Is the oil for a 2013 Ford Fusion synthetic only?

Just went to Pep Boys and wanted a conventional oil change on my car, which takes 5W-20. Apparently their records state that they "can only legally put in synthetic oil" since it's what the manufacturer recommends. The last time I was here they did it with normal oil, no problem. Did I just get screwed?

Ford requires full synthetic oil on some of their turbocharged engines. Your best source of info is your owner's manual. Just understand the difference between "recommended" and "required".

SYNTHETIC OIL is required by MANY car makers! DEXOS 2 is one of them for GM! The use of WAX BASED OILS in many cars will void the warranty! Until I'm told differently, 5W=-20 oil is ALWAYS a synthetic oil! You are best off using Mobil One 0W-20 oil and changing it ONCE a year only! REG OIL ruins every engine it goes into over time! Trust me, I made a living out of de-sludging and tuning BMW, AUDIS and BENZ cars. The use of REG oil in your FUSION will cause loss of economy and power, as SLUDGE and TAR are formed over time! There's NO exceptions, and VALVOLINE is not used by ANY CAR MAKER in ANY factory anywhere on this planet! KIA and HYUNDAI also REQUIRE full synthetics and same for many TOYOTAS< and any car with variable valve timing as well! It makes ZERO sense to use REG wax oil that in tests ALWAYS makes waxy crusty coatings as it deteriorates! The BEST synthetic oils make NO sludge or even acidic vapors and last for up to TWO FULL YEARS< like RAVENOL and LUBRO MOLY! Pennzoil Ultra gives a 15 year 500k mile warranty with it that is OUTSTANDING. There's NO REASON to ever use a REG WAX BASED OIL in any car but a MAZDA ROTARY engine! Read some of OILBOB'S testing and see for yourself! Even CASTROL of AMERICA is not as good as many people think! Oil is the LIFE'S blood of an engine and BAD OIL is like BLOOD CLOTS! These clots even bake into small oil passageways and destroy hydraulic tensioners over time, and make a REAL MESS! Check out ANY junk yard for yourself and see what REG OIL does to cause full destruction! It was OKAY for older push rod engines, but NOT for more sophisticated, highly refined injected engines any more!

Read your owners manual.
your car needs an oil change 10,000 miles

There's not a vehicle on the planet that synthetic oil is a must. Sure, it is an excellent idea and highly recommended but it is not a requirement for your Ford's warranty or anything else.

If you know your car takes 5w20 oil, the oil specified in your car's owner's manual to use is Motorcraft 5w20 motor oil. I know for a fact there's nothing in your owner's manual stating that your engine requires full synthetic oil because Motorcraft 5w20 is a synthetic blend, not full synthetic oil.

Is the full synthetic oil going to hurt anything? No. But it does cost more, as you know. And there's no requirement from Ford that your engine use full synthetic motor oil, even if it's an Ecoboost. It's not bad for the engine to use full synthetic if you're okay spending the extra money, but it's not required like Pep Boys tried to claim.