...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...
...The Owner's Guide says that the Oil Life monitor will notify you when to change...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...
Finally got around to pulling the owner's manual out of my wife's 2013 Limited, and found the statement above to be false. According to the footnotes in the fluids section, synthetic oil is not mandatory, and SAE 5W-30 is perfectly fine...
Do a search, even one of the Ford Customer Service (maybe Cory) members who helps support this site has even stated a synthetic blend is the minimum requirement for the new Explorer...
Hey guys,
The following can be found in the 2013 Explorer Owner Guide 1st Printing in the Capacities and Specifications section on page 394:
3.5L V6 engine:
“•Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil (US)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Full Synthetic Motor Oil (US)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil (Canada)”
2.0L EcoBoost™ engine:
“•Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil (US)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil (US)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada)
•Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil (Canada)”
In a footnote, it also states:
“Use of synthetic or synthetic blend motor oil is not mandatory. Engine oil need only meet the requirements of Ford specification WSS-M2C946-A, SAE 5W-30, or WSS-M2C945-A, SAE 5-W20, and display the API Certification Mark.”
Also note that this is found on page 408:
“Your vehicle is equipped with the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor™ (IOLM) system which displays a message in the message center at the proper oil change service interval; this interval may be up to one year or 10,000 miles (16,000 km). When ENGINE OIL CHANGE DUE or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED appears in the message center display, it’s time for an oil change; the oil change must be done within two weeks or 500 miles (800 km) of the ENGINE OIL CHANGE DUE or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message appearing. The Intelligent Oil Life Monitor™ must be reset after each oil change; refer to the Instrument Cluster chapter.”
For a free copy of your Owner Guide, go to the URL
http://Owner.Ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage and pick your ride from the drop down menus.
Cory