Took my 15' in to the dealer today to have an oil change done. While waiting I had an interesting conversation with the lady running the service counter. This is only my second oil change as the truck only has 11.5k miles and I was wanting to know about their suggested intervals for changing the oil and fuel filters. They recommend 5k interval for oil change and 15k for fuel filters. I asked why the intervals were set at those numbers when the the diesel supplement specifically states you can rely on the on board oil life monitor to alert you when the oil and fuel filters need to be changed? Even if you fall into the severe duty category the suggested interval for oil is 5k-7.5k. Now, my thoughts are the dealer is trying to make more money by suggesting the shorter intervals but I wanted to her justification. What she proceeded to tell me had me looking like a deer in headlights. She said you cant rely on the oil life monitor because of our climate down here and it make these motors work a lot harder (Houston, Tx). Then, led into a story about a parks and recreational vehicle (6.7 but unk year) they were working on which had only 77k and needed a new motor. Now, here is where things got real interesting. She said the motor had extremely high idle hours and the inside of the motor was "completely slugged" despite the fact they had consistently changed the oil every 5k and the warranty was not going to cover replacing the motor. Too high idle hours = no motor replacement under warranty and even stated its in the owners manual, just not sure where. She said they use a formula: idle hours x 25 + odometer mileage = actual mileage on the motor. Using the formula the 77k motor really had around 270k according to her. Part of me is thinking this is total bull**it and the other is a little concerned. I have 500 hours on motor and 145 idle hours and is this too much? I asked her what they use as a benchmark to classify a vehicle as having too high of idle ours but never got a direct answer. Things came back around full circle to doing my oil changes like they say and ignoring the material printed by ford in the diesel supplement.

Personally I think this is way out in left field and if it were my truck being denied the warranty coverage I would be having a lawyer hammer Ford's ***. No where in the owner's manual or diesel supplement does it talk about any of this. You would think something like this would be expressly stated in the warranty material. Have any of you ever heard of anything like this? Between the void warranty and their little formula I am still shaking my head.

 

Ive seen this before. It was a 6.4 bucket truck had only 15k on it but it had over 5000 hours on the engine. Motor was junk and warranty was denied. In the diesel supplement under extended idling- oil change every 5000 miles, or 3 months, or 200 hours of engine operation which ever comes first, if you idle over 10 minutes per hour of driving.

 

Steve, I am not sure what info you are referring to but my diesel supplement states the following for frequent or extended idling or frequent low speed if your vehicle is used for stationary operation: Oil change is as required> "Change the engine oil and filter as indicated by the information display, and perform the services listed in the scheduled maintenance chart" Maybe there has been a change with newer models? Again, mine is a '15

This goes back to the supplement specifically stating that the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor determines when you should change the engine oil based on how your vehicle is used. Also, nothing is said about high idling voiding your warranty or any special formula to determine "actual miles" on the truck.

 

I was quoting from the 6.4 supplement I have. It was under Special Operating Conditions. Your hours are no where near that. I have a few 13 Dmax amblances with under 100k on em and have 12 and 13k engine hours on them. These rigs can hit 200 hours in 10 days. Just saying some applications need to adjust their maintenance schedule when they idle that long every day. I can't imagine how many hours some of the old 7.3's would have shown with 400k on them.

 

I would ask then to put it in writing and challenge it against what is written in the owners manual.

 

that truck should have been using hours for the oil change interval.


I do agree with the 5K oil changes and 15K on the filters.


I would also be running a heavier wt oil in the warmer climates.


The op does have too many idle hours. My truck has about the same idle hours and I have 37K on mine. There is no need to endless idleing. Zero miles to the gallon.

 

Maybe not in your situation, but the application for these trucks vary, if they didn't ford would never have offered stationary regen.

 

Everyone has their own opinion of when to change the oil or fuel filter. This may be based on experience or just personal preference. However, my point is that the diesel supplement provided by ford spells it out in black and white. The words are not minced. The supplement specifically states (again for my '15) the following:
"Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent Oil-Life Monitor that determines when you should change the engine oil based on how your vehicle is used. By using several important factors in its calculations, the monitor helps reduce the cost of owning your vehicle and reduces environmental waste at the same time. This means you do not have to remember to change the oil on a mileage-based schedule." (no mention of hours).
The only place the supplement provides specific parameters for an oil change is if the vehicle is PRIMARILY operated in dusty or sandy conditions or primarily off-road. It then suggests to change the oil every 7.5K, 6 months or 300 engine hours.
Why would Ford put this info in print if this is not how they wanted the owner to take care of and service their vehicle. I would think that Ford would error on the side of caution with anything that may a liability for them. They clearly address high idle time in a category of its own and specifically tell you to change the oil as required according to the oil life monitor. Given this I just don't see how any warranty work could be denied if you are following the supplement maintenance requirements. I especially don't see how a dealership can be implementing their own maintenance schedules and formulas to determine "actual" engine miles and denying warranty work based on those calculations.


As far as my truck, I use it as a daily driver. I never let my truck sit there and idle needlessly for more than 5 min. However, I do live in the city with horrible traffic and after a year of ownership those are the hours I have accumulated from commuting.

 

Exactly!!! Like I said, ask the dealer to put it in writing. They won't. They just can't make up their own rules as they go along their merry way. The owner's manual is the bible Ford follows so to speak. Ask to speak with the Area Ford Rep over the issue. Or, you could ask them to kindly point out their point of view from your owners manual... They won't.

 

There is also a difference between a vehicle used for commercial purposes and one for non-commercial uses. Warranty terms are slightly different.

I always thought the intelligent oil life monitor used idle hours into when it tells you to change the oil. Excessive idling is where I personally could see a difference in using a synthetic oil too.

Regardless, whatever is in the manual is what is going to be used in court, should it get to that. Most issues do not. When you bought your new vehicle, you signed a contract and the terms of that contract between you and manufacturer are in that owners manual. (one of the reasons if you buy used, it gets a tad trickier even though that contract is supposed to transfer) Your sales contract even says, "nothing said counts", only what is put it writing (if you read the fine print) that cuts both ways. And I have personal experience with a court going over what is in the manual, when the manufacturer tries something different, the response is - show us in the manual where it says it.

In this case, the manual does talk about excessive idling - so in this case - there could be some truth to it.

Really, all most of us want to know is - WHAT do I do and when, officially...

 

Looks like the 6.7 is smarter than the 6.4. I went to the ford site and looked up schedules for an 11 and 16, both mention idling more than 10 minutes per hour. But it says the intelligent oil monitor will tell you when its due. Anybody out there using a 6.7 that would idle a lot in commercial service ? Would be cool to see how the olm does with high idle time trucks.

 

I will put my two cents worth on this. As a Ford dealer tech who's been wrenching on Fords since 2000, and been Ford Senior/Master/Diesel certified since 2007, also the present owner of a 2016 F-250 6.7 CCSB 4x4 I will weigh in on this. My line of thinking is fluid changes are less expensive than component repairs/replacement. Those of you with the attitude that you're within warranty should an unforeseen major breakdown occur, is the inconvenience of needing the repair still worth it, even if you won't be of out pocket for the cost? To the OP, your service advisor sounds like someone who knows her stuff. In Ford school, we too were preached about the engine hour count thing, and yes 200 hours is the magic number. In Canada, the number is 40, meaning engine hour count x 40 equals the driven mileage wear on the engine in kilometers. For you guys in the U.S. the number is 25 for miles. That said, I am at 34,000 kms. and about 879 hours on my 2016. That means my engine has about 35000 kms. of equivalent driven mileage wear, and therefore meaning I have 1000 more kms. of driven mileage wear on my engine than on the vehicle itself. Being **** as I have always been, I change my oil religiously every 5,000 kms. on this truck and every other vehicle I've owned, since I was old enough to drive. I've found that using this "schedule" on my 2016 as well as on my previous 2007 F-250 6.0L, I've been averaging about 120 hours between oil changes, well more frequent than the 200 hour recommendation for those of you high idlers. Yes, a lot of modern vehicles have so-called oil change minders in the message center, but does that really preclude being proactive yourself and keeping track of your maintenance yourself, on your $50K plus investment? It's almost like asking yourself why you should bother with checking your tire pressure when you have tire pressure sensors.

 

I just checked one of my 14 E350 5.4's. Its 6 months old, has 11000 miles, 1605 engine hours and 1196 idle hours. That's equal to almost 30000 miles of idle time. Rigs are in about every 30 days for a service. Oil life monitor wants an oil change at about every 1800 to 2000 miles.

 

I know the oil life monitor is out there, but I will change on my schedule as I know what I put mine through.


More often helps in a lot of ways pointed out above.


These trucks come with this monitor now as a way to reduce maintance cost for the average consumer who factors the overall cost of ownership.

 

I take your opinion seriously m-chan... Just to clarify my comment.

We are talking about two different issues here...

1. Regarding whether the warranty would cover a repair even though you follow the recommended service intervals and what the manual tells you to do. Why the manual doesn't delineate what you posted baffles me.

2. What is the best practice for longevity. You know how you drive and what conditions you drive in. I was a member of the 3k oil change club until the UOAs starting showing it wasn't necessary on the 6.7. 6.0s it absolutely was. Even with my "light" use. I've only done two oil changes, one at 5k and another at 10k on my 2015... Never saw a change oil soon light. I just changed my fuel filters at 13k... I will do my next set around 26k. I inspect my air filter often too. I only had one case where I saw a change oil soon light on 2011. I changed the oil in Miami and drove up to Alaska. When I got into Alaska, the change oil soon light came on. The oil was changed the next day.

I don't fault anyone for following the book though either.

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As a side note, I absolutely hate that ford has the cheap TPMS system in and doesn't let you see the tire pressures. While on CHEVYS and DODGES you can see what each tire is on the IC. When that happens I check tire pressures everyday on my Ford I do it about once a month. More so in the winter.