2003 Chevy Trailblazer V-6 4WD. I just got the oil changed. I think I made a mistake and told them to put in 10w-30 instead of the 5w-30 that the vehicle was used to. Since then, my SUV has been sputtering and dying as we're driving it. Put down the gas pedal, and it's not wanting to go. Can you tell me what it might be?

I would go with the previous owners seldom changed
the oil & you bought a car with issues your not going to fix

( You checked the oil & it was thick,that told you what I
just said)

But you knew or expected as much,right !!

No vehicle uses 10W-30 oil in the last 25 years

Go with 0W or 5W-20 or 5W-30 & a half quart
of Marvel Mystery Oil

Mobil 1 Full/Syn

After that-- not much you can do except pull it
apart

Generally speaking, we do not make recommendations on products by brand. Any of the brands you mentioned will meet the factory specs.
If the car has over 100,000 miles, you could bump up the weight to 10w-30 or 10w-40. Or stay with the factory recommendation.
The low number is the weight of the oil at zero degrees, and the high number is the weight at 200 degrees.
Keeping the oil and filter changed is more important than the weight.

Engine oil capacity with oil filter replacement = 6.0 litres.

Oil grade for 2001 Audi A4 Quattro 2.8
1. SAE 5W-30 / 5W-40, VW 502.00 - all temperatures.
2. SAE 10W-30 / 10W-40, VW 502.00 - all temperatures.
3. SAE 5W-50, VW 501.01 - all temperatures.
4. SAE 10W-50 / 10W-60, VW 501.01 - all temperatures.
5. SAE 5W-30 / 5W-40, VW 501.01 - bellow +15 Celsius degrees.
6. SAE 10W-30 / 10W-40, VW 501.01 - bellow +15 Celsius degrees.
7. SAE 15W-40 / 15W-50, VW 501.01 - above -15 Celsius degrees.
8. SAE 20W-40 / 20W-50, VW 501.01 - above -15 Celsius degrees.

LONGLIFE engine oil:
1. SAE 5W-30, VW 504.00 - all temperatures.
2. SAE 0W-30, VW 503.00 - all temperatures.


Please do rate my response. Thanks!

You can use 5W 30 (what the manual requests), but these other oils will also work well with that car. I have tried them all and have more than 200,000 miles on my 03 Kia Spectra. The car has no mechanical issues. . . 10W 30, 10W 40. I use 10W 40 in the summer. The trick is to frequently change oil regardless of type and not let the oil go more than about 4,000 miles without an oil and filter change. That is the key to long life for these small motors. If you do that you NEVER will need to flush the motor and I would recommend you never use a commercial motor flush product. If the engine oil gets so dirty you think a flush is needed, then instead use a quart of transmission fluid, drive it for two weeks or 200 miles, then change the oil.

If this is a 88 model,the weight of the oil is correct,if it is a 98 model,then it needs the 5w 30 ,fill the oil filter up with oil before installing,see if that fixes the problem.

Follow the recommendations in the owner's manual or service manual - usually 10w-40 for summer and 5w-30 for winter roughly. Oil that is too viscous makes the engine work harder than necessary. If you want to provide extra "cushion" for tired engine parts, add a bottle of STP oil treatment. This stuff is the best thing for an older engine, as it takes up some of the gap between slightly sloppy tolerances, and it makes the oil adhere to engine parts much better than oil alone. Highly recommended, and doesn't change the oil viscosity characteristics significantly (even though it looks like it would!).

Look on the oil fill cap. Write down what it says then call around to find out who has this class of oil.You might even call the Chevy dealer and ask for the service manager, ask him .I like the Castrol Syntec 10w-30 for my 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo.

I'm surprised a dealership made that mistake. Honda did start making engines to take oil until around 2003. I would go back and have them put the correct oil in the van. 5W-20 is not as thick as 5w-30, so the engine may start to make louder noises down the road. Just stick with 5w-30 for what the engine was made for.

Did your husband's friend say anything about synthetic oil? In my opinion i would never use that light of oil(5-w30) in anything its just to thin, to me its like putting water in the crankcase. The only reason the manufacture recamends it is because of gas milage the thinner the oil the less resistence the engine has to turn over hense better fuel milage. If it were me i would do some resurch on synthetic oil.

Change your Oil immeditely!