ScapeTom Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I've always wondered what the general concensus is on getting the first oil change. Many years ago, it used to be that you would change the oil initially after 1000 miles, but the last several vehicles I've owned treat that first oil change the same as all the others, whether it be 5000 miles or 7500 or whenever the oil change indicator shows up. Yet, when you buy a lawn tractor, the first oil change period is significantly shorter than the rest. So, what do others think? Would you change the first one early or keep the oil in there for the full time frame, same as the rest? Is there an advantage to keeping the same oil in the car longer or is it better to get the original "break-in" oil out relatively soon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhummer Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 My dealer scheduled my first oil change for me at 3000 miles. Their reasoning being that oil may be 'dirty' sooner due to the engine being broken in. Didn't matter to me as that is one appointment I didn't have to schedule and my appointment just happened to be scheduled when the last recall happened so it was there anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie411 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I just hit about 3500 miles and I got a laundry list of items that need to be fixed, trying to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (oil change + fix everything) if your saying 3k maybe I should go in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golowes48 Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 My dealer checked my Escape at 1000 miles, didn't change oil or anything, just a check on fluids, tires, etc at no cost. Then I had them complete a 5000 mile maintenance which was pretty much an oil change and tire rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScapeTom Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 My dealer is recommending a 5000 mile oil change and checkup, and I will be bringing it to them around that time. That'll be when I bring up the few nagging little issues that I have. Really aren't any to speak of, other than the sticking door handles and the "low fuel" light that goes on too early (along with the gas gauge that reads below "E" when I still have 2 gallons left). Nothing major, that's for certain. Still wondering about what people thing about getting that first oil change done early. I've always stuck with routhly 5000-6000 mile oil change intervals anyway, except for that first one. But I have to acknowledge that it isn't 1970 any more. Things have changed a bit, mostly for the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escapism Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 My dealer is recommending a 5000 mile oil change and checkup, and I will be bringing it to them around that time. That'll be when I bring up the few nagging little issues that I have. Really aren't any to speak of, other than the sticking door handles and the "low fuel" light that goes on too early (along with the gas gauge that reads below "E" when I still have 2 gallons left). Nothing major, that's for certain. Still wondering about what people thing about getting that first oil change done early. I've always stuck with routhly 5000-6000 mile oil change intervals anyway, except for that first one. But I have to acknowledge that it isn't 1970 any more. Things have changed a bit, mostly for the better. I changed my own around 1500, then every 5000. I'm not going full synthetic until around 20k. Got to let it wear in a little. I'm not so sure things have changed for the better, except maybe cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Still wondering about what people thing about getting that first oil change done early. My opinion, do the first change around 1500 to 2000 then change every 7500. Your car doesn't have "break in" oil. The oil from the factory is regular good old Motorcraft 5-30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScapeTom Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 OK, now for the part I didn't tell - I did get it changed yesterday before I posted this. At 1400 miles. I probably would have gone a little farther, but I have a 1000 mile trip coming up tomorrow and I'd rather have the new oil in for that. Strangely, the original oil had a greenish tint to it. The oil change guy noted it, and I looked and sure enough, it was just a bit greenish. Anyway, it's now full of Castrol Semi-Synthetic 5W-30 with a new filter. I'll still take it to the dealer around 5000-6000 for service and to get those nagging little issues dealt with under warranty. If I can find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucker_bmd Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 (edited) Put me in the camp of following the recommendation of the manufacturer. I don't see any reason not to do what the people who designed and built the engine recommend. Why would they recommend an interval that would be detrimental? Seriously, why? Educate me. I can understand dealers recommending an interval that is less than the manufacturer, because they get business IE money. Oil change intervals are like politics and religion. Here is some fuel for the fire. http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html Edited February 12, 2013 by tucker_bmd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I read on the internets (so it maybe true or complete bull) the greenish tint is an additive to detect leaks at the factory, it is flouresent and shows up under a black light. I guess if that's true, then there is "break in" oil. I want to edit my change intrerval opinion slightly, change at 1500, 3000 and then every 7500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars01 Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I have the 2.5L and the recommended oil change interval in it is 10000 miles or earlier if the the monitor alerts you. I keep getting these postcards from the dealer telling me it time due to 3K mile, 5K miles/etc. I called the dealer when I got the first one and they told me that is computer automated cause they still service many cars that haven't gone to the new intervals yet. They told me NOT to bring mine in until the monitor goes off and that the 2.5L came with all synthetic from the factory and all synthetic is recommended for that engine. I am at 5600 right now, really feels weird to not be taking it in, but I am going to go with it or I will just go when they send me a coupon sometime after I hit about 7000, which they will cause I get them regularly, and it is easy for me to do so. I also asked my normal mechanic about about it and he also told me to just do whatever the monitor said since its all synthetic and the engines today are just so different and stop worrying about it... Just information, certainly no recommendation. If I ride it out till the monitor comes on I will report what mileage that was.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScapeTom Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 Oil change intervals are like politics and religion. Here is some fuel for the fire. http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html I'm expecting fireworks any time now! Thanks for the link. The early initial oil change is an old habit that I've had trouble breaking. But outside of that, I've generally stuck to a 5000-6000 mile interval regardless of what the pesky sticker says. I keep pretty good records. My previous Escape, a 2003 V6, had around 110,000 on the odo with no sign of engine wear. I did do the initial 1000-2000 mile oil change on that car, but kept to my 5000-6000 interval after that. My Honda had a little "percent life remaining" indicator for the motor oil. If I went to 20%, it was around 7500-8000 miles for me. The manual recommended getting down to 10%, but I chose to err on the side of caution. I know that they don't use so-called "break-in" oil these days, but I can't help but think that there's some leftover gunk in the engine that ought to be flushed out early. I'm probably full of snot on the subject though, since Ford, GM, etc. don't exactly slap their engines together the same way as, say, Briggs & Stratton assembles a V-twin lawn tractor engine. Tolerances and machining are much more precise on the cars, and I'm guessing that the engine assembly facilities are much cleaner as well. Car makers can afford to be better at it, and really need to be. How many people drive their lawnmowers 100,000 miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie411 Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 How often do you get your tires? I tend to like to get my tires rotated when I get an oil change (obviously for convince sake since they have my car anyways. I had an issue when I had my Mini Cooper where the first oil change was at 10k and follow ups were like 15k. Obviously because I didn't take it in often I never got my tires rotated as often as I should have and if I remember the rear tires had really bad wear on them, and ended up having to replace them earlier then I needed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Of course a dealer will recommend oil changes earlier than the owners manual. THEY SELL OIL AND MAKE PROFIT ON EVERY OIL CHANGES ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScapeTom Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 Of course a dealer will recommend oil changes earlier than the owners manual. THEY SELL OIL AND MAKE PROFIT ON EVERY OIL CHANGES ! On the other hand, the manufacturer makes profit every time you replace the car (after the warranty period, of course). Ford would rather you buy a new car at 100,000 miles than at 200,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtenthusiast Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Of course a dealer will recommend oil changes earlier than the owners manual. THEY SELL OIL AND MAKE PROFIT ON EVERY OIL CHANGES ! They make at most a few dollar profit on oil changes, and usually lose money on oil changes when doing advertised specials or coupons. They hope to make it back during inspection of other items the vehicle might need while it is there for the oil change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf911 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I just hit about 3500 miles and I got a laundry list of items that need to be fixed, trying to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (oil change + fix everything) if your saying 3k maybe I should go in. What is in the laundry list of items to be fixed? And as for other comments my dealer does free oil changes for the life of the vehicle so no profit and I was told I can come in during the first year as much as I want for one if I wanted but they are only free after the first year during maintenance which I assume is 5,000 miles for the 2.0 ecoboost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie411 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 What is in the laundry list of items to be fixed? And as for other comments my dealer does free oil changes for the life of the vehicle so no profit and I was told I can come in during the first year as much as I want for one if I wanted but they are only free after the first year during maintenance which I assume is 5,000 miles for the 2.0 ecoboost Here is what I had so far: Rear driver’s side door handle sticking. Locking door with Keyfob in pocket working sporadicly. Unlock car with keyfob not always working in cold weather. Rear trunk liner wearing prematurely. Having 4WD screen up and using the NAV system causes MyFord Touch to lock up and crash Escape still idling heavy when stopped at stop light and foot on break MyFord Crashes once a day (rebuilds USB song index) Poor Gas Mileage (Never more then 21 MPG even with mostly HWY driving) AC is listed as ON on MyFord Touch and Off on the console So I know most of these are MyFord issues but still I'm keeping track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PajamaGuy Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 FWIW - # 9. If it's under 50 degrees, the A/C is used automatically to dry the air to prevent fogging - but not shown in the dash climate screen to prevent confusion. You can force it off via the climate portion of touchscreen, but it will come back on next ignition cycle if it's still under 50. #8 - Remote start high idle eats 1.1 Gal-per-hour, normal low idle eats .8 gal-per-hour. My own idling habits cost me about 3.5 MPG per tank. (but yeah, the mpg sucks.) All Escapes prior to early Dec., have #5, (although the common issue is that the guidance next to the Intelligent 4WD screen only freezes, MFT doesn't crash) But I have none of the other issues - hope you can get them fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK360 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Just did my first change at 7664 miles. I should have paid someone to do it... the oil filter is in a next to impossible spot on the 1.6L and the factory must have paid a gorilla to put it on. Our MPG sucks too. Seems to be a common Ford theme these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Just did my first change at 7664 miles. I should have paid someone to do it... the oil filter is in a next to impossible spot on the 1.6L and the factory must have paid a gorilla to put it on. Our MPG sucks too. Seems to be a common Ford theme these days. You must not have received a complimentary oil change from your dealership. The filter from the factory is installed mechanically, so it's a PITA to remove, I let the dealership worry about that on mine. Yeah, it's too bad they designed the 1.6 to make it so difficult to get to the filter, sometimes things are not as easy as they seem to be. I disagree with your statement about poor mpg's being a common theme for Ford. The mpg issue has been hashed over here and across the Escape forums. I think the common theme is some folks don't recognize or don't want to admit the may be driving too aggressively... I don't know, maybe that's it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasscuba Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I have the 1.6 and average 26-27 mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK360 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 You must not have received a complimentary oil change from your dealership. The filter from the factory is installed mechanically, so it's a PITA to remove, I let the dealership worry about that on mine. Yeah, it's too bad they designed the 1.6 to make it so difficult to get to the filter, sometimes things are not as easy as they seem to be. I disagree with your statement about poor mpg's being a common theme for Ford. The mpg issue has been hashed over here and across the Escape forums. I think the common theme is some folks don't recognize or don't want to admit the may be driving too aggressively... I don't know, maybe that's it. We bought our escape from the same dealer that I bought my Corvette from a few weeks prior, it happened to be a ford dealer in Michigan that does a high volume of used Corvette and sports car sales. Wasn't going back 5 hours for a free oil change :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf911 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Here is what I had so far: Rear driver’s side door handle sticking. Locking door with Keyfob in pocket working sporadicly. Unlock car with keyfob not always working in cold weather. Rear trunk liner wearing prematurely. Having 4WD screen up and using the NAV system causes MyFord Touch to lock up and crash Escape still idling heavy when stopped at stop light and foot on break MyFord Crashes once a day (rebuilds USB song index) Poor Gas Mileage (Never more then 21 MPG even with mostly HWY driving) AC is listed as ON on MyFord Touch and Off on the console So I know most of these are MyFord issues but still I'm keeping track. As for the rear trunk liner I just bought weather tech mats and the rear cargo liner. Love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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