Last oil change I got was at a local Jiffy Lube. I noticed my 3000 miles are almost up as I glanced at my sticker yesterday, so I decided to flip through the little information meter on the dash, and it said I had 70% oil.

I usually wait for the warning to come on at 10%, and then I go and change it. Having never paid attention to the mileage, am I doing the right thing? Or should I pay attention to the sticker put on by the guys changing the oil?

 

Consult your owners manual. My 2005 FEH calls for a 5000 miles service interval. The garage guys always put a 3000 mile sticker on it, but this is not necessary.

 

Stephen:

FWIW, I use the 90% rule on my 06 FEH. I'm using pure synthetic 5W-20, that meets the Ford 930 standard. I've put about 27K miles on it since March of last year. I've always been a shade conservative on change intervals, even though my OM and the gauge says I can go 10K between changes. Oil has been clean (as far as I can tell) at oil change time.

Oh, one thing I do add to the procedure is a new oil filter at the 4500 mile mark. just to be safe. No oil issues this far. I'm sure there are others on the forum with more experience than I have who may do something similar or different with results that suit them.

Insofar as the speedy lube type places are concerned (for that matter, any of the oil service joints), they will all specify 3000 miles on the sticker, unless you tell them you want something else noted instead.

Just my two cents worth; hope it helps.

 

That's weird, the 2006 OM calls for oil change at 10,000 miles. (twice as long as I would wait) But the fact that the engine only runs a percentage of the miles, and if you use a full synthetic......maybe that's okay.

 

Perhaps there was a change between the 05 and 06 OMs? I know there was more emphasis from several venues to go full synthetic instead of blend. Perhaps some of our brethren having experience with mutiple models of FEH or MMH could weigh in? None of my vehicles use anything but synthetic any more.

 

One quantitative way to address this question is to test your oil at specified intervals. There are a number of labs that do the work. One I've used is Titan Labs. The data will help you know when the oil is "all used up."

Qualitatively, many synthetic manufacturers guarantee (with a star) their synthetics for a set interval. Mobil 1 does 10k for regular and 15k for the extended performance line. I've been changing at 10k intervals but just recently pulled my first oil sample (from Mobil 1 0W20) at 3500 miles since the last change. I'll post the data in another thread as it becomes available

 

My 2006 FEH manual says 10k miles between oil changes. I use that. On other cars I did oil testing. Saw little reason to change cross only 3k miles.

 

Not only are some miles EV miles, but this FEH has very little idle time.

Miles per hour is not only for speed!
Miles per engine hour is also significant to monitor.

Ford says to change oil every 200 hours, if you own a taxi, or mail truck who does few miles, but lots of idle hours.

I do the reverse.... almost all highway these days (changed jobs 2 years into my 2005 FEH).

I put in an engine runtime clock.
I find I can go just about 14,000 miles in 200 hours.
So I change my Mobil 1 every 14-15,000 miles.

The oils of today do not wear out. They only get dirty, so your environment should be factored in as well.

 

OK I have a question about this. I am not likely
to put more then 3000mi in 12mo on my 06 FEH. At
that rate my next scheduled oil change would be
in over 3-years. What I would do on my last car,
not Hybrid, is change oil every 6-months regardless
of how many miles I had gone. Based on time not
distance how often should I change oil? I'm thinking
once per year regardless of how many miles I've gone.
FEH gets run at least 1x per week if only just a few
miles or so at freeway speeds. Environment is San Diego.

 

This is the third time I have typed in a reply this evening. I hope that the gremlins have gone to bed and do not impede the upload of this comment.

I agree with FeelTheVolts that you should use objective data from engine oil analysis to determine when to change the oil in your car.

My awakening came when I brought my 2003 Mustang Cobra in for an oil change at about 65K miles. I vividly recall the attendant climbing out of the pit and asking me why I wanted to change the oil when the oil in the car looked "new'. Indeed he had a jar of golden oil he had collected from my car. I did some research and the next time I changed the oil, I sent some off to Caterpillar for analysis. I tried Blackstone for subsequent oil changes in all of my cars and like their service better.

My Mustang Cobra now has 149K miles and remains my daily driver until my Chevy Volt arrives. The last three oil changes have occurred at 116K, 128K, and 142K miles. My 2007 FEH has 96K miles and the last 4 oil changes happened at 42K, 56K, 70K, and 85,191 miles. Both cars are running fine. I am confident that the engine oil analysis would support the good care that I have given to my cars should a warranty issue arise. This is unlikely given the miles on each of these cars.

In summary, I recommend that you use objective data to determine when to change the oil in your car.

Motown