It is offered at all ford dealers

 

So is premium maintenance cheaper up front or is it cheaper to pay as you go along?

 

Can it be upgraded to use Full Synthetic oil? all I ever use.

 

The filter for the diesel is a lot higher as well. The oil change for my 6.4L is ~$85 at our dealer.

 

That would be a question for your dealer. The price of a service plan can often be negotiated with the purchase of the vehicle. We run the standard Ford branded oil in our car which gets serviced at the dealer. I run T-6 in my truck and do all my own service greatly due to cost. The standard oil at most service facilities (including Ford Dealership) is expensive for diesel service. I would not even ask what they would charge. Our cars usually are traded around 100K miles. Trucks at 200+K. Maybe I will try something new with the 2017 and trade early while there is still value and then the synthetic would not be such a big deal to me.

 

Thanks for the quote. That would be a more welcome price. I think there is a 4 quart difference in the 6.4 vs 7.3 and I have not priced a full service on it in years after hearing that price a long time ago. As I get familiar with the new truck these questions will be asked of the dealer again.

 

I follow the sales and buy enough for 2 or 3 changes. Doesn't cost much more than dino that way.

 

I am usually paying 170 to 190 for full synthetic in my 15.. since we tow heavy 35k total weight it is worth the extra cost to us.

 

Usually find Auto Zone has a couple of sales a year on the 5gal pails of T-6. Amazon also has good pricing and I find the 2-2 1/2 gal case nice. Easier to handle jugs.

 

If you travel yes it is accepted everywhere.
However you really have to watch if your truck in for a big inspection.

I was driving in 2012 with my 11 SD
And booked a major inspection a couple of weeks
Prior to the trip.As I figured where I would be.
They did not service the truck properly for brakes.
Ended up stuck in the west coast Canadian Rockies
With seized brakes! Spent an extra week waiting
For parts to be sent up from the U.S. In a hotel room!

Like always depends on the dealership !

 

You should also follow the Napa sales. They also get some good prices on the Valvoline Premium Blue 5w40.

 

Thanks Mike, I use NAPA quite a bit. I'll keep an eye open.

 

I have been able to keep the cost of full synthetic Rotella T6 around $135 for the 5 gal pail. (Matter of fact on sale at A-Z right now) That is good for 1 change with 5 qts left over. After 3 changes the fourth one is free!

 

The quality of service techs is just too hit or miss to trust them to not damage something. Around our area, techs are considered independent contractors, only get paid when they are working (even though they are required to sit at the shop with no pay until they are given something to work on), only get paid the flat rate time for the work regardless of how much time it takes, and any comebacks get done by them for free.

Combined with low pay ( mid $20/hr), most decent mechanics leave to work at independent shops that offer better pay and working conditions. This leaves the newbys or those that aren't too saavy working on your vehicles. Not a good thing (and I admit this is a generalization and there are expections to the above and some very good techs out there working for dealers but this is more the exception than the rule).

My neighbor has been a GM and Honda tech for 25 years and is an amazing mechanic. He was THE ONLY tech getting paid the traditional way in both dealerships. He finally got tired of dealing with fixing screwups done by the junior mechanics and went to work at an independent. Some of his stories left me in disbelief like the time one vehicle had a rear end noise so the mechanic drained the oil, removed the rear diff cover, and test drove it to see if he could hear better what was happening. Rearend siezed up 5 miles away from the shop and had to be towed back! My neighbor got stuck having to completely rebuild it.

Personally, I don't trust the dealership to put out quality work given the current pay and work conditions. The few times Ive taken my vehicle to the dealer for warranty work, it was done poorly and required me to take it back to get it fixed (2 1/2 qts low on trans flush w/ spilled oil puddled on the engine never wiped up, and directional tire put on the wrong direction and valve cap left off when TPMS sensor had to be replaced).

 

We took our Escape in to a dealer to get the TPMS fixed, I was getting a tpms fault warning, the dealer told me it was caused by the bluetooth in the phone, and the built in BT in the Sync system. Said we had to keep the phone out of the car and the sync BT turned off.