Filed under: Maintenance, Trends, Ford
Ford officially extends oil change interval to 7,500 miles
by Dan Roth on Mar 22nd 2007 at 10:36AM 
Ford has been studying the question of when to suggest oil changes, and they've hit upon 7,500 miles for 2007 and newer cars. Not only are modern oils better, modern engines are also better. You don't have carburetors metering poorly on winter mornings, tolerances are a lot tighter, and operating temperatures are typically a little hotter, helping to cook off the junk that accumulates in the oil. Some manufacturers use a sensor to monitor the health of the oil and light a service lamp when it calculates change is required. Ford contends that its customers prefer a set amount of miles between changes. The automaker also cites the environmental benefits that come from less waste oil, monetary savings, as well as extensive tests as positive aspects of the new recommendation. I'm convinced that the only reason to suggest changing the oil at 3,000 miles in a modern car is to sell more oil. Perhaps an air-cooled Porsche would stress dino juice more, and could sensibly require changes at 3K, but you can stretch to drain intervals that would make your father gasp and clutch his chest by running modern oils in your modern engine. Of course, your driving pattern has a lot to do with it, as well. If you're in town for short hops, you'll require a shorter drain interval than the guy running Mobil 1 for his highway commute and changing the oil at 25 kilomile intervals (raising my hand). [Source: AP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jeff 11:02AM (3/22/2007)
I can hear the counter arguments from the quickie lube places now. I can also hear the collective gasp from all of the dealership service managers as they have just lost one more excuse to deny warranty claims (No, Mr. Smith, we cannot replace that smokey blown engine because you didn't change the oil every 3,000 miles like our service writer recommended...).
It's about time someone took a stand. Way to go Ford for getting some truth into this game.
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Michael Karesh 11:05AM (3/22/2007)
I thought they'd been recommending this interval for years. What have they been recommending?
Some of the Japanese manufacturers recommend 10,000-mile intervals for some of their cars.
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mark g. davis 11:05AM (3/22/2007)
GM had already done this and in my Pontiac it tells me when I need to get the oil changed.
Welcome to the club Ford...
Does this apply to they're giant "farting" Super Duty too?
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Torben Busk 11:19AM (3/22/2007)
Finally something the europeans are ahead on. Service intervals. The VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda family of diesels require a service for every 30-50.000 kilometers, depending on the way you treat the engine (high revs / cold engine).
My 2001 Skoda Diesel signals a service and an oil change every 45-48.000 kilometers, because I'm easy on the throttle, and never go over 2000 rpm before the engine is warm.
The car has now driven 230.000 Kilometers (143.000 miles).
Cheers
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Greg Smith 11:32AM (3/22/2007)
My 97 Ranger manual recommend 6k miles. I routinely go 10K with synthetic. With nearly 120k on the odometer, it still runs like a champ.
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Michael Karesh 11:41AM (3/22/2007)
There are so many myths surrounding oil. On every forum I visit people debate oil change intervals. I've found only one site that really tries to dig through them to get to the facts:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com
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Peter 11:51AM (3/22/2007)
I try to stick to 3K changes in my daily driver. It's a 350Z, with Castrol Syntec, top quality filters, and 90% highway miles. At least I won't feel quite so guilty when I sometimes extend the changes to 4K or so...
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shame 12:02PM (3/22/2007)
My '06 Focus calls for 5k mile intervals and thats what I do. That ends up being just about every 5 months for me...not expensive at all.
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Dub 12:03PM (3/22/2007)
We do 5K mile intervals in both our Jeeps (which is like once a year, if that, lol), and I think we've decided on 12K mile intervals in our '06 CTD Ram. All are running synth motor oil. The Jeeps both have oversized filters too.
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KickPush 12:09PM (3/22/2007)
I change my oil once a month. Our cars cover 30 thousand to 60 thousand miles a year.
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Shooter 12:14PM (3/22/2007)
Changed the oil in Summer 2006. Driven 12000 miles since then, including a drive across the country in 100 degree heat. VW Jetta gas 2.slow. Will probably do it in a month or two. Mobil 1 or maybe equivalent. Last year I did the same thing. I was at the service shop for awhile, so I asked the guy and he took a sample on a paper towel. After it cooled I touched it. It was dark in color but not gritty at all.
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MarkWeb 12:20PM (3/22/2007)
Ok, we had two Chevy's with OLM (oil life monitors, actually oil life calculators which use an algorithm to predict oil life based on ambient temperatures, driving distances, throttle usage, etc.).
My daily freeway commuter, a 2006 Cobalt, called for approximately 8,000 mile changes.
My wife's city car, 1 2006 Impala used mostly for 2-3 mile trips, calls for 3,000 mile changes. And that's in temperate weather with no hot summers or freezing winters.
What does that tell me?
That 3,000 mile changes are a safe bet, since probably more American's drive brutally short trips than have 35 mile fairly free flowing freeway commutes like me.
What else does it tell me?
That 7,500 miles is at the limit, if my OLM was telling me that 8,000 miles was about it. Let's see. Let's mix in some nasty 2-3 miles trips 50% of the drives, my freeway commute the other 50%. Don't you think the nasty short trips are going to drag the oil life a lot closer to my wife's indicated 3,000 mile level, than to my ideal level?
I think it's a marketing trip. Most dealers and most owners look at their manual and choose the "severe driving conditions" oil change interval. So for Honda, they say 10,000 regular, 5,000 severe, people choose 5,000 and everyone is happy. Dodge says 6,000 light driving conditions, 3,000 mile normal. Will Ford say 7,500 miles light service, 5,000 mile heavy service?
BTW, after it's sludging problems, Toyota cut back its recommended maximum drain interval from 7,500 miles to 5,000 miles.
You see, apart from the actual oil life, you have to take into account "consumer abuse" and the rule of 25% - the belief that I can always safely run over the maximum oil change interval by 25%. Specifying a shorter maximum oil change interval takes into account that car-abuser mentality.
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TGM3 12:32PM (3/22/2007)
Audi recommends 10000 mile oil and service intervals
Porsche recommends 2yr/20000 mile oil/service intervals.
Of course thats regular maintenance duty schedule.
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DriftPunch 12:33PM (3/22/2007)
Remember that unless you overheat the oil, it's the additive package that gets consumed first. When that goes, the oil starts to suffer quickly. If you've got an engine that's easy on the additives, you can go quite a distance. This is also why a larger sump helps, as there's just more oil there for an equally sized engine.
Case in point, I've got a 1994 GMC K1500 with a 5.7 that fouls its oil within 2,500 miles. It was used heavily (horse trailer) and neglected for much of it's life. So, at 165,000 miles, it burns a quart during those 2,500 and the remains get quite black as the detergents pick up blow by debris. Contrast that to my well maintained 4Runners oil that still looks good at 4,000.
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polar 12:43PM (3/22/2007)
My dealer just sent me a note reminding me about my 3000 mile change on my '05 Focus...
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Steve 12:49PM (3/22/2007)
This is a limited-scope change - including only specific Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover vehicles, and Ford & Lincoln vehicles equipped with the new 3.5L V6 engine.
All other '07 and '08 gasoline-engine vehicles remain at the standard 5000-mile change interval.
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It 1:36PM (3/22/2007)
BMW has a "get your ass in here, we need to change the oil light" too. On my M3 it reads 15,575 miles to the next oil change when they reset it. I go half that, just because I track and auto-x it.
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paul34 2:22PM (3/22/2007)
I know someone who recently bought a S55, and MB recommends a 15k service interval. 15,000!
Of course, this includes more than just changing oil, but you don't have to change the oil more than that. I'm sure modern cars can easily exceed conventional wisdom about changes. To tell you the truth, 15,000 doesn't phase me at all.
Regardless, I'm still sticking to 5,000... not that I'm a zealot or anything, but yea.
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neal 3:18PM (3/22/2007)
BMW recommends 15k for both my 06 MINI and 06 M5.
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CH 3:23PM (3/22/2007)
@16
Steve, all Volvos have been on a 7,500 oil change interval for years now. In Europe, the interval is considerably longer.
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