Has anyone had their oil changed by the dealership or other oil change places? I'm interested in finding out what they charge.

I changed my oil myself the other day and here is a breakdown of my cost.

Oil Filter - List price $11.47 paid $6.71
O-Ring - List $9.13 paid $5.34
Motorcraft 930-A 5-20W = $3.00 qt Total 15.00

Total List - $35.60 plus tax My Discount = $27.25 plus tax

Tools needed - 13mm wrench, 6mm allan wrench, Small oil filter wrench.

Only had 6,627 miles on my FEH but didn't feel I wanted to go to 10,000 on my first oil change.

I paid 28 dollars at the Ford dealer who didn't have the filter the first time. Also, I took 5 quarts of the 15W-20 Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic Oil with me. They only had Valvoline which doesn't make an oil that has the WSS-M2C930-A spec. Mobil makes one and so does Castrol but not Valvoline. The service advisor told me not to worry about it, if the engine failed it would be under warranty. I brought my own oil anyway. They didn't seem to like that but they used it anyway. The oil change would have been 19.98 after rebate if I would have used the Valvoline but since I brought my own oil they were nice enough to charge me $28 dollars instead. I should have told them to throw the Valvoline in the trunk and let me get the rebate but I think they were a little miffed about me bringing my own oil.

I only had about 3000 miles on the vehicle but I changed the oil early to get the initial new engine "break in filings" out. I paid a lot for this thing so I would like it to last awhile.

Jeft, this is a concern of mine! Can tech's at the dealerships change oil to the specs. Is the FEH ahead of their knowledge? Maybe we can use 15-20W oil. Maybe not! I'm not sure. It calls for 5-20W 930-A oil, does Motorcraft 15-20W meet that standard? I don't think so myself.

My concern is the amount of starts the FEH makes during operation. Ford has been calling for 5-20W only for many years, I don't understand, but I use it .

So what your telling me is you paid $28 for labor. No filter, no O-Ring, and no oil.

Has anyone else had their oil changed by others?

I did mine myself at about 4,000 miles. It is a pretty easy change once you have the parts (other than the filter can needing major muscle to twist off without the small filter wrench - I'll have it next time). Because the filter is in front and points straight down, it was a nice, clean job.

I needed two trips to the dealer for the parts. They didn't have the filter element so they ordered it. The parts man said the o-ring would come with it, it doesn't so I had to order it and come back again. I wonder what they would have done if I brought it in for the oil change - keep it overnight?

Hopefully the '06 and the '05 use the same element and o-ring so I can just get a supply of them.

I usually get the Motorcraft 5W-20 at Autozone. Think I paid $2.29 a quart last time.

You got that filter off and on without a filter wrench? It was hard for me with a wrench. That O-ring makes it hard to turn even after you break it lose. I had to use the filter wrench to screw it back on also. You may want to get a wrench and see if you got the filter cap on all the way. If you didn't, oil maybe bypassing the filter if it isn't sealed inside.

Walmart did sell motorcraft 5-20W for about $1.86 but it wasn't the new 930-A (GF-4) spec. Walmart stopped selling Motorcraft around here about 6 months ago. Thanks for the tip on Autozone, I'll ckeck if there's one around here.

I knew when I got my FEH in Feb. to order the parts early. They had 12 filters (a case) in stock. I bought 2 filters and had to order 2 O-rings. At that time, they didn't have any 930-A oil. I found some at the Dealership a week ago. BTW, the air filter list for over $50.

At least Ford located the oil filter right for a change. The drain plug doesn't drain the oil completely until you break the filter cap lose and make a few turns. At least you can drain the oil from the filter before you remove it.

Good point about leaving your FEH overnight for an oil and filter change. You seen they didn't have the parts in stock. A concern I would have is they would charge you for an O-ring and filter and not replace it. I suggest to all here that take the FEH someplace to change the oil, verify they stock the parts or have them order them before you take it in.

Anyone else have a price or problem on getting the oil and filter changed?

The Motorcraft Oil I had DID have the 930-A spec that was in the manaul. It seemed to be pretty thin. I paid about 2.29 at Advance autoparts for it. The dealer did have the oil filter and O-ring this time. So I paid 28 dollars for labor, o-ring and filter minus the oil.

Jeff, I misunderstood you the first reply. That is a better price than I thought they would charge. The list price of the O-ring and filter is $20.60 and most oil change places charge for oil and filter disposal. You got a great deal I think.

It was a struggle but, yeah, I got that sucker off without a wrench. My secret is to swear a lot...getting it back on wasn't too bad since I oiled the hell out of the o-ring. I have the correct wrench now anyway for next time.

Walmart quit selling Motorcraft stuff after Ford quit selling to them. At least that's what I read on another board. Don't remember the whole story.

I had to get my new '06 inspected today so while I waited I went to the parts department. The '05 and '06 filter is the same part thankfully. The funny thing is they had the filter but not the o-ring. I asked them if they changed the o-ring with every oil change like the book says and I got the old blank stare. That answered my question. Otherwise, wouldn't they keep a like number of elements and o-rings in stock?

Just one last correction to my first reply. It was Motorcraft 5W-20 semi-synthetic with the WSS-M2C930-A spec not 15W-20.

Some what off oil change subject

I'd like to try something thinner like Mobil 0w-20 to see what that would do to my mileage. But so far I can't find anything else to meet that Ford spec. I would hate to see the 0w-20 go shooting through my gaskets.

Used to that was one of the main advantages to running synthetic was getting to run something thinner while still getting the same protection. I had a 260e that called for 20w-50 or 5w-40 synthetic. Switching to the synthetic pushed me up from 22 mpg to about 25 mpg plus eliminated the extreme cold weather valve tap when I started it in the winter after it had been sitting outside all night at work. Cold oil takes a while to pump you know. But the difference between the two oils in sub-freezing tempatures was like comparing maple syrup to Coca-Cola. Don't know if there is as much benefit today as there used to be because there are a lot of newer cars that specify thinner regular oil.

That may be one of the reasons this Escape of mine always wants to warm up before it shuts down to run in electric only mode. A 200 mS start specification could be a little extreme with cold syrupy oil. I think the other reason might be to keep the catalytic convertor hot to minimize the other than CO2 emissions.


Back on subject. Honest...

Has anybody every been to a dealership where they didn't at least have the oil filter for the cars the sell??? I mean they shipped out all kinds of posters and brochures for the hybrid... Why not a few spare oil filters, O-rings and maybe a case of oil to celebrate the launch of a vehicle Ford could actually sell at Full Sticker? I mean a lot of Ford vehicles like the F-150 and the Explorer seem to be going for well below invoice.

Hope I don't need a transaxle somtime soon. Because according to the shop manuals the LRU (Lowest Replacable Unit) for the motor/generator/CVT/PTO is that transaxle.

Ray, the fact is, I had to use a rag between the wrench and the oil filter cap to grip it so it wouldn't slip. I'm not a wimp by any means but my hat is off to you for determination.

So your buying another FEH. I would do the same if I had the money. My son is at MIT and lives at Theta Chi on Beacon St. in Boston near you. I hope to buy him one for graduation in two years, we'll see.

One other point I think is worth posting is that at 6,627 miles, my oil level was at the min. mark. I'm use to changing the oil at 3,000 miles or even 4,000 or 5,000 miles when I don't have the time. For those that wait 10,000 miles, you may be very low on oil. After putting in 4 1/2 qts, I was between max. and min., I used oil. This means you may need to add the same oil between oil changes. I wouldn't mix oil in my FEH so you may want to keep some original oil on hand.