The information center is giving me a warning to change the oil soon because the oil life is down to 2%. It only has 4900 miles, last oil change was at 3000 miles. I know an oil change is every 3000 miles, but why is it warning me so early?

 

Whoever changed the oil at 3000 miles didn't reset the computer.

 

The Ford recommend oil change on a 2007 model is every 5,000 miles for normal driving and 3,000 miles for severe driving , this changed on the 2008 models to 7,500 normal and 5,000 severe.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

I have a 2008 and plan to change every 5,000 using full synthetic oil and NOT the synthetic-blend that is Ford’s standard oil.

<o></o>

I opted to pre-pay for all my oil changes and maintenance ahead of time for the next 6 years or 100,000 miles.

<o></o>

Here is an important note about Ford Scheduled Maintenance Plans, since I want the oil changed every 5k miles on a 2008 model you need to get the OPTIONAL plan and not the NORMAL, on 2008 models the normal plan is ever y 7.5k mile, the optional is every 5k. This is 5k and 3k respectively on the 07 models. The plans also only include the use of synthetic-blend motor oil, I plan to pay extra at the time of service and use the full-synthetic oil. I expect to pay only the cost difference between the two oils.

<o></o>

p.s. the message center on both 07 and 08 allows you to set the percentage of oil life left to what you want.

 

Which means us 07 owners can do the changes at 7.5K because we have the synth. blended oil.

 

This is NOT an accurate statement and will void your warranty; you must follow what is recommended in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide for your year vehicle.

The 08 engines burn cleaner so there is less combustion byproducts and contaminates getting in the oil, that’s why they increased to 7.5k for 08’s.

The Scheduled Maintenance Guide does not differentiate between fossil oils, synthetic-blend, or full synthetic oils. Meaning the oil change intervals stay the same with either type oil.

 

How can the 08 burn cleaner than the 07. They have the exact same engine and as far as I know, programming and transmission.

 

FYI-

Up coming tests.

My 07 EL has 12,600 miles on it. I just changed the oil yesterday. It had the regular Mobil1 5w-20 in it with around 3,200 miles. I'm sending a sample out to be tested. This time I used the Mobil1 Extended Performance 5W-20 and will run it again for 3,000 ish miles and send it out for testing. Then I will use the Ford synth blend for another 3,000 ish miles and send that out. I will then post all the oil analysis reports.

At 2,608 I did my first change and went to Mobil1 and then changed at 6025, 9259 and 12600 miles. So I hope she's good and broken in now for these above tests.

I'm interested to see how the $2.30 Ford oil stacks up against the $5.60 and $6.40 Mobil1 oils.

 

So, it's safe to change the oil at every 5,000 miles? Sounds good to me. I normally do city driving and have learned that a led foot can be costly. Especially when it comes to mileage. How do you set the percentage on the message center?

 

Just press the set up button to get the oil life indicator on the screen, then press reset and your good.

 

It was the service manager at the local Ford Dealer that told me the 08’s run cleaner then the 07’s, that’s why the oil changes went from 5k to 7.5k. I am not sure If there is any truth to this, it would be interesting to find out.

 

i don't believe half of the crap a service manager tells me. The dealership where I purchased my 07 expedition, basically told me I am the only one that has had a transmission issue, and after I pulled out the TSB bulletin regarding the issue, he still wouldnt do it without replicating the issue. Most service managers arent that helpful, at least from my perspective.

 

90% of oil drained at 3,000 is perfectly good. Synth blend at 5-7500 is more than likely still good as well. It's all about the money. Pull a sample at 7K and get it tested. If its good, why change it?

 

I'm confused now. As I mentioned earlier, the message center was warning me to change oil soon. Today, I just changed my oil at 5,090 miles. Ok, big deal I went a little over 5,000 miles, however, the issue is this; I went ahead and had Lube N Go put the factory recommended 5w-20 weight of oil. This time I went with Castrol. So, under normal driving conditions, my next oil change should be at 10,000 miles? Is this correct?
On the other hand, if I want to switch to full synthetic oil when I approach 10,000 miles, then the next oil change after that will be at approximately 17,500 miles. Am I right or wrong? Can someone clarify this for me.

 

If you have a 07 you are wrong, change your oil every 5k miles or LESS. 10k, 15k, 20k, 25k, etc.

Under normal use no matter which recommended oil you use, i.e. 5w-20 Fossil, synthetic-blend or Full-synthetic the manufactures warranty requires you to change the oil on

07 models
every 5,000 miles or LESS or every 6 months, whichever occurs first.

For 08 models
every 7,500 miles or LESS or every 6 months, whichever occurs first.

If you idle for very long times, pull a trailer, drive on dusty dirt roads, etc. which are known as Special Operating Conditions then you change the oil more often.

07 models
every 3,000 miles or LESS or every 6 months, whichever occurs first.
or 200 hours of engine operation.

For 08 models
every 5,000 miles or LESS or every 6 months
or 200 hours of engine operation.

Even though for example there are oils like Mobil 1 Extended Performance that states it’s an 15,000 mile oil and they have a guarantee to repair your engine if it fails due to oil related issues of their oils, the fine print says to follow the manufacturer’s maintenance guide

The 08 user’s guide also states
An oil change is required whenever indicated by the message center and
according to the recommended maintenance schedule. USE ONLY
RECOMMENDED ENGINE OILS.

To reset the oil monitoring system to 100% after each oil change
[approximately 7,500 miles (12,070 km) or 6 months] <SNIP>

Note: Oil Life Start Value of 100% equals 7,500 miles (12,070 km) or 6 months. For example, setting Oil Life Start Value to 60% sets the Oil Life Start Value to 3,000 miles (4,828 km) and 120 days.

Do not use supplemental engine oil additives, cleaners or other engine treatments. They are unnecessary and could lead to engine damage that is not covered by Ford warranty

 

I'm following all this, but, how do you actually reset the blamed thing so it quits saying "Change Oil"? I followed the procedure in the manual, but, nothing happened. It still says "Change Oil".

Bad thing is, the first two changes, at 1,000 and 3,000 (yes, I know it doesn't need changed that soon, but, I always do that with new vehicles), were performed by the dealer, it has 4,800 on it now. HE should have reset it. Maybe he can't figure it out either?