Bought a 2014 Explorer Sport in Sept. 2013. I do all my own non-warranty maintenance and I always have. I also send a used oil sample to a lab for every one of my vehicles and I did the same with the new Explorer. Now, I use Mobil 1 in all of my gas engines and I send a virgin sample to the lab when I first purchase a new vehicle. Unused Mobil 1 5W-30 has a viscosity of 11.7.
I changed the original factory fill oil at 4,800 miles with the oil life monitor showing 55% oil life remaining. The lab reported a viscosity of 7.7 and flagged it as low. The next oil change (Mobil 1) was after 2,500 miles and showed a viscosity of 10.7. The third change was after 5,250 miles with 51% remaining on the oil life monitor. The viscosity was 8.7 and the lab flagged it again.
I contacted Exxon Mobil and they actually called me. They say they have seen the same thing on these direct injected engines and attribute it to fuel dilution. They recommended that I contact Ford.


I did.


Wow!


I got the biggest corporate CYA answer I've ever seen. They told me to take it up with my dealership and stated that if there was "any publically available information on this issue" they would provide it to me. Didn't know Ford was part of the NSA.


So, it appears that I have two choices. I can ignore the oil life monitor completely and change my oil every 3,500 - 4,000 miles.


OR


I follow the oil life monitor. Change the oil when recommended and when I start using a quart every 500 miles and fail the state emissions test, or seize up a turbo, I can use my extended warranty and have Ford replace the engine.


I guess I'll go with door number one.

 

Is it cost effective to do these lab tests? My first thought was that Mobil 1 is supposedly a "brand" now consisting of various oils, including non-synthetic oil. I would never use anything but full-synthetic. I just sold my 2000 Explorer that ran full-synthetic since I started at 5000 miles. I changed the oil at 10K and the filter every 5K for 220,000 miles of service. Never had a loss of oil. Started and ran like the day it was new.

 

Well, if it says Mobil 1 on the bottle it is full synthetic. I've been using Mobil 1 in every gas engine I've owned for over 30 years. This includes generators, pressure washers, etc.


Your 2000 Explorer did not have a direct injection engine. The representative from Exxon Mobil I spoke to was clear that they have seen fuel dilution problems on Ford direct injection engines.


As to the cost effectiveness of having the oil analyzed, back in the 90's it spotted the beginnings of a head gasket leak on a Dodge V10 that I owned. Was able to catch the problem early. I also had a Chevy Suburban 8.1L that was trending high bearing failure contamination. I pointed this out to the service department under warranty and they dismissed it along with the fact that the engine was burning a quart of oil every 900 miles. They claimed it was within normal tolerances. They also wound up replacing the engine under warranty when it spun a main. They tried to get out of that one until I showed the zone representative the oil analysis results and the dealership service department's reports that nothing was wrong. So, yes I think its worth the cost.

 

With Turbo's and direct injected motors, idling and stuff can lead to fuel dilution.


go back to old school and just change your oil every 3-4K miles. Don't idle a lot and you will be fine.


Run a good oil 10-30 wt.

 

We got rid of an Audi Q5 because of the direct injection engine issues...
https://www.google.com/search?q=audi...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Audi has had direct injection engines for a lot longer and we didn't want to 'experience' that fun!

we are leasing the Explorer Sport so we can just turn it back in and it's ford's problem

 

Well, here's an update to my original post. Just changed the oil again with 3,800 miles on the oil. This time the viscosity was 9.2. Much better than last time (8.7) but the lab still flagged it as being slightly lower than expected. The oil life monitor was showing 56% life remaining.
Looks like I'll be changing it every 4K regardless of what the monitor says. Seems to be just a characteristic of direct injection engines.
Oil = cheap
Turbo bushings = expensive

 

Exxon-Mobile rep states fuel dilution but, is your oil level rising at all during the dump cycle? Is the lab test showing the introduction of fuel in the oil? Obviously the viscosity rate alludes to something but what actually?

There have been some reports of fuel dilution on the F-150 forum but not as wide spread as one may think. The ecoboost engines really need to run pretty hard to keep them healty.

 

Actually, the lab results show negligible fuel in the oil. Its just speculation but when I had my '05 F350 PSD one of the common problems was viscosity breakdown due to the continual pounding of the oil film in the bearings. The extreme shearing in the turbo bearings was also a factor. Oil formulated for use in diesels takes this into account and adds viscosity modifiers that prevent the long polymer chains from breaking. Since the oil used in the Sport is just plain old synthetic, this might be the cause. Those turbo shafts are turning pretty fast in the bushings.
I don't know if the firmware that calculates the remaining oil life is specific to the turbocharged engines or if its the same as the normally aspirated engine firmware.
Either way, I have settled on 4K oil change intervals just to be on the safe side. Oil is cheap.

 

IMHO...change the oil you are using.

This is where you should be... Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30 synthetic ...

Also, if your oil level is NOT going up between oil changes, then fuel dilution is probably not the issue.

When you drain the oil...can you spell gas??

Again, just my opinion, but I would UP the oil and use the best Mobile 1 has to offer for your application.


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