Changing your own oil - 2.5L hybrid

[ruffyz]

Thanks for the thread. I just got my Maverick and was thinking ahead to my first oil change. ~$120 doesn't sound too bad for a full synthetic oil change by the dealer in my area. But neither does the $25 gallon of Mobile1 full synthetic at Walmart.

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[GPSMan]

Yep. Which is why when we moved 13 years ago before retirement we did a lot of research. Everything is lower cost. Heck, we bought a house that is twice the size of what we had prior as well as 10x the land, and our property taxes were instantly 75% less than our former abode, and have never gone up in those 13 years! I doubt our old homestead's taxes can claim that.

Yes, but...

 

[WJOHNM]

Just did my first oil change at 3000 miles. Autozone charged me just under $50 for 6 quarts of Valvoline full synthetic 0W-20, including a free extended life oil filter and my military discount. What's the going rate at the dealer these days?

I will say that the plastic panel under the engine seems stupidly designed. There is an access hole for the drain plug, but it's not lined up right to allow the oil to drain straight down without making a mess. There is no access to the filter at all without removing the entire panel under the engine, about a dozen screws. Not a big deal, but more work than it should be and I see a high potential for losing or stripping these screws out in the future. Am I missing something here? Was this panel designed with only the ecoboost in mind or something?

I just did my 2nd change at dealer, did first at 3k like you and now have 8k did my 2nd and will continue every 5k, will rotate the tires every other oil change. Dealer charged 114.00 for oil and tire rotation, and a box of donuts always bring a box of donuts!, I find they always put a little too much oil in its always over on dip stick which means their likely putting the full 6qts in only takes 5.5qts, made them remove it the first time this time it was just over the dip stick full line so I let it go. I only drive 7/8k a year so the 114.00 is not so bad. If anything ever goes bad they cant say I never change my oil or have the truck inspected because they serviced it, also they do that 82 point inspection every time which I know is BS. they did air up all my tires which were low, I was impressed they even did that most shops never check tire pressure.

 

[Waterick]

I think the doing it yourself question for me comes down to: do I trust the place I take it to and is it a fair price? I have always taken our Prius in for it's annual oil changes at $70 each. I trust my Toyota dealers service. Sometimes I'll let my trusted mechanic change it on one of our other vehicles if it's in for some other mechanical reason. But mostly I get a lot of satisfaction doing it myself and knowing it was done right. Still don't know which way I'll go with the Maverick.

 

[ychuck46]

I only drive 7/8k a year so the 114.00 is not so bad.

The same with our two trucks. I do so much work around the property in my "old age", including some heavy jobs, that having them check out our vehicles twice per year is worth it.

 

[WJOHNM]

Thank you for the heads up on this before my hybrid arrives. I will NOT be using my local dealer any longer because I have caught them not rotating tires twice while getting the “works” package along with a mess under the hood. $100 for a crap job, no thank you.

I guess my choice will be down to my local shop that I trust but charges even more than the dealer OR this old man getting back underneath his vehicles in order to ensure that the job is done right. I guess this underbody shield will just add a little more time to the job. Hope I don’t lose any hardware.

I mark one of my tires now, it happened at a chevy dealer had a scratch on one wheel and when I came out of waiting room the scratched wheel was in the same place I flipped out they said they were sorry they forgot, only 2 things on repair order FORGOT they gave me a free car wash. Never went back.

 

[Oscarcat]

Just did my first oil change at 3000 miles. Autozone charged me just under $50 for 6 quarts of Valvoline full synthetic 0W-20, including a free extended life oil filter and my military discount. What's the going rate at the dealer these days?

I will say that the plastic panel under the engine seems stupidly designed. There is an access hole for the drain plug, but it's not lined up right to allow the oil to drain straight down without making a mess. There is no access to the filter at all without removing the entire panel under the engine, about a dozen screws. Not a big deal, but more work than it should be and I see a high potential for losing or stripping these screws out in the future. Am I missing something here? Was this panel designed with only the ecoboost in mind or something?

I did my own oil change [2.0 EB] because the stealership wanted $150. Probably the same for the hybrid. Seems to be the going rate in my area. I purchased a 5 qt jug +1 qt. of Mobil 1 syn and Motorcraft FL910S at Walmart same as you; under $50. My ramps are 2x6's doubled up to give me 3" additional to crawl under. The #30 TORX fasteners are a PITA. I see no way to change oil without removing the cover unless you cut a hole in the shield to access the filter and add a Fumoto drain valve to which you slide on a section of hose so it drains into a pan. Some clever Mav owner with an engineering background needs to design quick release clips to replace the #30 TORX fasteners.

 

[MaveRichard]

I just did my second oil change at 10,888 miles.

First one was done at the dealer at 4,267. They put Full Synthetic but I had to ask specifically. They also spilled oil on the valve cover when filling. I paid $104 for this and a tire rotation.

This time I wanted to get under the truck and inspect it, as well as get the oil changed before it got too cold in MI. The shield is an inconvenience but it also keeps everything very clean and dry on the bottom side of the engine. Net positive for me.

I will be sending a sample to Blackstone to determine how much life is left in this oil after ~6600 miles. Curiosity, really.

Replaced with Penzoil UP 0W-20 and a Wix filter (Total cost $62). I added 5 quarts and 18oz initially, then another 4oz this morning to top it off. I will probably go to 7500-8000 next time depending on the results of the oil analysis.

 

[zach57x]

Take an electric impact and it takes 2 minutes to remove the panel

 

[MetalsGeek]

I believe one of the primary functions of the lower cover in hybrids is to control air flow under the hood. Keeping the engine (and cats) as close to operating temperature as possible is important and saves fuel, so this makes sense. It seems Ford initially did such a good job of controlling air flow that they had to reverse course and remove some grille shutters to prevent under-hood fires should the engine throw a rod.

QUESTION to ALL:
Does anyone know the secret handshake to manually start the hybrid engine in engineering test mode so I can do an idle leak check after an oil change?​

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

I believe one of the primary functions of the lower cover in hybrids is to control air flow under the hood. Keeping the engine (and cats) as close to operating temperature as possible is important and saves fuel, so this makes sense. It seems Ford initially did such a good job of controlling air flow that they had to reverse course and remove some grille shutters to prevent under-hood fires should the engine throw a rod.

QUESTION to ALL:
Does anyone know the secret handshake to manually start the hybrid engine in engineering test mode so I can do an idle leak check after an oil change?​

This one? https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...rick-engineering-test-mode-how-to-enter.5672/

 

[LSchicago]

Speaking of oil changes, Does the hybrid have any grease zerks? Doing my first change next week at about 3,800. Not sure if there is anything to grease.

 

[GPSMan]

Some clever Mav owner with an engineering background needs to design quick release clips to replace the #30 TORX fasteners.

That's a really good idea.
Years Ago I had one of these with wheel skirts. You had to remove the skirts to change a tire. IIRC it used some kind of easy to remove clips so you could do it at night on the side of the road to change a tire. In 15 years I lost one or two clips, but a skirt never fell off. IIRC I replaced the missing ones with 50 cent hardware store wing nuts.

 

[GPSMan]

There's wing nuts but also wing bolts.

 

[papak]

My local dealer, South Bay Ford (Hawthorne, CA) charges $59.95 for an oil change that includes the oil and filter and they guarantee it will be done in 45 minutes or it's free. I had it done yesterday. Since I purchased the truck at that dealer, the first oil change was free. If, at some point in the future, I decide to change the oil myself, I'll modify the cover while I have it off.

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