What justifies this change?

[Aaron Yarbough]

I suspect this is purely marketing which proves to me that the whole idea of "Change your oil every 5K (or 3K) miles" has been nothing more than a revenue booster. So how does Ford justify changing their recommended oil change interval from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles on all 2008 and newer vehicles?



Directly from Ford's website:

Maintenance Schedules

Your Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle has a recommended Maintenance Schedule designed to keep it running its best by providing exactly what your vehicle needs, when it needs it.



NOTE: Maintenance intervals for all 2008 and later model year vehicles are every 7,500* miles. Maintenance intervals for most 2007 and earlier Ford / LM vehicles are every 5,000 miles with the exception of 2007 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKZ which are every 7,500 miles. The maintenance interval for the 6.4L diesel engine is 10,000 miles.



Obviously this is the recommended oil change interval for 'Normal' driving conditions but how do they justify this change. We all know that the same 4.6L V8 is used in all Gen 2 STs so what gives.....

 

[bud vanhouten]

i've always changed oil/filter every 2-3k miles, just figured it was a cheap maintenance thing to do. even in my motorcycle, it's changed every 2k...many go all season without a change.

last week, i had a guy do some work for me who drove a 2001 silverado he bought new and now had over 200k miles on it and he had NEVER changed the spark plugs!!

dutch

 

[Todd Z]

Engine internals, Friction, RPMS, loads and a bunch of other factors are used when recommending the interval. Now don't get me wrong, the longer the time, the cheaper to maintain.



BUT the newer motors and metals out there, better oils, are allowing for this change....



EVEN with that, I don't go past 4-5 regular and 5-6 Syn... Just me..



Todd Z

 

[Mark Stadnicki]

I'm sticking with every 5k fluid and filter with Mobil 1

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

I do 5K as well.

 

[Bill Barber]

People do 3 K because that what there Daddy did, wellcome to the 21st century.

 

[Richard L]

Bill Barber is correct. People do it because that's the way it was back in the day.



Even when manufacturers started to extend the oil change interval to 5K-6K miles, it was only for normal usage. If you looked at their description of "harsh conditions" would fit nearly 90% of the so-called normal driving conditions. Even early cars with turbos required the more frequent oil changes.



Then along came synthetic oils and high performance additives that make the oil last longer. Your father probably thought it was snake-oil and marketing hype, and so did many mechanics that way, and sum still do.



My 2008 Mercedes came from the factory with 9 quarts of Mobil-1 in the v6 engine and a requirement to only change the oil once per year or 13K miles, whichever came first. My dealer recommended that the initial oil change be done at 10K miles or one year, and then to follow the Mercedes recommended change intervals



The strange thing about oil is that it never really wears out...Only the additives become depleated and of course oil can become contaminated with dirt and acids.



...Rich

 

[gary s]

5-7.5K on synth.

3-5K on regular.



that's what i do.

 

[EddieS'04]

I do 5k with syn blend. Next change will be full syn. I will change filter and add quart at 5k. Do a full change and filter at 10k. This is from a a recomendation of my uncle that worked in research of gas and oil duribility in test motors.

He said the exact same thing as above. Newer alloys and oil qaulity and gas additives. We are wasting money at 3k changes. He said a normal driven car will even go 5k on dino, no harm.

He did say if it is a race car. 1/4 mile or track car, change it when you go home.

 

[Richard McAlister]

I change both my ST and my wife's Jeep every six months. Neither of us hit the mileage requirement (she drives about 2000 miles a year, I drive about 4000).

IMO, low mileage is much harsher on engine oil than 5000-7500 highway miles.

I use dino oil in both.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I change my oil once a year. Between 15,000 to 20,000 miles between changes.



Getting ready to turn 100,000 miles on Torrie.





Tom

 

[swshawaii]

Makes me wonder why the API or SAE organizations exist.

Not a related issue. Someone explain to me the recent ad for the BMW "7 Series" Lifetime Maintenance" Program.

Probably misinterpreted on my part. Still sounds like marketing hype with a "sticker price" to follow.

Have a buddy with a "Dinan 7". Turned his head and "coughed" when I asked him about the price of a tune up.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I change everything around my house 2x a year, whether it needs it or not. Always use Mobil 1 EP oil and Mobil 1 oil filters. This works out to be anywhere from 10,000 to 16,000 miles on the vehicles. Everything I have runs great and I have never had an oil-related problem.