Oil Change Frequency

[tzaya]

I was told with my Big Bend that I should be getting getting an oil change every 5K miles even though my percentage of oil life doesn’t indicate that.
how often do you get an oil change?

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[PWillette]

I change mine every 5K but your fine to go by the oil life sensor according to Ford.

 

[VirginiaHeritage]

I did my first change early at 1600 miles. Next will be at 5k with 5-tire rotation and ditto every 5k after that.

Full synthetic.

 

[Eljohno]

Every 3K.

 

[Nc211]

I think most mechanics would agree that 10,000 is a bit of a gamble now for full synthetic. I follow the 3/5/7 rule myself, and may ditch the 7 for 5.

If regular oil....3,000
If synthetic blend oil....5,000
If full synthetic.....7,000

But seeing a lot of YouTube mechanics that I follow saying 7,000 is perhaps a stretch now too. Not sure I believe that, but also think it depends on how you're treating your engine when you drive it. I tend to take the lazy lane with my driving. Only really push it if the need arises (example...merging onto highway with traffic). But I'm also getting to the age where I turn down the stereo to see better... That said, I'm doing the 5,000 on full synthetic myself. It's just so damn easy to do with the 2.7, I don't mind spending the 30 minutes to do it.

On my wife's car, the 2020 GLS, we do 7,000 on full synthetic. We're 5 years / 85,000 into that car with 0% mechanical problems (knock on wood, salt over the shoulder, jinx jinx on left foot hop). It sees a lot more short trips to the store/school than mine does.

I've never taken any of our cars to 10,000, and I never will. Just like I won't take transmission fluid to 60,000. I have a rule of thumb that has treated me very well over the years. At 50,000, it's tip/tail for all fluids, filters, plugs regardless of what the manual says. I also change out the PCV. Only time I ever leaked any kind of fluid was on my past MB for an infamous "cam magnet" part that all 3.5 V6 engines of that era suffered from (13-18).

 

[JT58Bronc]

I do it when the life left is about 40% on all of my vehicles. For the Bronco as I don't drive it much the oil is changed about every 8-9 months- about 3.5K miles and the life left is about 40% at that time. In my daily driver- Chevy Colorado it's about 4500 miles and only 4 months. I drive it a lot, have a long commute to work.

 

[MisterGreen]

But I'm also getting to the age where I turn down the stereo to see better... .

Okay, this literally made me laugh out loud.

 

[Desert_Brush]

With full synthetic every 5k or six months, whichever comes first.
With the synthetic blend at 3k. Some people have done oil analysis and noticed that the Motorcraft blend breaks down quicker than it should be.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...se-0w-40-next-oil-change.114545/#post-2524082

 

[bassist]

Just follow the 10k or so that the vehicle tells you.

Anything else is wasteful, contrary to what the manufacturer tells you, and just Bro-Science.

Dealer wants to make more money, and if aren't in Ford's engineering department, you don't have better information than what Ford tells you.

 

[crenca]

Just follow the 10k or so that the vehicle tells you.

Anything else is wasteful, contrary to what the manufacturer tells you, and just Bro-Science.

Dealer wants to make more money, and if aren't in Ford's engineering department, you don't have better information than what Ford tells you.

Wrong on all points.

OP, with these modern high pressure turbocharged EcoBoost motors, 5k and maybe a little bit more is all you want to do on full synthetic. 3k or a little more if using a blend such as what a Ford dealer will use. Don't use non-synthetic oil.

 

[Ape Factory]

@bassist Actually it isn't. One big problem that rears its ugly head on DI engines with no secondary port injectors (Raptor for instance) is the amount of volatiles present which not only dilutes the gas but accelerates carbon buildup on the intake valves.

Best practice is to get in, buckle up and do whatever else you need to do, start car and start driving asap. Don't sit there for 30 seconds plus as the fastest way your piston rings will heat up, expand and seal properly is by driving it. This prevents a lot of the cylinder wash and oil dilution.

If in doubt, go 10K and send samples in for testing.

Ford's goal is to get you to the end of the warranty period. Beyond that, they don't give a f*ck let alone two. There's enough evidence from other manufacturers, namely the Germans, that 10K is too long. And they've been specifying 10K changes going back more than a decade.

 

[JT58Bronc]

When I change the oil in my daily driver Chevy Colorado, its at the 4 or 4.5K mark. Monitor still says like 40% left. oil is pretty dirty at that point.

I once bought a "certified" GTI- 2018 with like 5K miles on it. I was told the oil was changed. Well I drove it another 4K, then did an oil change. So 9K on the oil. The smell when draining it was so foul, smelled up the entire garage. The oil filter was a cartridge type like the Bronco. It was sludge in there. So I never go more than 4.5K.

 

[Area51BS]

4-5k max. Between old school thought of 3k and unrealistic standard of 10k today.

 

[ChrisB351]

Manufacturers want to sell new cars. They recommend the minimum amount of maintenance to get it past warranty so people will trade them in when they have a big repair. Ive been in auto service for 10yrs now and been telling my customers if you want to keep your car 10yrs/150k miles or more stay on top of the maintenance. Do it early and do it often. I change my oil and rotate tires roughly every 4500mi. Im at 43k and will be doing my trans and diffs when I get close to 50k
. Id have already done them but Ive babied my Bronco for the most part.

 

[Eljohno]

Oil is cheap, if it were a Toyota I'd put more miles on it between changes, but being a Ford better be changed more frequently!

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