I have 2600 miles on my baby.

I purchased the "every 5k maintenance plan" from the dealer through 75k.

I asked them why 5k, not 3k for an oil change. They said they are making engines better and better now and I can go 5k miles between changes.

I purchased the Motorcraft oil and filter myself to do this at 3k. That means at 5k I am only 2k into the change.

So, when should I do it, if at all (let the dealer do it every 5k)?

 

I have always been raised to change the oil every 3k, so I too am having a hard time letting the truck go 5k before a change. I know they say it will be ok but im just not sure.

 

If you change your own oil it cost 10-15 dollars so go ahead at 2,500 if you want and do the dealer at 5,000 and 7,500 yourself and 10,000 at the dealer. That is 20-30 dollars for 4 oil changes and darn good mileage in between. Use the system to your advantage.

 

i use synthetic motor oil in my truck, and typically change the oil every 7-10K miles depending on the time of year. more often in the winter, less in the summer, due to the effect of temperatures on oil.

just passed 100K, and haven't had a single problem with my current truck. no reason to spend money unnecessarily (think about who keeps telling you to change your oil every 3K miles- dealerships, quick lubes and oil companies)

 

Uh, no thanks, don't want any of that here. Try the neighbors house buddy.

 

LOL

not selling or preaching, just putting in my .02

 

I just had mine done. It had 2000 miles on it. I will be changing mine every 3000 mile from this point on. Using the Ford motor oil and their filter!

 

I get the first oil change at 1,000. The next oil change at 3,000 miles (2,000 after the first oil change), and then every 3,000 after that. The service manager at the Ford dealership says this is old school and not necessary with modern oils. He also admitted that he does the exact same thing with his cars......

 

I am going to do my every 5000K miles. It is cheaper, one of the post is correct (it is old school). Need a paridim shift on how you do maintenance on the new vehicals. Also, the engines are rated to 100000K for its first tune-up (spark plugs). But, if you want to spend extra money on oil changes it will not hurt , that goes the same at changing the oil at 5K.

 

wont do anything to do it often but i change the air filter do when i do the oil so it helps keep things cleaner and i sometimes go up to 7000 before changing and the oil is still clear and thin. only do san diego city driving though. thats the same routine as my old car which has about 120K of hard driving and its still strong.

 

5k is the change interval according to the maintenance schedule supplied by Ford. The 3K is old school. Intervals have been extended due to cleaner burn engines ( less by product), lead free fuel, and oils that far exceed the requirements back when the 3k rule stood. Oils today have better detergents, and contaminate suspension capabilities etc.

There is no advantage to changing every 3K unless the type of driving you do is outside the normal drive habits.

 

How much was the plan and what does it cover?

My 2005 should be here in 2 weeks and I want to know what the dealer is going to toss my way in "extras"

Dan B
St Louis, MO

 

I change my oil every 5K but I use synthetic oil. If I used regular oil I would probably do it every 3K. I don't believe either method will harm the truck, it's just whatever keeps the driver happy right!

 

I cannot recall the exact cost. They will offer you mileage caps, like 50k, 75k, 100k, etc.

If you crunch the numbers, and you would be taking the truck to the dealer for the scheduled service anyway, it does save you money.

My dealer cut me some kind of deal ,if I recall because I also got the extended warranty too. If I recall, he gave me the 75k maintenance plan at the 50k cost because I also got an extended warranty.

I like to do most of the service myself, though brakes, transmission, etc I always take to the dealer, so the plan made sense for me.

 

Don't know if you are aware of it, if you have the 5.4 and the new trans 4R75E that goes with it, the first service on the trans is not due till 100K miles. So the plan would not even cover trans service.