Oil Change interval

[Joe Dirt]

Only half- statistics say that at least one of them is serious...

 

[CulturalInfidel]

Amusing thread .... it caught my attention because my wife came home the other day and said the "oil light" came on briefly on her Sienna.
Hmm... pulled the dipstick ... no oil whatsoever ... oops!

(It's my responsibility ... I do the maintenance on vehicles around here.) I checked my records, and as far as I can tell, I hadn't done an oil change on that vehicle in almost 3 years and 29,000 miles. My bad !!

Added 3 qts of mobile one... told her to drive it like normal... changed the oil again the next day and drained almost 4 qts out of it.

new filter and filled it back up and it continues to run just as well as it has for the past 190,000 miles.

I guess my point is ... that even after 30k miles, and with only one qt of oil remaining... the MobileOne was apparently doing an adequate enough job that the engine wasn't seizing up! (granted, I fixed the issue at the first indication of a problem... the pressure wasn't zero for more than a second or two ... apparently the pickup uncovered as she decelerated at a stop sign.)

I don't think I'd take that thing across country right now ... but if it proves itself for a couple months, I'll go back to trusting it implicitly again!

 

[rmp301]

Not true. Very few are now. I'm speaking for all manufacturers.

Wait ... Are you saying that they are not started and run AT ALL? How would they move them off the assembly line or freight them to the dealer? :scratch:

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Amusing thread .... it caught my attention because my wife came home the other day and said the "oil light" came on briefly on her Sienna.
Hmm... pulled the dipstick ... no oil whatsoever ... oops!

(It's my responsibility ... I do the maintenance on vehicles around here.) I checked my records, and as far as I can tell, I hadn't done an oil change on that vehicle in almost 3 years and 29,000 miles. My bad !!

Added 3 qts of mobile one... told her to drive it like normal... changed the oil again the next day and drained almost 4 qts out of it.

new filter and filled it back up and it continues to run just as well as it has for the past 190,000 miles.

I guess my point is ... that even after 30k miles, and with only one qt of oil remaining... the MobileOne was apparently doing an adequate enough job that the engine wasn't seizing up! (granted, I fixed the issue at the first indication of a problem... the pressure wasn't zero for more than a second or two ... apparently the pickup uncovered as she decelerated at a stop sign.)

I don't think I'd take that thing across country right now ... but if it proves itself for a couple months, I'll go back to trusting it implicitly again!

So, you really want us to believe this? OK, we will if that makes you feel better.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Wait ... Are you saying that they are not started and run AT ALL? How would they move them off the assembly line or freight them to the dealer? :scratch:

My statement was in the context that car manufacturers no longer "run in" their engines on an engine dyno, for example, any longer. Thing of the past. Some are pulled as part of a QC/TQM process, but very few.

 

[CulturalInfidel]

So, you really want us to believe this? OK, we will if that makes you feel better.

I don't WANT anything.
Though you could certainly stand to be less of a #####.

 

[182RG]

I have a friend that changes oil at 3,000, says it's cheap insurance.

It's a shame motor oil isn't $30 a quart, or there isn't a hazardous disposal fee that cranks the cost of an oil change up to $200 to stop some of this nonsense......

 

[peterk9]

1st change at 7500 on the factory fill. 10K or when the oil life indicates on Mobil 1 full synthetic moving forward. Early changes are a WASTE....

I don't believe the Oil Life Monitor distinguishes between regular and synthetic oils. The oil change interval is calculated based solely on actual vehicle use and operating conditions - up to 10k miles (16k km).
The manual also still seems to like the 6 month or 5000 mile (8000 km) interval. It states that if the message centre is prematurely reset or becomes inoperative, you should perform the oil change interval at 6 months or 5000 miles (8000 km) from your last oil change.
That interval is also recommended if your driving is primarily on unpaved and/or dusty roads.

Peter

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

It's a shame motor oil isn't $30 a quart, or there isn't a hazardous disposal fee that cranks the cost of an oil change up to $200 to stop some of this nonsense......

I have friends in Europe and Asia thay pay about $20/quart for Mobil 1. Heck, friends of mine in Canada pay close to $15/quart for perforamnce Mobil products. They usually buy when in the US, and cross back over the boarder.

Oil changes on my weekend fun cars +$200 and +$300 but they hold up to 10 quarts and even have 2 oil filters. Shop time is about $120/hour. They get changed yearly at about the 5,000 mile mark.

 

[EX-SV]

Much higher pricing might impact behavior, it seems to in Europe when it comes to gasoline with $8 per US gallon of gasoline in the UK...

 

[VinceL]

I don't WANT anything.
Though you could certainly stand to be less of a #####.

I wouldn't sweat it, man. I have found a few posters on here suffer from personality disorders. They are best ignored, as it gives them a chance to crawl back into their caves they emerge from periodically.

Happy driving.

 

[rmp301]

My statement was in the context that car manufacturers no longer "run in" their engines on an engine dyno, for example, any longer. Thing of the past. Some are pulled as part of a QC/TQM process, but very few.

Gottcha!

 

[esandye]

I posted this last year but it is relevant to the current discussion. I did my 1st oil change at 9800 miles when the oil life indicator said to do so with the motorcraft oil that is semi-synthetic, absolutely no problems with the engine.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html

 

[tucker_bmd]

I do what the manufacture recommends

So how many miles did you go before you changed the oil for the first time?

Put me in the camp of following the recommendation of the people who built and designed the thing. Yesterday the computer told me to "change oil soon" as it was at 5% remaining with 9800 miles. So I went to my local Ford dealer and used their online coupon for an oil and filter for $17.95 plus disposal, total $18.34. The Ex is my daily driver, about 90 miles daily, mostly highway. I trust the Ford engineers (by the way, I'm an engineer and work with engineers).

 

[DonnyG]

First Oil change

Going on a long road trip this weekend. I normally change my own oil but the dealer threw in the first oil change. I just passed 3,000 miles and went to the dealer only to be informed that ford uses a synthetic blend and you don't need an oil change until 7,500'miles. Although I respect the dealer for informing me of this, don't you think if I'm taking a 12-14 hour road trip non stop to change out the oil, since it was the oil used for the break-in period of the Ex? I'm expecting to do about 3,000 miles the whole trip.

 

[LANDYOT]

Go ahead and change it yourself. I will when our 2013 Limited hits 3k miles. And since I change oil very frequently, I don't bother with synthetics.

 

[peterk9]

Going on a long road trip this weekend. I normally change my own oil but the dealer threw in the first oil change. I just passed 3,000 miles and went to the dealer only to be informed that ford uses a synthetic blend and you don't need an oil change until 7,500'miles. Although I respect the dealer for informing me of this, don't you think if I'm taking a 12-14 hour road trip non stop to change out the oil, since it was the oil used for the break-in period of the Ex? I'm expecting to do about 3,000 miles the whole trip.

You will find that there are many different views on this subject. Just search the Forum. The Owner's Guide says that the Oil Life monitor will notify you when to change. The Guide also shows it could be up to 1 year or 10K miles.
Many here do their first change early, earlier than you stated. Others prefer to wait until the vehicle monitor tells them to. I personally have followed a 6 month or 8000 km or 5,000 miles interval with my vehicles.
The vehicle does use a synthetic blend but the dealer should change the oil whenever you, the customer, wishes to.
Also, if you change it yourself, be sure to keep all the receipts for record purposes in case of possible warranty issues down the road. For $40 or so I can't be bothered doing it myself. Besides, the dealer always washes and dries the vehicle after every service.
Have a nice trip.

Peter

 

[fifthranger]

The vehicle does use a synthetic blend but the dealer should change the oil whenever you, the customer, wishes to.

1st, I thought the dealer uses a semi-synthetic, which isn't exactly the same, but I do agree with your post as a whole. I have the philosophy that if one can afford a $30,000+ vehicle or can't afford a car payment, then cheap insurance to change the oil. I bought a one year old truck with 286 miles, and I had the oil changed at under 600 miles, but going back to the original post, the dealer is giving him a "free" oil change. That is why they seem leary to do it that early. I would think that it wouldn't matter because whether it is at 3000 or whatever, they still "promised" him. I know that BMW won't change oil early. My boss had 3 or 4, and was going on a trip and wanted the oil changed after 6500 miles, and a particular dealer downright refused because they said the oil should last 7500 miles. Between that and another problem with the same dealer, he went to Mercedes for his next vehicle. Anyway, I can see it from the customer's point of view, and I, too, would probably change it before the trip.

 

[DonnyG]

Thanks for all the info. Greatly appreciated

 

[jay_there84]

I would just do it myself and be sure to use a motorcraft filter and take to the dealer to change it again at 7500 miles