Man Buys Mobil 1 Oil At AutoZone. Then They Gave Him Two Different Kinds: ‘I Guess There’s Different Colors’

It’s the small details that can sometimes really trip you up. In the case of a technician who was changing the oil on a Cadillac Escalade, he realized in real time that AutoZone sent him two different types of oil.

For TikTok creator Perri’s Mechanics (@perris.mechanics), an answer about the advisability of this maneuver is possibly found in his video’s comment section. After he’s poured five quarts of Mobile 0W-20 oil into his tank, from a five quart bottle, he grabs the next bottle. It’s smaller, and instead of yellow oil, the liquid is green.

Can You Mix Different Types of Oil?

“So, I guess there’s green oil, bruh,” Perri says as he turns a quart container marked 0W-20 toward the screen. But this smaller container has a slightly different label. In the lower right hand corner there’s a designation, “dexos-D,” it reads.

The Mobil 1 diesel oil is green: this is a deliberate design choice. The green tint is achieved when a blue dye is introduced to the yellow oil. It’s added to make it possible to safely trace fluid movement. Though some suggest there’s also a quality-control component: to prevent oil techs from adding a lesser oil.

The oil change Perri is doing is for his personal vehicle, so he’s not worried about an irate customer, but he is curious enough to ask fellow users to weigh in. In the caption he writes, “AutoZone brought me two different types of oils. Do you think it’s bad for the car?”

The response was forceful but no consensus emerged. The one person who identified themselves as an expert was not even a little bit worried, however.

“Totally fine don’t let anyone tell you different. I’ve done thousand of oil changes. Lots of vehicles had mixed oil,” wrote DamonStevens12.

But others couldn’t disagree more. Sterlingarcher8080 said, “Zero? You put Zero w20, you're gonna mess up your truck. 10w30 always.”

“You shouldn’t mix oils. It’s a lot deeper than just viscosity,” agreed therealsleazyp.martini. But no further explanation was given.

Then narouzfady got to the real issue: will the vehicle be okay? He said, “it’ll run fine for the interval of the change.”

An Easy Mistake To Make

As Perri shows both the five quart and the single quart bottle to the camera, it’s easy to see how an AutoZone employee might grab the wrong bottle off of the shelf. With the exception of the “dexosD” versus “dexos1” designations on the bottles, they look the same.

So what happens now? A quick survey of auto care forums yields a tentative consensus: oil weight matters more than additives. Especially in the short run.

The weight of an oil is essentially its viscosity. “It represents the oil’s ability to flow at low temperatures and keep its protective properties at high temperatures,” Valvoline explains. You can read the weight of an oil by looking at the letters and numbers on the bottle.

For example, in the case of  0W-20 oil, that means it can get very thin to run in colder temperatures. The “W” stands for winter, and the lower the number, the thinner the oil can get and still work. The number 20 refers to how thick the oil will be at an engine’s normal operating temperature (typically around 212 degrees Fahrenheit). So when adding multiple bottles of oil to an engine, it is best if the weights match.

However, that doesn’t mean you should wholly disregard which oil you’re supposed to use for the engine. Expert Mark Nyholm says that diesel oil can be used in gasoline engines and some drivers prefer it. “Though they’re designed for diesel applications, they can be used in gasoline applications for those drivers who want to use one oil in all applications,” he wrote.

Nyholm strongly cautions people to read the labels. The American Petroleum Institute (API) publishes its “C” category of specifications for diesel oil (currently CK-4) and its “S” category for gasoline motor oil (currently SP). “If the diesel oil carries both specs, the oil is safe to use in diesel and gas applications. If the diesel oil does not carry the ‘S’ category, I strongly recommend against using it in gasoline applications,” he said.

It should go without saying to always start by checking your vehicle’s owner’s manual and the oil cap. It will tell you the weight of oil that will give your vehicle its best performance and longest life.

As for Perri’s situation, it’s highly probable that the 0W-20 weight oil will treat his Escalade just fine. Perhaps he was just getting oily for engagement.

Motor1 reached out to Perri via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post. We reached out to AutoZone via their email. We will update this if either reply.