Thanks for all the assistance from others on this board...enjoying my new FEH and learning something new every day.

Do have several questions, related to several topics...

First, at what mileage did you all do your first oil change (I know I'll get various answers, but just checking to get ideas...). I know the manual says 10K is first recommended service, but I'm kinda "old guard" and think that when breaking in a new engine, you should do it within the first 1-2K so that any "bits" that have dropped into the oil get drained out. First one is on the dealer anyways, so if I do one at 1k, I do away with that concern about the "bits" and don't have to pay anything.

Secondly, how many of you adhere to the recommended servicing schedule that Ford suggests? I know a lot of this depends on whether you rate your vehicle use as "regular" or "severe" service...my line of thinking is to do the initial at 1K and then every 5K after that. I live in Central Oregon, and cold weather is a factor for 3-5 months of the year. During the spring and summer, dust can be a problem as well. Overkill to go at 5K intervals?

Tires...'06 came with those Continental ContiTrac EcoPlus tires. I've been keeping 44psi in them...stay with that, or can you bump the pressure up to around 50?

Trip from Bend to Portland to Salem and back to Bend today...30.3 going over (3600', with several good passes, then dropping to close to sea level), 27.6 coming back (gradual climb and then one good pass), so right at 29MPG. Given that I have less than 900 miles on the rig, and am still learning the "tricks" you have suggested, I'm pretty darn happy! Sure beats the 19-19.5 I got with the Exploder!

Thanks for letting this newbie pick your brains! Hope I can return the favor to others down the road...

Neil

 

I think you'll actually get a consistent answer of 5K miles ... which is what the owners manual states for 2005.

I try very hard ... and so far I've been sucessful, but I've only had my FEH for 1 year.

david

 

I got my first change at 1K, second at 6K, and now I'm going at every 10K. My salesman agreed with my method as well, since it's not a lease, but a purchase, I want that engine to be in tip top shape for as long as possible.

I got the second one mostly because winter was approaching, I had a coupon, and I had noticed a MPG boost, so I went ahead and did it.

Lastly, I keep the tires at 45PSI.

 

I did my first change at 6K which was only 4 months later.... and "light duty"...
First change was the free one from the dealer.
Motorcraft 5W20 out, Motorcraft 5W20 in.
Motorcraft is a blend of dino oil and synthetic oil.
Ford says it is good for 10,000 miles, and it probably is. Your Hybrid will have very little idle time, and some miles will be EV miles. So 10,000 miles is a lot fewer engine-on hours than a regular car. Any oil should last 25-33% longer.

Then, about 9000 miles, I learned from people on here that Mobil 1 0W-20 is full synthetic, and is preferred over the Motorcraft. The slightly lower weight would also help in my Colorado Winter. So at 9000, we ( myself and someone else from this group ) changed to 0-20W Mobil 1.

Well, the oil now has more than 10,000 miles on it, and when I pulled out the dipstick and wiped it on a white cloth, the oil was STILL tan in color and see-thru.
Amazingly clean for 10,000 miles. Not anywhere close to black, and clear, not cloudy either. I think I will change the Mobil 1 every 15,000 miles.

I have to ask the veterans, does Mobil 1 ever turn black???

 

I bought my 2006 FEH three days ago. The sales rep said the first oil change is at 3,000 miles and he stressed the 5-20W oil. Then he said the rest are every 5,000 after that. I've always used Mobil 1 in my previous 98 Mustang V6 (Ford gave me $5,600 on the trade in) and I've gone 10,000 to 12,000 miles between oil changes on it without a problem. Haven't gotten that far in the owners manual yet myself.

 

Also keep in mind the system diagnostic is set to "check" the oil at 10K, as it says in the manual.

 

YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYTHING THE DEALER'S TELL YOU REGARDING THE HYBRID!
Ford Headquarters is "trying" to educate dealers and service centers, but old habits are hard to break. Ford HDQ is frustrated with the mis-information as well.

Dealers are not used to them, nor do they know the in's and out's of them, no matter what they say. They've probably sold fewer than 10 in total, and probably serviced less than two.

The Ford Hybrid Design Team told me in person, face to face, that they stand behind their recommendation of first oil change at 10,000 miles, and each 10k after that. I changed mine sooner, and to Mobil 1 for increased performance, and an even longer maintenance interval.

This is a green car in more ways than one.
Not only was it designed to save gas and emission pollution, it was also designed to consume less oil over the life of the vehicle, by needing Dino oil changes at 10,000 miles, and full synthetic every 15,000 miles.

Did you know over 90% of the FEH can be recycled at the end of it's life?

 

At this point, I'm VERY leery of trusting anything the salesman has to say...I knew more about the FEH than he did, after doing a lot of research and taking some of the advice and knowledge from you folks here. I'm also a little leery about trusting the service guys...while they have been outstanding in the past with several previous vehicle ('02 and '99 Exploder, previous Taurus), their learning curve on the FEH seems pretty steep at the moment.

I followed dealer/manufacturer recommendations on the '02 Explorer and ran the recommended Motorcraft oil (5W-20?) year round. It can get cold here (usually 20's-30's, with some teens and sub-zero stretches) in the winter and can get hot in the summer (85+). I'm planning on installing a block heater in the FEH so that she'll be warm when I leave the garage. Looks like some of you are advocating some thinner oil...think that will suffice in these kinds of conditions year round, or would I be better off going to thinner visc in the winter and recommended visc in the summer?

I think the owner's manual does a pretty good job of listing recommended servicing, under "normal conditions", but I think there's a false sense of security there. My FEH is used about 70/30...70% of driving is in-town, short trips, 30% is highway/longer trips. Conventional wisdom says that with that kind of driving style, that should qualify for "severe service" intervals, does it not?

LOL...perhaps I'm obessesing too much...but just looking to make my FEH last and get the maximum "bang for the buck".

 

Maybe you are. Around the City, your engine should be off... not even being used half of the time. In my book, this is very light duty. Many things in the FEH go against your gut. All my 50+ MPG trips were in the mountains, with steep (6%) hills all over the place. Go figure!

Enjoy!
-John

 

With all the replies you have received from your post, you should have a pretty good base line.

Here is what I have done.
First oil change was at 5,000 miles.
I change my oil every 5,000 miles and rotate my tires. I keep them at 40 psi (considering bumping them up to 44 psi - I wouldn't recommend the max inflation from the tire company.)
The reason I change my oil so frequently is that I drive mostly highway and my engine is basically always running though I am not sure about how much of the load it is actually moving. When I checked it at 15,000 mi (last oil change) my oil was black.
I would trust the advice given from this site as I have started using more of the "tricks" listed on the FEH FAQs page and my mpg increased from 29.5 to 32.0 mpg. But I have found onew thing to be true. My '05 FEH likes to be driven in heavy bumper-to-bumper commuter traffic that is crawling. On days like that, my mpg went up to around 34 mpg. Then as soon as I was able to drive at my normal speeds it went back to hovering around 31.0 mpg.
The only advice I give to you is to examine your driving patterns (mostly highway or mostly city) and decide on that how often you need to change your oil. After 5,000 miles, my FEH is telling my it is time to have it changed.

Good luck.
Rich