Service Recommendations - 2017 Sport (60k miles)

[Zodiac]

I had an oil change last week , I have a 2017 Sport that I purchased brand new and the dealer recommended the following services. I checked in the manual and these aren't listed as recommended services so am trying to see which one of these are actually required or just completely unnecessary.

Engine Crank Case Cleaning Service (Add Premium OIl Conditioner)
Battery Service
Brake Fluid Exchange Service
Fuel Induction Clean-up Service
Engine Coolant Exchange Service
Replace Rear Differential Fluid
Install Premium Ethanol Defender Fuel Service Kit
Automatic Transmission Fluid Exchange

I'm putting less than 10k miles per year on the vehicle at the moment.

Thanks.

 

[peterk9]

Without looking at the manual I believe some of those are recommended services but not at 60k miles. Also, not sure what they mean by Battery Service. The battery is either good or it's not. If it's the original battery, you've had good service out of it.

Peter

 

[ExPlat]

I had an oil change last week , I have a 2017 Sport that I purchased brand new and the dealer recommended the following services. I checked in the manual and these aren't listed as recommended services so am trying to see which one of these are actually required or just completely unnecessary.

Engine Crank Case Cleaning Service (Add Premium OIl Conditioner)
Battery Service
Brake Fluid Exchange Service
Fuel Induction Clean-up Service
Engine Coolant Exchange Service
Replace Rear Differential Fluid
Install Premium Ethanol Defender Fuel Service Kit
Automatic Transmission Fluid Exchange

I'm putting less than 10k miles per year on the vehicle at the moment.

Thanks.

Background: I have a 2016 Platinum since new-ish (bought with 5k miles) with 50k miles on it now, it was built in April, 2015 so it's 8 years old. It's been babied and maintained but has had a lot of warranty repair work done up to about 30k, then the last 20k miles it's been reliable so I've decided to keep it. The fluids were 8 years old.

So, to your question, I think most of those services are a good idea, can get expensive though - but these were expensive cars when new.
To me, it's like preventative maintenance if you plan to keep a vehicle long term, especially these 3.5L EcoBoost 5th Gen Explorers.
As a matter of fact I just had a lot of them done, plus I'm planning some additional stuff, like the Fuel services & Diff service.
Just serviced:
New battery installed.
Replaced 4 tires (Michelin Defender LTX).
Four wheel alignment.
Exchanged coolant.
Exchanged 11 quarts trans fluid.
Exchanged brake fluid.
Exchanged PTU fluid.
I still have the original brakes but after the brake fluid exchange the pedal firmed up a bit, nice. All four corners will get new brake rotors and pads in a few months.

One thing that is not on your list but is very, very important is a drain/refill of your PTU. Some of us recommend to change that every 20-30k miles.
My original PTU failed at 29k miles. I had my transmission fluid exchanged at that time as well, then just had it done again. The trans shifts super smooth.

 

[J_C]

I had an oil change last week , I have a 2017 Sport that I purchased brand new and the dealer recommended the following services. I checked in the manual and these aren't listed as recommended services so am trying to see which one of these are actually required or just completely unnecessary.

Engine Crank Case Cleaning Service (Add Premium OIl Conditioner)
Battery Service
Brake Fluid Exchange Service
Fuel Induction Clean-up Service
Engine Coolant Exchange Service
Replace Rear Differential Fluid
Install Premium Ethanol Defender Fuel Service Kit
Automatic Transmission Fluid Exchange

I'm putting less than 10k miles per year on the vehicle at the moment.

Thanks.

Engine Crank Case Cleaning Service (Add Premium OIl Conditioner) - No

Battery Svc - No, but if they want to check the cranking amps then you have an idea how soon it needs replaced, esp with winter coming on. This is generally done at no charge, not a line item service for pay.

Brake Fluid - No rush but it is a good idea. Opinions vary widely how often to get this done but at 6 year old, it's due for it. Also, cracking the bleeders open every few years, helps to keep them from becoming rust-seized. Make sure they put the protective rubber boots back over the bleeder screws, or DIY.

Fuel Induction - Not until you have performance issues. I assume this is not referring to walnut blasting the intake valves which may eventually be needed since it's a direct injection (only) engine.

Engine Coolant - Yes, flush and switch to VC-13G Yellow

Rear Diff fluid - Yes

Ethanol Defender - No, but if it sat for long periods with very old fuel, or starts having performance issues, dump a jug of Techron in the next tank of gas.

ATF exchange - Yes this is a good time to do it.

Nowhere did I see listed, a PTU fluid replacement. I'd do that every 30K mi so if it's the original fluid, overdue for it.

None of this is "required" per se. The idea is that this will keep it in better working order, longer. Some (many) people just skip all this (or do it less often), keep the money in the bank, and fix things as they fail instead. Might depend on how many years you plan to get out of it.

 

[StormTrooperExplorer]

Given the issues with the water pumps, I'd made Coolant flush a priority. You can do it yourself for cheap, it just takes awhile to flush and refill. There are youtube videos on how to do it. Switch to the new Motorcraft yellow coolant: VG-13G. I did mine last summer, I wish I had chosen a cooler season to do it in.
Coolant still cools, but loses it's anti-corrosive additives over time and that is what is causing a lot of the seal failures on the water pumps.

 

[Zodiac]

Thanks for the replies, I'll start prioritizing based on the above responses.

I have asked the dealer previously regarding the PTU but was told that it wasn't something I needed to worry about or even a service they offered.

My brakes are on my to do list as well and will probably be replacing those along with the rotors shortly.

Anything else I might be missing?

 

[J_C]

If it hasn't been done yet, there's a toe link recall through '17. One or more recall #'s apply.

19S17
20S62
??????

Probably best to just find a site offering recall lookup and enter your VIN.

 

[ExPlat]

Probably best to just find a site offering recall lookup and enter your VIN.

This is good advice, there are some recalls that are safety related, your Dealer should have told you about them. This Explorer Forum website also has a helpful section for Recalls and other items of interest, here ->
List of Useful Threads - 5th Gen TSB's, Recalls, Remote Start, How To Info

Regarding PTU maintenance and Dealers, it's been my experience that many will not service them. I have tried at least 6 who denied that the PTU needs service. I just found one that will, but they used a 'light truck' service code to do it, meaning 'hot climate, possible towing', so they said. There is a very large PTU failure thread on this forum, you ought to read it - here's my entry on page 23 (of 30 pages):

PTU Problems

Just curious how are you changing the PTU fluid? My service advisor told me it was not a serviceable part. Are the newer PTUs serviceable? I did end up replacing all 4 tires & the Explorer is driving like a dream again. Taking it on a road trip this week & hoping all is well. Found this...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[texsn95]

Agreed on the above and definitely do the PTU, the amount of fluid I got out was about 1/2 of what it was supposed to be, at around 80k miles. I did extend my PTU vent tube with a hose-barb and length of tubing so I can refill from up top.

Battery service...what a joke. What is that, maybe the clean the terminals with a wire brush? Find a good independent mechanic to do some of that if you feel it's out of your skill-set, but with some tools and research, they're all doable on a weekend.

Clean your sunroof drains if you haven't. Fronts are easy, the rears require unbolting the rear glass and sliding it forward a bit, but is easy, see here. 2014 Explorer Wet Carpet Under Passenger Side Chair

For brakes, the OEX pads are the best I've ever used. I use these on our Armada as well and it stops that beast like nothing.

2019 Explorer Brake Question?

Hey guys I am needing new brakes and about to drive to Colorad end of next week. I have a 2019 Ford Explroer XLT 3.5L V6 AWD. I am likely going to order upgraded rotors and pads from PowerStop but its asking for the size of rotos I have?? Standard or Heavy Duty? I have used tascaparts.com and...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[Myballzich]

This is good advice, there are some recalls that are safety related, your Dealer should have told you about them. This Explorer Forum website also has a helpful section for Recalls and other items of interest, here ->
List of Useful Threads - 5th Gen TSB's, Recalls, Remote Start, How To Info

Regarding PTU maintenance and Dealers, it's been my experience that many will not service them. I have tried at least 6 who denied that the PTU needs service. I just found one that will, but they used a 'light truck' service code to do it, meaning 'hot climate, possible towing', so they said. There is a very large PTU failure thread on this forum, you ought to read it - here's my entry on page 23 (of 30 pages):

PTU Problems

Just curious how are you changing the PTU fluid? My service advisor told me it was not a serviceable part. Are the newer PTUs serviceable? I did end up replacing all 4 tires & the Explorer is driving like a dream again. Taking it on a road trip this week & hoping all is well. Found this...

www.explorerforum.com

I need to get my PTU serviced. I heard the same from my two local dealers that service is not required. If you don’t mind me asking, how much is the PTU service? Should this only be done at the dealer?

 

[texsn95]

Like he said, most dealers won't touch it, they don't know any better. This is exactly what I did with mine. I boogered up the vent cap that was on there, so got a cheapo breather cap from Amazon to replace it.

 

[Myballzich]

Like he said, most dealers won't touch it, they don't know any better. This is exactly what I did with mine. I boogered up the vent cap that was on there, so got a cheapo breather cap from Amazon to replace it.

Thank you!

 

[texsn95]

This cap. Not available anymore but you get the idea. The stock vent cap just would not come off. If you try it, make sure you hold the tube while removing the vent cap, so you don't pull the tube off of the vent barb on the PTU itself. That's fun to get back on.

TOOOPFU 12mm Air Filter Cold Air Intake Filter Breather Turbo Vent Air Intake Filter Cleaner Black Universal compatible with car and Motorcycle https://a.co/d/brJEejV

 

[peterk9]

I need to get my PTU serviced. I heard the same from my two local dealers that service is not required. If you don’t mind me asking, how much is the PTU service? Should this only be done at the dealer?

Found this using the handy 'Search' feature. There are more threads as well.

How to: - PTU Oil Change (Tons of Pics) 2016 Explorer Sport

I Decided to tackle the PTU change on my 2016 XSport. My truck has 16,521 miles today. Got motivated around 9:30pm to do the job. Its now 2am as I type this. I went very slow and was deliberate about everything. Had several resets on the PTU vent hose routing. Tightening the hose clamp was a bit...

www.explorerforum.com

Peter