Oil Change Frequency

[Squatch]

1. Don't listen to Chicken Littles on YouTube who have a vested interest in rage/engagement bait.
2. Your oil filter is more determinative than the oil when it comes to distance between oil changes.
3. I only trust Blackstone Labs; start sending in samples.
4. WIX XP and Costco full synthetic every 5k works.
5. Just ran to ~9,000 to push this combo and I was finally able to notice a performance improvement when I changed the oil like back in the day with older cars. Usually, there's no significant difference in how the engine appears to be running when I change every 5k. I changed at 9k because I had two fill-ups back to back where I suspected the engine was running a bit worse than normal. Just one fill-up can be chalked up to moisture creep in the gas station tanks. It was still barely discernable.

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[Rydfree]

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.

The same engineers that designed the Mic top , 2.7 valves, wet belt oil pump, cam phasers, floppy windows, rear shock reservoirs etc ?

 

[adam1991]

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?

some of that depends on do you buy your oil from Ollie's Bargain Outlet?

 

[not on the rug]

First change at 2k miles and I'm changing every 5k miles since. Amsoil full synthetic.

I never go past 5k miles between changes, especially with turbo motors.

 

[Eljohno]

1. Don't listen to Chicken Littles on YouTube who have a vested interest in rage/engagement bait.
2. Your oil filter is more determinative than the oil when it comes to distance between oil changes.
3. I only trust Blackstone Labs; start sending in samples.
4. WIX XP and Costco full synthetic every 5k works.
5. Just ran to ~9,000 to push this combo and I was finally able to notice a performance improvement when I changed the oil like back in the day with older cars. Usually, there's no significant difference in how the engine appears to be running when I change every 5k. I changed at 9k because
6. I had two fill-ups back to back where I suspected the engine was running a bit worse than normal. Just one fill-up can be chalked up to moisture creep in the gas station tanks. It was still barely discernable.

My brother has Blackstone analyze his oil, but I've never seen the purpose for it. I just change my oil every 3K miles. Like I said oil is cheap!

 

[dgorsett]

I do 5K. I don't put alot of miles on it so that figures to a little quicker than once per year, which works for tire rotations too. We had a 2013 Explorer which I didn't like. I would wait until the Change oil light came on. We drove it 100K and now my grandson is driving it, no ill effects.

I see no reason for a Blackstone analysis. Whatja gonna do about it if you show a little too much chromium or magnesium? Tear it down and do a rebuild? My one experience with them they could not differentiate between motor oil and ATF.

 

[SoDak1623]

Full synthetic every 5k for me. Oil is cheap and happy turbos like clean oil. Just remember that anyone telling you it is a waste of money isn't going to foot your repair bill.

 

[Brian_B]

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

I agree with this.

Ford is willing to warranty so long as you follow the light and use oil that meets their specs. But that warranty only goes out to 60k (longer if you pay more, I guess) - so I change mine when I rotate the tires at 5k.

I also have the 2.3 and the oil filter is easier to get at with the tire off, so ... just kinda makes sense on multiple levels to combine oil change and tire rotation.

 

[BlueWaffle]

5k

 

[MilesTeg]

I always run full synthetic in all my vehicles, which are all low mileage and thus only get changed once a year. Typically 3-5k miles per year, per vehicle, with an occasional road trip or what not that calls for an oil change before the year mark. This is all within manufacturer spec and oil monitor spec.

The Ford oil monitor system has a hard cut off at a year, so if you drive low mileage all you are getting with the oil monitor system is a 1-year countdown. If you drive a lot, you'll get a mileage countdown instead.

I'm not sure if Ford does any actual analysis of driving for the oil monitor. My guess is, even if they do, it's still 95% just time and miles.

The 3,000mi/3mo rule is from ~70+ years ago with much cruder engines (weaker materials, less precise machining, etc.) and oils that were not nearly as good. Anyone who tells you 3k/3mo is trying to sell you oil changes. That said, 10-15k that gets recommended these days is probably pushing it in the real world vs lab tests. 5-10k is quite fine with the right spec oil.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm not sure if Ford does any actual analysis of driving for the oil monitor. My guess is, even if they do, it's still 95% just time and miles.

I had a good article on this at one point, but didn't bookmark it, unfortunately.

But the gist of it was - it's more like a predictive algorithm, but it is fairly in depth. It takes into account number of cold starts, time while under preferred oil temp, time over preferred oil temp, duration at idle, time since last oil change, miles driven, etc.

It's more than just a mileage counter and calendar

 

[Eljohno]

I do 5K. I don't put alot of miles on it so that figures to a little quicker than once per year, which works for tire rotations too. We had a 2013 Explorer which I didn't like. I would wait until the Change oil light came on. We drove it 100K and now my grandson is driving it, no ill effects.

I see no reason for a Blackstone analysis. Whatja gonna do about it if you show a little too much chromium or magnesium? Tear it down and do a rebuild? My one experience with them they could not differentiate between motor oil and ATF.

That's what I told my brother, what are you going to do if the analysis is off, change oil brand or do it more often?

 

[Squatch]

My brother has Blackstone analyze his oil, but I've never seen the purpose for it. I just change my oil every 3K miles. Like I said oil is cheap!

Overly simplified figures except $35 for Blackstone labs, but oil is as cheap for one person as it is for another.

Every 3k	Every 9k w/labs
Oil 3k $35	Oil 9k $35
Filter 3k $15	Filter 9k $15
Oil 6k $35	Labs $35
Filter 6k $15
Oil 9k $35
Filter 9k $15
Total $150	Total $85

 

[Eljohno]

Overly simplified figures except $35 for Blackstone labs, but oil is as cheap for one person as it is for another.

Every 3k	Every 9k w/labs
Oil 3k $35	Oil 9k $35
Filter 3k $15	Filter 9k $15
Oil 6k $35	Labs $35
Filter 6k $15
Oil 9k $35
Filter 9k $15
Total $150	Total $85

I buy Quaker State Ultimate Protection through Walmart.com, costs me $4.80 a quart and an oil filter is $8 so every oil change at 3k cost me $37, so 3 of them is $111 not so bad. And what will I do with a Blackstone analyze, nothing!

 

[Jossman]

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?

Still 1 of the best change info is check your oil + note the color -condition on the stick.Then determine your schedule [Has served me well over the years as I seldom get rid of anything] Keep Colorado in $ due to registrations.

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