Just took my 06' FEH in for its first oil change at 3,000 miles (freebie offered by the dealership) I asked what the normal charge would be for this and was advised $56.00. The service tech told me that this vehicle requires 2 filters???? I havn't seen anything anywhere in any forum telling me there are 2 filters in the oil system. Personally, I think the service advisor is talking thru the wrong end of his person but I wanted to get some other opinions on this.

Also, I'm having some trouble with changing the oil every 10,000 miles - I've always changed the oil at 5,000 miles on every car I've ever owned.

Any thoughts???

Final note: Rear wheel squeaking - mine appears to be resolved - the dealership (which I have not lost confidence in yet) did something with a loose or improperly mounted parking brake cable (service note put out from Ford), so far - no noise - adjustment was made about 6 weeks ago.

 

My father was a Ford tech for 40 years and thru following his habits I always changed my oil every 3 months or 3000 miles. As I got older and 'wiser' and cars and oil have improved I've changed to following the manufacturer's recommendations for oil changes.

Remember when spark plugs and coolant had to be changed every couple years? Well now platinum plugs and advances in coolant lets them last 100,000 miles. Oil and oil filter technology has also improved with synthetics, etc.

When I bought my 04 Honda Civic hybrid I went to have the oil changed at 5000 miles and the dealer specifically told me that it should not be done for 10000 miles. I plan to follow the same mfr recommendations for my FEH.

As far as 2 filters, I really don't know. I haven't researched it yet.

 

Thanks for the information and insight
Steve E.

 

My '05 FEH has one filter but TWO "O" rings. Those "O" rings MUST be changed (the dealer found out the hard way) each time.

I now do it myself, every 10k miles, with synthetic oil.

 

Can you give me some specifics on where these "O" rings are? Any problems getting supplies - I usually like to do this myself as well
Thanks
Steve E.

 

yes, you can go 10k between oil changes as per ford, but im getting mine changed every 5k or so(it doesnt cost me money and my boyfriend wants to get it done that often) the filter under the hood is the one that requires the "o" rings, is the one that gets changed at oil changes. then there is one in the back that you can get to through a panel on the left side for the battery that need to get changed every 15k or so. As far as needing the "O" rings changed everytime (and additional $20) my boyfriend (who is a ford tec) found out that they can get pinched if the filter is not being put in right. So he had to change mine the first time, but has not the last 3 times. so make sure that the person who is doing your oil changes can do it right and the "O" rings should be fine.

 

If you are paying $20 for your o-rings, we need to talk. I will send you as many as you want for only $10 per set. Ford now sells the filter and the o-rings as a set for well under $20 or you could go the aftermarket route and get the set for about $6. That is one filter, one large and one small o-ring.

As for reusing them? I would reuse them once if I didn't have the new ones but after being installed and removed several times, the big o-ring is going to wear and best case it will leak some. Worst case it will the can that holds the filter to vibrate off. The manual specifically says to change the big one at every oil change. It doesn't mention the small one if I remember correctly. The small one doesn't scare me that much but the big one does. You want that to seal tightly.

I do my own oil changes and either get the parts at the dealer or I have used the aftermarket. You can by a Mazda part too that appears identical.

I get the oil at Walmart for under $10 for 5 quarts. I hope they are losing money on it...

Hope this helps.

Ray

 

Organist6226:

I was also concerned about going 10,000 miles between oil changes. I did change it at 3,000 miles because I was taught that there are metal shaving in a new engine which will cause it to burn oil if they aren't flushed. Don't know if its true but it was worth the peace of mind.

By the way my Ford dealership charges $29.00 for an oil change. You might want to shop around.

Dennis

 

Remember that a "normal" car with 3000 miles on it, has actually had the motor turning for many more "miles" of idling. ONE reason for the FEH having a larger interval is the lack of idling when the engine shuts down. The oil is also partially synthetic which makes it more stable from breakdown.

The "severe" schedule on a normal car I've always wondered about. Is driving around in the city that much harder on the vehicle, or is it that there are more miles on the oil that havent been counted by the odometer. Farm equipment always had "hours" on their odometers.... If you think about it, cars should too.

Clearly the hours/miles thing isn't the full reason for the increase to 10,000 (I don't think anyone is going around with their motor running only 1/3 of the time)

I'll bet 10,000 is just fine, but do whatever makes you happy. I just follow manufacturers recommendations myself.

 

I let the oil go in my previous vehicle (04 Chevy Colorado) until the oil life monitor said it needed to be changed. It didn't come on unntil I had over 14,000 miles on the oil. I sent a sample in and had it tested by Blackstone labs and they said it wasn't too bad. Definitely ready for change, but not harmfull to let it go that long. If the Colorado could go 14000 with the engine running for all of it, I'm sure the FEH can go 10K.