LenFord

Ricktwuhk has posted an excellent "sticky" entitled "When should I change my oil?" In it, he referred to a February 2017 "strongly worded statement" from Ford to their dealers telling them to stop recommending maintenance be done beyond what is recommended in our owners manual.

I'm asking if anyone has a copy of such a letter and if so, would you post it here for us to see?

I ask this because I've got a 2016 XLT with about 3000 miles on it and have already received a number of phone calls and emails telling me I need to bring it in for service. It would be great to be able to refer to a letter from Ford as a response

-Len

bhamilton

I do my oil changes every 5k, just for my peace of mind. I let one go to the IOM recommendation, but just didn't feel right. Especially when I intend to keep this truck for quite a long time/miles

dalola

Why do you feel a need to respond? It's the dealer's job to make money, how ever he can. It's your job to manage your truck as you see fit.

Just ignore it, and follow your own schedule.

All Hat No Cattle

I got this e-mail today, and talk about weaseling, LOL.

On one hand they say it is time for my 5,000 mi. check, then they say to refer to the maintenance schedule in the manual.

I'd have to say that they are hoping that a certain segment won't read the manual, so they can make a few extra bucks. Legal, but not really ethical.

Oh wait, this is business, so ethical does not come into play.

So for the approximately 30% or so that lease, and have no incentive to worry about oil changes, this is a real fishing expedition.

Gerrard155

5k is the recommended oil change interval for some owners.

Why is everyone so worried about what dealers are advertising?

leadfoot415

Copy and pasted... read below, sorry for bad formatting.


January 2017
To: All Ford and Lincoln Dealers, Service Managers and Parts Managers
Subject: Ford Motor Company Position on Scheduled Maintenance Business
A world-class customer service experience is fundamental to the success of Ford and Lincoln
Dealerships and Ford Motor Company. As we jointly pursue a leadership position in customer
retention, a primary goal at FCSD is to provide your team with the products and services
necessary to continuously enhance the customer service experience that you deliver.
Dealerships that consistently deliver prompt, competitive, high-value service will be one step
closer to enjoying the benefits of lifetime customers.
Top performing dealerships attain a profitable fixed operations business by offering a quality
customer service experience using Ford scheduled maintenance procedures. Ford Motor
Company does not support the sale of unnecessary services, including dealership repair services
that significantly deviate from our recommended maintenance guide, service intervals or shop
manual procedures.
MAINTENANCE INTERVALS
Promoting maintenance intervals that significantly deviate from those published in the Scheduled
Maintenance Guide are unnecessary and may damage credibility and result in lost customers.
 Ford Motor Company recommends specific maintenance intervals for various parts and
component systems based on extensive engineering and testing.
 Ford relies on this testing to determine the most appropriate mileage for replacement of oils
and fluids needed to protect the vehicle at the lowest overall cost of ownership to the
customer.
 Reducing maintenance intervals does not improve vehicle durability.
AFTERMARKET OIL & FILTERS
Improvements in engine and lubricant technology have led to increased recommended oil change
intervals. Dealerships should use Motorcraft® Oil & Oil Filters, which are approved by Ford
Engineering to ensure optimal performance:
 Motorcraft Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil is manufactured with high viscosity synthetic
base oils and specifically designed performance additives to ensure optimal performance
over the entire oil change interval.
 Motorcraft Oil Filters use superior seals, pressure relief valves, anti-drain back valves,
polyester and cellulose media with the capacity to handle today’s extended drain intervals.
 Aftermarket oil and oil filters are not recommended by Ford Motor Company.
Ford & Lincoln customers purchasing “The WORKS” package expect to receive Motorcraft Oil &
Oil Filters. Those dealerships not using Motorcraft Oil & Oil Filters are not eligible to participate in
“The WORKS” nationally advertised offers and consumer rebates.
CHEMICALS AND ADDITITVES
Ford Motor Company recommends against the use of all chemicals, treatments or additive
products not identified in the owner guide or unless specifically recommended in publications
such as Technical Service Bulletins. Only approved chemicals, when used as instructed, are
compatible with a vehicle's components and systems.
SYSTEM FLUSHES
The following should be understood related to the topic of engine, transmission, steering, brakes
and fuel system fluid flushing services:

 Demonstrating to a customer that specific fluids should be changed because of a change in
their color is a misleading practice. Darkening of many fluids is normal in most cases.
 If flushing is required in conjunction with a transmission component repair, the dealership
should flush the transmission with only the recommended transmission fluid. Use of chemical
transmission flushes can damage the vehicle's transmission.
 Utilizing fluid exchange equipment is acceptable as long as Ford approved fluids are used.
 Fuel injection system flushing is not considered scheduled maintenance by Ford Motor
Company. Should the fuel injection system require cleaning to resolve a specific condition,
chemicals meeting Ford requirements are recommended, such as Motorcraft Premium Fuel
Injector Cleaner, Motorcraft Pressurized Injector Cleaner or Motorcraft Power Flush Injector
Fluid.
 Engine oil system flushing is not a Ford Motor Company approved maintenance procedure
and is considered an unnecessary expense to your customers. Use of chemical/crankcase
flushes can damage the vehicle's engine.
To assist you in growing your needed customer-paid sales, Ford has established very competitive
pricing on key maintenance and wear parts; including brakes, batteries, tires, filters, as well as
many other products. Additionally, we have worked collaboratively with Dealer Council, PSMAC
and the Dealer Advertising Associations to deploy and continually enhance significant Tier I, II
and III service marketing initiatives.
Customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention are more important than ever in today's business
environment. Selling high-quality Ford and Motorcraft products builds customer loyalty to your
dealership and reinforces the brand promise implied by your Ford or Lincoln franchise. The entire
Ford Team stands ready to help you achieve your consumer experience and dealership profit
goals!

mwf5888

Page 501 of the owner's manual:

---------
Your vehicle is equipped with the Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor system, which displays a message in the information display at the proper oil change interval. This interval may be up to one year or 10000 miles (16000 kilometers).

When the oil change message appears in the information display, it is time for an oil change. Make sure you perform the oil change within two weeks or 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the message appearing. Make sure you reset the Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor after each oil change. See General Information (page 103).

If your information display resets prematurely or becomes inoperative, you should perform the oil change interval at six months or 5000 miles (8000 kilometers) from your last oil change. Never exceed one year or 10000 miles (16000 kilometers) between oil change intervals.
----------

I still change mine around 7000 miles for both my Fords.

icecoldak

Todays Synthetic motor oil and advanced filters, there is no need in hell to change your oil any more than once a year--Unless you fall under severe duty and tons of towing, there is just no need to change perfectly good oil at 3,5,7K miles!!

Gene K

On the 5.0 MPI with 8.0 qt capacity I agree with you. Standard MC looks like it could easily go another 4000-6000 mi when analyzed at 10000 mi.

On the EB with GDI (Fuel Dilution) + Turbos and only 6.0 qt capacity Im not so sure. The analysis I've seen on these engines say the oil is in worse shape at 5000 mi than the 5.0 at 10000 mi. Typically it's pretty well used up at 6000-8000 mi. Synthetic really doesn't seem to help a whole lot because it doesn't put up with degradation from fuel dilution a whole lot better than conventional.

LenFord

Thank you leadfoot415. You answered my request better than I thought would happen. There's a lot of good information contained in the letter and should settle a lot of debates. Opinions about maintenance will always differ but now we have the factual position of the designers and engineers.
Thanks again!