Oil change intervals - endless topic

[lolder]

You should check your oil level periodically. The car must be level and have not run for at least 1/2 hour. My 2010 has 53,000 miles and I have never added oil between 10,000 mile changes. I have been hard pressed to see ANY oil use in those periods.

[erichFla]

I guess you're right, I can't find it. I have a dealer sticker that says 5000 miles in the windshield...maybe that is what I am thinking of.

 

Mine ( a little paper the dealership gave me extra) says FREE first Maintence at 5K or 5 months from the dealership, I'll take it for Free at 5K. I wonder were the catch is. I'll find out and let you guys know. It's going to be around the first of Aug.

 

 

[alpha754293]

I searched this topic, found a lot of posts and a lot of confusion about it. Ford services are not helping. My daughter gets there way too often. They want 8000km oil change intervals. I suggest following a car counter. I drive Honda Odyssey and wait until car tells me that oil change is needed.

Our FFH has 32000 kilometers (20000 miles) now and we need to establish proper intervals. What do you suggest? Is car computer oil warning programmable or it is set in factory? Is it really a counter or it actually monitors quality of the oil? I had that in BMW 530.

 

It might depend on how you drive. If you do a lot of city driving (urban or ultra urban) and you're on your electric more than your gas, then the mileage or pure "time" might not be enough of an indicator. The up-and-downside of changing the oil too much is that it can't hurt your car, but it'll only hurt your wallet.

 

My dealership right now has this promo going on - 5 oil changes for $100 (and the coupons expire in May of 2016 so...that's a REALLY good deal. I'm thinking of getting a whole lot more of those).

[neod192]

My dealership right now has this promo going on - 5 oil changes for $100 (and the coupons expire in May of 2016 so...that's a REALLY good deal. I'm thinking of getting a whole lot more of those).

My guess is that's only for regular oil, not synthetic. Here's what the manual calls for - Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada) or Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil (Canada).

Edited May 13, 2013 by neod192

[cgul]

You should check your oil level periodically. The car must be level and have not run for at least 1/2 hour. My 2010 has 53,000 miles and I have never added oil between 10,000 mile changes. I have been hard pressed to see ANY oil use in those periods.

Right! My 2010 FFH that I traded for a CMax never was low after 10000 miles. I had a bit over 55000 miles on it. My CMax now has 7700+ miles on it and checks right where it did when I checked it when new. However, I am going to run Mobil 1 in it as I have in my other cars for the past 25 years.

[alpha754293]

My guess is that's only for regular oil, not synthetic. Here's what the manual calls for - Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada) or Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil (Canada).

 

They let me use it for my first oil change and so far, they've told me that I'm allowed to use it for the rest of the 4 oil changes. *shrug* Hey, if they're willing to accept it when I take my FFH in - I'm not going to complain. :D

 

And they better be putting in the synthetic in my FFH otherwise any issues with it - it's their fault.

[neod192]

 

They let me use it for my first oil change and so far, they've told me that I'm allowed to use it for the rest of the 4 oil changes. *shrug* Hey, if they're willing to accept it when I take my FFH in - I'm not going to complain. :D

 

And they better be putting in the synthetic in my FFH otherwise any issues with it - it's their fault.

It might be their fault, but it's your car and if it breaks down you're the one who'll have to convince Ford the dealership screwed up and secure alternate transportation while they fix it.. I'd make sure they used the right stuff (and have them do it again if they didn't) - what does your receipt say?

Edited May 13, 2013 by neod192

[alpha754293]

It might be their fault, but it's your car and if it breaks down you're the one who'll have to convince Ford the dealership screwed up and secure alternate transportation while they fix it.. I'd make sure they used the right stuff (and have them do it again if they didn't) - what does your receipt say?

 

I'll have to check.

 

*edit*

I could be wrong, but it might be the regular oil. It says "Super Premium" which says nothing about whether it's synthetic or not.

 

So it looks like that it is just regular oil - non-synthetic. It does say in the owners manual that "4Use of synthetic or synthetic blend motor oil is not mandatory. Engine oil need only meet the requirements of Ford specification WSS-M2C945-A, SAE 5W-20, and display the API Certification Mark." so I guess that's ok.

 

*shrug* mehhh...

Edited May 14, 2013 by alpha754293

[acdii]

I doubt it, even the cheap motorcraft 5w20 is semi synthetic. Its what is called for by Ford, so dealers do need to supply at the minimum a semi syn 5W20.

[alpha754293]

I doubt it, even the cheap motorcraft 5w20 is semi synthetic. Its what is called for by Ford, so dealers do need to supply at the minimum a semi syn 5W20.

 

I called the parts department at my dealership and asked him straight up if it was synthetic and they said that it wasn't. And I also checked the WSS spec as well and it doesn't say anything about it being synthetic (specifcally) either.

[corncobs]

I agree with acdii 5w-20 is available flavors - full synthetic and semi synthetic

 

Here is the link on Fordsparts

 

http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Chemicals-MotorOils.aspx

 

It looks like it has to be at semi synthetic.

[alpha754293]

I agree with acdii 5w-20 is available flavors - full synthetic and semi synthetic

 

Here is the link on Fordsparts

 

http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Chemicals-MotorOils.aspx

 

It looks like it has to be at semi synthetic.

 

Does the fact that it's CX0 (Canada) make a difference? Yeah, I tried look it up on fordparts.com and it didn't show up. And there apparently isn't a fordparts.ca. Regardless, it's their car, it's their own, so you would think that they know most about it. And I'm sticking with it since I don't wanna experiment TOO much with the Atkinson engine and the whole hybrid thing. In theory, as long as it's 5W-20, it should make THAT much of a difference. But...I'd much rather NOT test out that theory. Maybe after I'm done with the coupons, I'll switch over to full synthetic.

Edited May 15, 2013 by alpha754293

[acdii]

As long as you follow the Ford recommended change intervals and have documented history of the oil changes being performed, you are covered if something were to go wrong under warranty. However, after warranty...... BUT, the majority of oils out there, including the low cost wallyworld brand, are all good oils. Oil tech has changed so much over the past couple decades that just about any rated brand will protect your engine. Note RATED brand. It Must have that seal on the container, if not, dont use it.

[alpha754293]

As long as you follow the Ford recommended change intervals and have documented history of the oil changes being performed, you are covered if something were to go wrong under warranty. However, after warranty...... BUT, the majority of oils out there, including the low cost wallyworld brand, are all good oils. Oil tech has changed so much over the past couple decades that just about any rated brand will protect your engine. Note RATED brand. It Must have that seal on the container, if not, dont use it.

 

Exactly. And owner's manual says every 16,000 km (10,000 miles) so that's what the schedule I putting my car on even though I did my first oil change at the 1000 mile mark (the post-break in oil change). Not required, but it's $20, so...mehhh...

[rico567]

I use nothing but Mobil 1 (the original, full synthetic) in our cars, and I change it myself. After 40 years, it wouldn't feel right not to. Anyway, I took our '02 Dodge Dakota in to have the suspension bushings and tie rod ends replaced, and the statement comes back with "oil & filter change, $16.95." Sure enough, I got a nice MoPar filter and 4 quarts of their finest bulk dino oil in my truck. There were other customers in the service department, so I waited until I got home and called the service writer, and we had a little talk. His end went something like (Imagine whiny voice) "Well, pretty much everyone who brings their car in gets the oil & filter done." The point? This is why I change my own oil. Res ipse loquitur.

Edited May 15, 2013 by rico567

[alpha754293]

I use nothing but Mobil 1 (the original, full synthetic) in our cars, and I change it myself. After 40 years, it wouldn't feel right not to. Anyway, I took our '02 Dodge Dakota in to have the suspension bushings and tie rod ends replaced, and the statement comes back with "oil & filter change, $16.95." Sure enough, I got a nice MoPar filter and 4 quarts of their finest bulk dino oil in my truck. There were other customers in the service department, so I waited until I got home and called the service writer, and we had a little talk. His end went something like (Imagine whiny voice) "Well, pretty much everyone who brings their car in gets the oil & filter done." The point? This is why I change my own oil. Res ipse loquitur.

 

Actually, my old crappy Cav had Mobil1 in it. I'm pretty sure that since I got four more coupons left, and if I'm getting it done every 10k miles, I can switch over after a year (since I DRIVE 40k miles a year). Make use of the coupons. Or I can wait the 3-years-and-4-months it'll take for me to burn through the warranty miles and then I can switch over then. *shrug* mehhh...

[hybridbear]

Exactly. And owner's manual says every 16,000 km (10,000 miles) so that's what the schedule I putting my car on even though I did my first oil change at the 1000 mile mark (the post-break in oil change). Not required, but it's $20, so...mehhh...

I also did an early oil change for this reason. I have 3 years worth of coupons from one dealer. To keep the "free" oil changes I must pay for them to do the 15,000, 30,000, 45,000, and 60,000 mile services. Thus I want to use up as many as possible before 15,000 miles. Once we get close to 15,000 mi I'll have to weight the cost of their services with the cost of doing my own oil changes. Considering that the FFH manual does not call for any of these services I'm wondering what they're going to do at those intervals. The one concern about doing my own oil changes is that you risk voiding your warranty. One dealer told me when we were shopping that it doesn't matter if you save receipts for oil purchases and your notes that you changed it on a certain date and at a certain mileage because Ford will say that those documents prove that you bought oil, not that you put it in the car. So those are all things I'll have to weigh soon

Edited May 15, 2013 by hybridbear

[lolder]

Be very careful with these dealer inspections. They could be a ripoff. Some have been told hybrids need a lot more maintenance when in fact they need almost none. You can make most of the inspections yourself. When you rotate the tires, have the worker check the wheel end play. There should be zero maintenance required for a long time. Ford Quicklane had $30 -40 oil and filter changes and tire rotation. They overfilled the oil once and wouldn't rotate the tires because there was a plug in one. They wanted $250 for a new tire so now I have my local mechanic do everything. I just changed the cabin air filter in my 2010 at 50,000 miles for the $10 cost of a new filter. I had vacuumed it clean at 30,000 miles and probably could have done it again. The are no belts ( except water pump in gen 1 ), alternators, clutches, torque converters, transmission fluid, etc., to require service. The brakes shouldn't need service to well over 100,000 miles. Just look at the fluid levels in the reservoirs and do the oil and tires.

Edited May 15, 2013 by lolder

[acdii]

Whenever I do my own oil change I use a permanent marker and write the date and miles on the filter before I install it. This way if something does go wrong, Ford can't say jack because the proof is in writing on the car itself.

[alpha754293]

Be very careful with these dealer inspections. They could be a ripoff. Some have been told hybrids need a lot more maintenance when in fact they need almost none. You can make most of the inspections yourself. When you rotate the tires, have the worker check the wheel end play. There should be zero maintenance required for a long time. Ford Quicklane had $30 -40 oil and filter changes and tire rotation. They overfilled the oil once and wouldn't rotate the tires because there was a plug in one. They wanted $250 for a new tire so now I have my local mechanic do everything. I just changed the cabin air filter in my 2010 at 50,000 miles for the $10 cost of a new filter. I had vacuumed it clean at 30,000 miles and probably could have done it again. The are no belts ( except water pump in gen 1 ), alternators, clutches, torque converters, transmission fluid, etc., to require service. The brakes shouldn't need service to well over 100,000 miles. Just look at the fluid levels in the reservoirs and do the oil and tires.

 

Well...so this is yet another one of those shining examples where being a Ford corporate employee helps.

 

I saw before that I was able to pull up what the maintenance schedule and pricing was so I have some inherent idea of what it SHOULD cost.

 

I will tell you that for the most part, the easy maintenance inspections are probably stuff that you can take your sweet time inspecting til you're blue in the face. (like check tread wear, brakes (if you have the tools necessary to remove the wheel, and measure the brake pad wear, etc...), and like you said, you can change your own engine air filter, and cabin air filter as well.

 

And we have a garage where I work, so I can always put my own car up on the hoist and verify the inspections. So...I pretty much like "demand" them to show me the results (basically doing the inspection right in front of me) - haha...I feel bad cuz it's like they need engineering sign off on all of the inspected values. lol...so in other words, I can check their numbers. But I know that the vast majority of the people can't.

 

But the last time that I went for the $20 oil change, they did those types of inspections anyways (except the brakes)...so.... *shrug* mehhh....

 

Unless there's something seriously wrong with it - if you read the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual - there's really nothing in there that you can't do yourself if you have the right tools and know-how to do it (yourself).

 

And especially on the hybrid, since there's no like high pressure fuel pump like it is on the GDIs and I'm not sure if it has VCT or not on the 2.0L Atkinson engine. So unless there's a problem with the engine or the motor, the rest of the maintenance should be LESS than the non-hybrids.

[acdii]

Of the 4 Hybrids I owned, only oil changes and filters were needed. The brakes last a long time, and I never kept them long enough to change the coolant in them. Eventually, after 100K miles or so, it will need brakes, rotors, struts, maybe ball joints, tie rods, bushings, etc. All depends on how poorly the roads are where the car is driven. After 60K thats the time when you start to inspect all these items for wear. Before that, usually not needed. Also unless you hit something, or you see abnormal tire wear, alignments are needed either. It used to be that you needed to realign the car every 30K or so as things loosened up, but there are so few components in the steering system now that the only time an alignment is needed is when a part is replaced. With the front struts, the only part that can get knocked out is the connection between the spindle and the lower strut, but those things are so tight that you would have to hit a really big pot hole really hard to knock it out and something that hard would probably break a wheel.

 

 

Other than coolant, brake fluid, oil, battery and filters, there really isn't much else on the Hybrid that needs replacement.

[alpha754293]

Of the 4 Hybrids I owned, only oil changes and filters were needed. The brakes last a long time, and I never kept them long enough to change the coolant in them. Eventually, after 100K miles or so, it will need brakes, rotors, struts, maybe ball joints, tie rods, bushings, etc. All depends on how poorly the roads are where the car is driven. After 60K thats the time when you start to inspect all these items for wear. Before that, usually not needed. Also unless you hit something, or you see abnormal tire wear, alignments are needed either. It used to be that you needed to realign the car every 30K or so as things loosened up, but there are so few components in the steering system now that the only time an alignment is needed is when a part is replaced. With the front struts, the only part that can get knocked out is the connection between the spindle and the lower strut, but those things are so tight that you would have to hit a really big pot hole really hard to knock it out and something that hard would probably break a wheel.

 

 

Other than coolant, brake fluid, oil, battery and filters, there really isn't much else on the Hybrid that needs replacement.

 

Yeah....the thing with me driving 40k miles/year though means that I will likely hit a lot of those milestones MUCHHH earlier/sooner than most people would. (It's too bad that there aren't that many sort functions on fuelly...)

[acdii]

Me too. Maybe not 40K on one car, but combined between the two we hit 40K. Heck in 8 months I put 12K on an F150, and it wasnt driven every day. Between it and the Fusion totaled 42K during that time.

[hybridbear]

Be very careful with these dealer inspections. They could be a ripoff. Some have been told hybrids need a lot more maintenance when in fact they need almost none. You can make most of the inspections yourself. When you rotate the tires, have the worker check the wheel end play. There should be zero maintenance required for a long time. Ford Quicklane had $30 -40 oil and filter changes and tire rotation. They overfilled the oil once and wouldn't rotate the tires because there was a plug in one. They wanted $250 for a new tire so now I have my local mechanic do everything. I just changed the cabin air filter in my 2010 at 50,000 miles for the $10 cost of a new filter. I had vacuumed it clean at 30,000 miles and probably could have done it again. The are no belts ( except water pump in gen 1 ), alternators, clutches, torque converters, transmission fluid, etc., to require service. The brakes shouldn't need service to well over 100,000 miles. Just look at the fluid levels in the reservoirs and do the oil and tires.

The problem is that the dealer won't honor the free oil change coupons unless you pay them to do these fake inspections. I know that there's nothing for them to do and I am perfectly capable of doing all these things myself. I'll rotate my own tires rather than paying them to do it unless they'll rotate them for under $15 incl tax. I have changed oil, brakes, coolant, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets and transmission fluid on other cars and am pretty comfortable doing those things, not to mention air filters and cabin air filters. The issue I'll have to weigh is the cost of that inspection against the next 3 free oil changes. If the inspection they force you to do costs less than $60 then it's worth it because I'd spend $60 on oil and filter for the next 3 oil changes. Anything over $60 and I won't do it because I am already leery of having someone else change my oil because of how they can screw it up.

 

Whenever I do my own oil change I use a permanent marker and write the date and miles on the filter before I install it. This way if something does go wrong, Ford can't say jack because the proof is in writing on the car itself.

How does this help? You write the miles and date on the filters and then save all the old filters? I don't understand how this works for the long-term but want to understand if it will work.

Edited May 16, 2013 by hybridbear

[alpha754293]

Me too. Maybe not 40K on one car, but combined between the two we hit 40K. Heck in 8 months I put 12K on an F150, and it wasnt driven every day. Between it and the Fusion totaled 42K during that time.

 

Yeah....I do that on one car. I'm at 2180 miles in 2.5 weeks. At 800 miles/week, it works out to 41600 miles for the year. Hence the hybrid.

 

The problem is that the dealer won't honor the free oil change coupons unless you pay them to do these fake inspections. I know that there's nothing for them to do and I am perfectly capable of doing all these things myself. I'll rotate my own tires rather than paying them to do it unless they'll rotate them for under $15 incl tax. I have changed oil, brakes, coolant, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets and transmission fluid on other cars and am pretty comfortable doing those things, not to mention air filters and cabin air filters. The issue I'll have to weigh is the cost of that inspection against the next 3 free oil changes. If the inspection they force you to do costs less than $60 then it's worth it because I'd spend $60 on oil and filter for the next 3 oil changes. Anything over $60 and I won't do it because I am already leery of having someone else change my oil because of how they can screw it up.

 

How does this help? You write the miles and date on the filters and then save all the old filters? I don't understand how this works for the long-term but want to understand if it will work.

 

I think what he meant was that with the new filter, take it out of the box, write down the current mileage of your car and the date with a sharpie, remove old one, install new (marked) one.

 

But correct me if I'm wrong.