeah.......repeating the same old stuff over and over again gets old, huh WXman?

I'll trust what Amsoil says/recs over anything these clowns at the dealerships think.

 

[WXman]

Yeah.......repeating the same old stuff over and over again gets old, huh WXman?

I'll trust what Amsoil says/recs over anything these clowns at the dealerships think.

Depends on whether it's true and worth repeating, or if it's already been established as not true and gets old.

 

[Aseras]

So after 9 pages of hashing out why they switched to API SN oils that are low or low-mid SAPS, we're back to questioning whether or not Rotella is better again?

Sigh.........

Rotella T6 is an SM oil. It would probably meet SN if it were tested. Most oils are backdated. The only "issue" ( which is also why rotella is so damn good at preventing wear ) with rotella is that it has a high magnesium content. Pennzoil has 2-2.5x as much calcium and much lower magnesium and similar phosphorus levels. The concern is turbo coking and Catalytic convertor/DPF and other emissions system fouling.

Thing is, Rotella is used in practically every diesel engine, with this same equipment with no problems and exceptional, legendary reliability. including the prior ecodiesel AFTER FCA pulled the same BS here for that engine and finally had a stop sale and made everyone switch to rotella for that engine too due to bearing failures ( TSB 18-078-16 and later revisions ).

So anyways I'll say it again. Use whatever your manual says. If you have an old one that says rotella, use it. It's a great oil and IS true low ash oil, low SAPS oil. Many of the oils that have paid to be blessed with the MS-12991 marketing label are mid to high SAPS oils, which is the exact opposite of the stated reasons FCA claims to avoid rotella. TSBs are for dealers. you are not required or expected to know about them. You should only change oils if you are sent a new manual as part of an official recall notification. Until then, Use whatever your manual says.

 

[Rebelguy2020]

On the oil again! I’ve been checking my oil and it’s at the lowest level, did what the manual says, check 5 minutes after a warm engine is stopped, my Rebel is at 9500 km and 42% oil life, and I want to add one litre of oil to bring it to the full mark, so I just got off the phone with my dealer and he said to use Shell Rotella T6 5w40, he also said they have 5 litre jugs for $62, that’s $12.40/litre, I paid $123 for 18.9 litres on sale at Parts Source, that’s $6.50/litre. I asked the price for the oil filter and it’s $90, and said it went down from $140. I saw on the Canadian Mopar site the filter was around $65. I will shop around and bring the dealer my filter and my oil, I will only pay for labour and environmental fees.

 

[Sascwatch]

On the oil again! I’ve been checking my oil and it’s at the lowest level, did what the manual says, check 5 minutes after a warm engine is stopped, my Rebel is at 9500 km and 42% oil life, and I want to add one litre of oil to bring it to the full mark, so I just got off the phone with my dealer and he said to use Shell Rotella T6 5w40, he also said they have 5 litre jugs for $62, that’s $12.40/litre, I paid $123 for 18.9 litres on sale at Parts Source, that’s $6.50/litre. I asked the price for the oil filter and it’s $90, and said it went down from $140. I saw on the Canadian Mopar site the filter was around $65. I will shop around and bring the dealer my filter and my oil, I will only pay for labour and environmental fees.

This once again shows the lack of communication within FCA and it’s dealer network. What haven’t ALL dealers been updated on this? @RamCares

 

[WXman]

If you have an old one that says rotella, use it. It's a great oil and IS true low ash oil, low SAPS oil. Many of the oils that have paid to be blessed with the MS-12991 marketing label are mid to high SAPS oils, which is the exact opposite of the stated reasons FCA claims to avoid rotella.

I've been looking at SAPS levels on the MS-12991 oils that people are commonly using and almost all of them I've looked up so far are in the 0.8 to 1.1 range. Pennzoil is one of the lower ones. Castrol is at 1.1.

When I looked up Rotella T6 it's right at a 1.0. So as far as SAPS goes it appears that Rotella and the 5W40 API SN oils are all pretty much the same.

Apparently Rotella was reformulated somewhere along the way to reduce it's sulphated ash content. I can't say exactly when that change occurred but it was likely shortly after the DPF became common equipment.