Oil change recommendation both Ford and consumer

[sajohnson]

I agree it is totally guessing but it is safe and costs less than $200 over 100k to change at that interval rather than based on blackstone analysis (that you have to pay for). So it is guessing safely.

It's true that almost everyone who is guessing is on the safe side. Much better that than stretching the interval to save a few bucks (short term).

At the end of the day, oil change intervals are not exactly momentous. When done more frequently than the mfr recommends they may be wasteful of time, effort, money, and resources but there are more important things to worry about.

What I find interesting are the intervals people select. Oil begins getting contaminated immediately. Taking it to ridiculous extremes, an owner might decide to change the oil every (say) 1,000 miles.

5,000 miles seems to be a common interval. That's 20 oil changes over 100,000 miles. Lets say the OLM, the Ford manual, and Blackstone all say 10,000 miles is fine. That's 10 oil changes vs 20. A very cheap DIY oil change (no 'boutique' oils or expensive filters) might cost ~$30, so that's $300 saved over 100K miles -- much more for those who pay a shop to do it (maybe $1,000 or more).

Of course it's more than just the money. There is the owner's time & effort, and the used oil to recycle.

Not to mention oil spills, hazmat team responses, fines...

In our case, we just change the oil every year (it always looks new) but if we put more miles on it I'd pay the $40 (once) to get Blackstone's recommendation.

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[Timothyd]

Declarations of the appropriate oil change interval are amusing. Decades ago the consensus was 3,000 miles -- no regard to the vehicle or operating conditions, just 3,000 miles, period. Everyone just 'knew' that was correct, because, well, Jiffy Lube said so! To be fair, that was the recommendation of many mfrs as well. I'll admit, I used to change the oil in my '85 Toyota Truck every 3K miles. At one point I was driving an average of 100 miles/day, 36,000 miles per year. That was a lot of oil changes -- about one every month. A significant expense and gallons of oil to recycle.

What happened next was what is the case with so many cars and trucks -- the engine outlived the vehicle. I had the truck crushed because the frame had rotted out. It's almost always the case that vehicles turn into a pile of rust and the engine still runs great -- and that's with the average owner that may not always have the oil changed per the mfr guidelines.

It's almost unheard of for an engine to fail due to oil related issues -- unless the owner is grossly negligent and never has the oil changed, or only every 30,000+ miles or something. That's why Pennzoil can offer a 20 year/750,000 mile warranty and not go bankrupt.

The factory recommended intervals are more than adequate. That's what most owners and shops go by. It's not as if there are engines throwing rods and seizing up left and right.

Picking an interval -- usually some multiple of 1,000 miles -- with no data to back it up, is irrational. If 5K miles is good, why not 4K, or the old school 3,000?

Without lab testing by Blackstone (or similar) it's just guessing. We have a Sprinter based RV. The 3.0L V6 turbo holds ~13 quarts of full synthetic. That's an expensive oil change, even DIY. MB recommends changing it every 10K miles. Some owners had their oil tested by Blackstone and they were told they could go to at least 20K miles, cutting the time and expense and amount of oil to recycle in half! Shortly thereafter, MB went to 20,000 mile oil changes.

I had a Toyota truck with a good 22R that rusted out so bad the frame broke and a '71 Triumph Spitfire with a bad engine. I regret i got rid of them both- would have made a good marriage.

 

[sajohnson]

I had a Toyota truck with a good 22R that rusted out so bad the frame broke and a '71 Triumph Spitfire with a bad engine. I regret i got rid of them both- would have made a good marriage.

That'd be different -- a '71 Spitfire with a Toyota inline 4!

Yep, the 22R was/is bulletproof. The only trouble I ever had with it in about 170,000 miles was what I assume was the accelerator pump in the carb. I had to feather the gas to get rolling from a stop. I probably shoulda went for the fuel injected version (22RE?). Instead, I bought the stripped base model -- $5,997 including freight.

The frame of my truck had a hole in it that you could put your hand through -- right below the gap between the bed and the cab. I hated to get rid of it because there was nothing else wrong with it (well, aside from the carb issue). No rust anywhere else.

 

[Carlitos_92]

I agree it is totally guessing but it is safe and costs less than $200 over 100k to change at that interval rather than based on blackstone analysis (that you have to pay for). So it is guessing safely.

I don't get what is "safe" about it. Where did we pull "5,000 miles" from? (maybe don't answer that lol). Why wouldn't we "safely guess" 3,000 miles? I mean, do you want the truck to last, or not?

More importantly, where is the science that says the OLM is "unsafe?" To a fault, no one here can provide any evidence that they ever followed an OEM's oil change recommendation and had an engine failure or catastrophic issue due to the oil changes not happening frequently enough. But there are tons of people (like me) who have lived the OLM story, who drive a lot, hold on to their vehicles, and... nothing. Boring ol' normal vehicle ownership. No long block replacements. No valve covers blowing off. Nada. Yawn.

The funniest part to me is that these trucks would outlive a lot of forum members here with no oil changes at all. Who are the so-called old farts saving the trucks for? The Smithsonian would already have one if they wanted one. And what good is the engine in a Mexican-built Ford when the rest of the truck falls apart around it after 200,000 miles?

So... $200 more. $100 less. Who cares? It's a waste of money, it's a waste of time, and the energy used to extract, refine, package, warehouse, transport, sell, ship, recycle, and return the oil "insurance" might've been used for something more purposeful to society than preserving a random bucket of bolts with bug deflectors and tailgate letters stuck on it.

Anyhoo, that is how I feel on the matter.

 

[710-oil-614]

I don't get what is "safe" about it. Where did we pull "5,000 miles" from? (maybe don't answer that lol). Why wouldn't we "safely guess" 3,000 miles? I mean, do you want the truck to last, or not?

More importantly, where is the science that says the OLM is "unsafe?" To a fault, no one here can provide any evidence that they ever followed an OEM's oil change recommendation and had an engine failure or catastrophic issue due to the oil changes not happening frequently enough. But there are tons of people (like me) who have lived the OLM story, who drive a lot, hold on to their vehicles, and... nothing. Boring ol' normal vehicle ownership. No long block replacements. No valve covers blowing off. Nada. Yawn.

The funniest part to me is that these trucks would outlive a lot of forum members here with no oil changes at all. Who are the so-called old farts saving the trucks for? The Smithsonian would already have one if they wanted one. And what good is the engine in a Mexican-built Ford when the rest of the truck falls apart around it after 200,000 miles?

So... $200 more. $100 less. Who cares? It's a waste of money, it's a waste of time, and the energy used to extract, refine, package, warehouse, transport, sell, ship, recycle, and return the oil "insurance" might've been used for something more purposeful to society than preserving a random bucket of bolts with bug deflectors and tailgate letters stuck on it.

Anyhoo, that is how I feel on the matter.

Sorry my oil change intervals aggravate you.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

It isn’t about blowing up your engine - it is about having mechanical sympathy for the Maverick and the person driving it in year 2055

Some of you are young enough to be around then - and will appreciate the care given to a still running 23 Maverick. Maybe even wish you would have kept yours running (as a spare relic) for old times sake

Very Nice Truck.

 

[Kenv24]

I don't get what is "safe" about it. Where did we pull "5,000 miles" from? (maybe don't answer that lol). Why wouldn't we "safely guess" 3,000 miles? I mean, do you want the truck to last, or not?

More importantly, where is the science that says the OLM is "unsafe?" To a fault, no one here can provide any evidence that they ever followed an OEM's oil change recommendation and had an engine failure or catastrophic issue due to the oil changes not happening frequently enough. But there are tons of people (like me) who have lived the OLM story, who drive a lot, hold on to their vehicles, and... nothing. Boring ol' normal vehicle ownership. No long block replacements. No valve covers blowing off. Nada. Yawn.

The funniest part to me is that these trucks would outlive a lot of forum members here with no oil changes at all. Who are the so-called old farts saving the trucks for? The Smithsonian would already have one if they wanted one. And what good is the engine in a Mexican-built Ford when the rest of the truck falls apart around it after 200,000 miles?

So... $200 more. $100 less. Who cares? It's a waste of money, it's a waste of time, and the energy used to extract, refine, package, warehouse, transport, sell, ship, recycle, and return the oil "insurance" might've been used for something more purposeful to society than preserving a random bucket of bolts with bug deflectors and tailgate letters stuck on it.

Anyhoo, that is how I feel on the matter.

This....right here!!!! I was on the floor laughing. Won the Internet for me today:

"Who are the so-called old farts saving the trucks for? The Smithsonian would already have one if they wanted one."

 

[Chops]

And what good is the engine in a Mexican-built Ford when the rest of the truck falls apart around it…

Mexico makes great products. Gold coins, pottery, and apparel to name just a few. Although the Maverick engine is not made in Mexico.

Mexico, btw, is our top trading partner when it comes to imports. We gringos like their stuff!

Top Import Partners (2024, approximate values in billions of USD):

#1 Mexico**: ~$510 billion (largest supplier, especially vehicles, machinery, and electronics)

#2 Canada**: ~$419–437 billion (key for oil, vehicles, and natural resources)

#3 China**: ~$427 billion (electronics, machinery, and crap consumer goods)

#4 Germany**: ~$159 billion
#5 Japan**: ~$147–148 billion
#6-#10 South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, and Ireland** round out the top 10.

 

[MetalsGeek]

Get on YouTube and look for The Motor Oil Geek. He has good videos on this very topic. IMHO You're already overdue if you plan to keep the truck a long time. Oil gets dirty and/or the additive package gets depleted, and even a great filter cannot fix this. The mfr-suggested oil change intervals are intended to get you thru the warranty period, period. Clean, fresh lubricants are the core of longevity for both engines and gearboxes.

 

[Chops]

… The mfr-suggested oil change intervals are intended to get you thru the warranty period, period. Clean, fresh lubricants are the core of longevity for both engines and gearboxes.

Could not agree more. And just get you through warranty with a barely passing C- grade. Minimizing the all important “cost of ownership” without adding warranty costs.

If you’re leasing or planning on trading in after warranty (next owner be damned) - go ahead & play the mfg recommendation game.

If you want your Maverick to be a term A+ truck buddy - halve the mfg recommended intervals at least. And A+ oil not “meets requirements” C- oil.

 

[Down]

More importantly, where is the science that says the OLM is "unsafe?" To a fault, no one here can provide any evidence that they ever followed an OEM's oil change recommendation and had an engine failure or catastrophic issue due to the oil changes not happening frequently enough. But there are tons of people (like me) who have lived the OLM story, who drive a lot, hold on to their vehicles, and... nothing. Boring ol' normal vehicle ownership. No long block replacements. No valve covers blowing off. Nada. Yawn.

Oil life monitoring is one of those topics where many people are gonna believe what they’re gonna believe no matter what they’re told or shown. Case in point?

I’m reminded of many years ago on a Corvette forum where this same topic was being discussed. ACTUAL ENGINEERS FROM THE CORVETTE ENGINE DESIGN TEAM WEIGHED IN and told everyone that with VERY few exceptions, the oil life monitor worked fantastic, was very accurate, and absolutely was NOT designed just to “get through the warranty period”.
Wanna know how many minds that changed?

Looked to be right around zero.

Some topics really make people act silly.

 

[dalola]

The biggest issue, as I see it, is an oils ability to stay in viscosity grade, over a period of miles. Many oils, even synthetics, will fall out of grade in just several thousand miles, and even worse on vehicles that operate in mostly short (<10 miles) trips, and colder weather. Granted, the effects of this are many miles down the road, so that's why it's important to base your maintenance patterns around how you drive, and how long you plan to keep the vehicle. Oil sample testing is a great tool to determine if your routine is efficient. In certain cases, even 4-5K miles may be too late, and 10K too soon. Until you test, you're just guessing, which is fine, just understand you could be slowly damaging your engine, or wasting money.

 

[Ryom]

Some topics really make people act silly.

Indeed. So the line of thought that Ford is just doing the bare minimum maintenance interval to make it through warranty doesn't hold up to scrutiny. ANY scrutiny. Here's my thoughts...

If they actually had a philosophy like that, it would be harmful to the brand reputation when people experience critical vehicle failures just out of warranty. Word of that DOES go around, and fast. Ford has been around a long time and they are aware of how easy it is to lose consumer confidence and how hard it is to regain it.

How many buyers check the maintenance schedule before purchasing a vehicle? I'd wager it's VERY few. So a frequent maintenance schedule is incredibly unlikely to affect sales measurably and it would benefit Ford partners and even Ford if people are using Ford branded supplies. Frequent oil changes cost Ford itself NOTHING. Their dealerships would actually WANT more frequent changes as to get the maintenance money for them, so if anything we'd be seeing collusion between Ford and the Dealers to make the maintenance interval as small as they could get away with... not the exact opposite.

Follow the oil life monitor recommendation.

 

[Chops]

Follow the oil life monitor recommendation.

Agree with you. My Maverick OLM is the first OLM that is accurate IMO.

When it gets down to 50% - it is time for me to change oil & reset back to 100%. I drive under severe conditions and want my oil as near to full strength as possible.

Disclaimer - I do my own changes and drive low miles with an occasional “GPF” purge tossed in. Even though I don’t have a GPF

 

[sajohnson]

Oil sample testing is a great tool to determine if your routine is efficient. In certain cases, even 4-5K miles may be too late, and 10K too soon. Until you test, you're just guessing, which is fine, just understand you could be slowly damaging your engine, or wasting money.

Exactly. ^^^

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