Have 5000 miles on my truck, about 1/2 towing and 1/2 empty. Should i change the factory oil now ? Dealer says wait on computer.

 

All I can tell you is what the Diesel Tech at my dealer told me:

The oil life indicator is about as accurate as the "miles to empty" meter on the fuel range. Meaning that it is a computed value that has a margin for error, the margin for error is unknown and varies.

I was advised to change it at 5K and every 5K after that. The dealership sales manager wants me to report to him on how many miles the computer lets me go on oil, so there is a little conflict there.

Additionally, I got the warning message to change the oil at about 7400 miles. The diesel tech forgot to reset the oil life thing. So, having new oil at 5K had no effect on the oil life monitor. This tells me that there is really no sensor of any kind analyzing the oil, it's just a mileage ticker and maybe a duty cycle checker.

Probably ok either way but it may depend on how you use your truck.

 

A lot of newer cars and trucks are going to technology like this.

My wife's '08 CR-V has it, and at first it was VERY hard for me to trust it. I did lots of research, and everything I came up with stated that Honda knew what it was doing when it designed the system and to trust it. This thing goes ~12,000 miles between oil changes! I switched to full synthetic for my peace of mind but I have no problems trusting it now.

Remember that engine oil doesn't degrade at a fixed rate. How long oil is good for depends on dozens of different factors. Without a fancy computer to track it there's no good way to figure it out, so manufacturers figure an average number that will suit most people and include that in their normal service schedule. They then figure the most severe service the vehicle will see and estimate how many miles it will be good for in this application and call it a severe service maintenance schedule.

This system avoids the need for guessing, as the engine can monitor nearly every variable that can affect the engine oil wearing over time. I'm willing to bet the system is conservative, as Ford has 100,000 miles of responsibility of an engine that probably costs more than $10K to replace.

I'd trust it.

 

I think it's more of a duty cycle checker than a mileage ticker. Not completely sure about Ford's system but every other manufacturer that uses this type of system monitors dozens of different things. For example, the number of cold starts and whether or not the truck always gets up to operating temperature are huge factors when it comes to oil life. If you really want to read up on this go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and do some searches on the forums. LOTS of good info there.

The 6.2L gas engines get the mileage ticker!

 

I changed mine the first time at 4800 miles. I am at 10500 now and the oil life display says "ok". I am going to change it today.

Regards

 

Well Tom, I trust what you say and I'll reset the oil life indicator when I get the next oil change and see where it takes me. If it really does monitor how the engine is used then it should be a good indicator of some other stuff too. Like, learning how I use my truck and if it is un-neccesarily hard on it or am I using it in a way that is good for long term use. Kinda a way to optimize how it is run? Know what I mean?

 

but given the previous post, where ruschejj got the "change oil" message 2400 miles after changing the oil... I tend to believe that it's (at least primarily) a mileage-based reminder. Maybe honda is doing something different. What I do know is that the things that really matter with regards to oil life cannot be tested very easily by a sensor. Viscosity, lubricity, and particulate in fluid are easily tested by lab equipment. Not so much by an onboard sensor.

I am planning to do my first oil change this week, just shy of 2k miles, to get rid of any break-in related particulate. then I'll go 5k on the next one and send a sample out for testing. 7500 on the next, with another test. I won't be comfortable changing at 10k until I have put several gallons through the system and at least 20k on the clock. Even then, I will want an analysis. This method is based off of quite a bit of research, including advice from the more knowledgeable folks on this forum. The computer's reminder is great for letting you know when the "normal scheduled interval" has expired. I don't trust it farther than that.

BTW, I agree that Ford is conservative given their 100k warranty on this expensive engine. I also think that the schedule they list will be just fine for 100k, maybe even 150k. I want my engine to go 400k+ .

 

I would say that the ECM can be capable of doing a decent job of computing. It is al a matter of how it was programmed to do so to begin with. "If" extensive lab results show that oil will break down:
after so many miles
after so many cold starts, and at what temperatures
after so many hours of idle time
how many times the oil temperature gets to a certain point
how many times the coolant temperature gets to a certain point
how many regens have been performed
how many times engine oil level went to a certain point
calculated fuel that has been burned
calculated driving style (light foot or heavy foot?,)
calculated engine load

Then the ECM is completely capable of calculating an oil change using this information. All this information is already there, or it could be there if the sensors and/or programming was there to do it.

I would say that a "good" oil monitor would be very possible. It is all a matter of how it works. If the ECM was just going off of mileage or engine hours, then the ECM was programmed to do just that, which would tell you that it would come on after so many miles hit on the ECM odometer count.

I know that most oil monitors out there use some of these things. AN most of them are tend to be more conservative, probably just for the reason stated in the previous posts.

If Ford indeed used at least half of these items to calculate an oil change, I think it would be decently correct. 5000 miles isn't a lot oil wear if it is used as a grocery getter. If it's used as a heavy tow vehicle, 5000 is the maximum I would run until oil change.

 

Some good points there. I guess if the computer really does have an algortihm for expected oil life given that many factors... then it's better than a mileage ticker. I guess I'm still just paranoid.

There are three main keys to long engine life: proper lubrication, proper cooling, and good fuel. I really do intend to get 20-ish years out of this truck. not all will be as my daily driver, but it will haul my stuff for that long, if I take care of it. After 20k-ish miles, and a few rounds of oil analysis, I might be content with letting the computer tell me when to change it. Until then I intend to hedge my bets

 

It is not a mileage based clicker. It's a real time use gauge. Ford expressed this on their website about saving money and helping the enviroment with less oil changes than needed. The standard quo of 3,000-5,000, 7,500 is no longer used on these trucks. YES FORD is that smart. Relax let your truck worry abouyt the oil changes.

The service guy is gonna tell you Yup every 5,000 miles needs to be changed. What do you want him to say? He wants your MONEY. Plain and simple.

YouTube - Tough, smart and green

Watch to the end.

Enough said!!

RELAX and ENJOY!!

BTW, Your Welcome,
Shane

 

Rick,

You ought to have an oil analysis done to find out the true state of the oil. I'm not racking up as many miles as you and can't change the oil fast enough to do as many samples/tests as I'd like. Over time, I'll know how the oil is holding up but you have that opportunity now.

On another note, I received a comment from a senior Ford engineer regarding my little oil change video. In addition to finding it valuable as an "objective" source of info, he had the following comment on my oil change interval of 5,000 miles:


So it's clear he has a lot of confidence in the oil minder system and is telling me to give it a try. This is great as it will decrease the maintenance cost quite a bit over what I was planning. The only way to know for sure though is through oil analysis.

By the way gents, take a look at what he sent me. You know how I complained at the end of my oil change video about the twisted metal band dip stick? He said he was one of the voices advocating for the new cable-type dipsticks and helped implement them into the near-job 2 trucks. Read the tag closely. It's cool...

 

You know, people can (and will) argue brand versus brand on every imaginable front. I think this is one area that Ford is really showing up the competition. They're getting *involved* with consumers and even the smallest of issues. They're providing help and service at a level I've personally never experienced until now. The simple fact that an engineer took time out to comment on a post here on a random (awesome) truck board... brings tears of joy to my eyes

Add in the fact that he sent you one of the new dipsticks to address your concern... Ford is kicking **** in a major way right now. And it's not just the superduty truck.

 

I hate to spoil the party here....

If you really value your vehicle and intend to keep it to over 200,000 miles.

Follow this procedure:

Change oil AND FILTER with DINO ONLY at these mileages:

100 miles

250

500

1,000

2,500

5,000

Then once more with dino at 10,000


Then, switch to synthetic.

-------------------------------

I would also change the coolant out at 5,000 miles, or, add a coolant filter if you are doing heavy use.

Transmission:

Change filter at 5,000 miles

Then normal service.

Rear Differential: change after 1st year, then normal service.


--------------------------------


DO a really good break in --- alternating high output with a cooling cycle --- to seat the rings and so on, for the first 5,000 miles.



No 50 cent oil monitor sensor hooked up to a computer simulation software will tell you how much metal / casting sand / crud / and other stuff is sloughed off a brand new motor.


Auto manufactures have a vested interest in none of you doing this, because the impact is so much out --- 100,000 miles plus that it is beyond any warranty period they pay for.

They want your ride to wear out so you buy a new one.

 

If makes a party then you havn't spoiled anything.

 

More spoiling the party posts:

Engine break in:

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

Scroll down and look at the pistons in the pic --- difference between good vs. bad break in.

Yes it is a motorcycle.. but same principles.


Engine Break-In Controversy: Should You Ride it Like You Stole it, or Baby It?