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Engine Oil Viscosity vs. Oil Specification - STJLR.51.5122
I prefer to service my cars myself and generally have looked at the owner's manual for engine oil specs when purchasing the correct motor oil for my vehicles. In reviewing the owner's manual I noted that the F-Pace requires SAE 0W-20 (synthetic) which is readily available at local stores by various brands. I did notice however that the manual goes further and says the oil needs to meet "STJLR.51.5122". Some of the Major Oil brands found locally do not reference this specification on the bottle. While I'm happy to try to find oil that is made to this exact specification (and will not just pour any oil in), I was wondering if anyone on the forum had any insight on what this specification actually means. Prior to the F-Pace I was typically using the correct viscosity/oil type and never ran into any problems.
Are you out of warranty? if so you can probably go ahead and use any good quality oil you are comfortable with, i doubt there is any secret sauce in the Jag spec oil.
I am out of warranty on the F-Pace as of a few months ago. Further to your statement, I am not sure what special additives are required for a Jaguar F-Pace only engine which the rest of the automotive engines with 0W-20 would be missing. I do know that sometimes certain brands (in this case) Castrol has a partnership therefore they promote their own brands.
Apparently, Castrol 0W-20 with STJLR.51.5122 is very hard to find. Even Mobil1 ESP X2 no longer has the Jaguar approval on it. I guess JLR does not want us DIYers do our OCIs. Motul & Ravenol are the only ones left with 0W-20 with STJLR.51.5122 approval but a little pricey.
I did some research online on the oil experts at BITOG, what is recommended is Castrol Edge 0W-20 EP that has ACEA C5 approval to it. According to them, this is the closest factory fill available on the market.
My XF is still under warranty, so I am going to use Motul or Ravenol with STJLR.51.5122
Jaguar recommend CASTROL ..... other oils are available if you are prepared to do the research.
Having recently purchased a 2017 F-Pace, I was also interested to find the 'right' engine oil. The first hurdle is JLR shielding this information behind their own specification reference STJLR.51.5122
Members will know JLR recommend Castrol oils and for the F-Pace this is Castrol Edge Professional 0w20. The answer is still not straighforward as this grade is available in a variety of blends. The one for F-Pace is Castrol EDGE Professional EC 0w-20:
JLR are not alone in this as both Honda and VAG have similar marque specific blends of the same Castrol 0w20 grade. Here's the Data Sheet:
Does Castrol EDGE Professional EC 0w-20 have mystical properties or additional content absolutely critical to avoid engine wear or damage? Extremely unlikely and there will be equivalents from other oil manufacturers for parts of the World where the Castrol product is not available. e.g. Fuchs, Motul and Millers full synthetics of the same grade. The Owner's Handbook is different for such markets giving alternative specifications for all fluids:
Still the question why are JLR so proscriptive about engine oil? I found two reasons:
1. it contains a chemical tracer which assists in leak detection
2. the engine is very sensitive to ambient temperature at cold start
It doesn't take much thought to realise (1) also allows JLR to confirm their recommended oil has been used in the event of warranty claims!
The cold start issue (2) was identified in a 2014 Technical Bulletin JTB00288NAS1 (see attachment). It states: The engine may require extended cranking or fail to start under cold (-4°F / -20°C and lower) ambient temperature conditions.
I may be overly suspicious but I suspect JLR are concerned about bore wear and loss of compression. Memories of the Nikasil fiasco of the late 1990's have not gone away!
I would like to use an oil with the certification. It is much harder to shop for oil here in Canada vs. USA given the ability to order online. There is an extremely limited online presence of Auto parts/lube stores. Mobil 1 ESP X2 is easily found however as stated, if the certification is no longer in place, I will look for Liqui Moly, Motul or Ravenol. Castrol Edge is almost impossible.
When you're in warranty, it's a good idea to stay with the specified oil. If nothing else, it has a special dye that can be used to isolate leaks (and tells if you're using something else).
If you're out of warranty, check out FCP Euro for a good kit and free replacements...
Apparently, Castrol 0W-20 with STJLR.51.5122 is very hard to find. Even Mobil1 ESP X2 no longer has the Jaguar approval on it. I guess JLR does not want us DIYers do our OCIs. Motul & Ravenol are the only ones left with 0W-20 with STJLR.51.5122 approval but a little pricey.
I did some research online on the oil experts at BITOG, what is recommended is Castrol Edge 0W-20 EP that has ACEA C5 approval to it. According to them, this is the closest factory fill available on the market.
My XF is still under warranty, so I am going to use Motul or Ravenol with STJLR.51.5122