5000 mile oil changes?

[ryyck]

I'm hardly an expert. My experience with the Ranger was to change the oil at 2k miles, along with the diff oil. The oil meter in the truck said the oil was at 40%. The oil was (visually) fairly dark and dirty, diff oil had stuff on the magnet.
Today the Ranger is at 5k miles, the oil meter is at 30%.
My local trips usually amount to Publix, Lowes, and Cosco. The larger amount of the miles were trips to Atlanta. With that said, and no science - I'd say the short errand trips were pretty rough on the oil. As soon as it warms up - we're heading to Atlanta to do the oil and tire rotation.

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[grizzly]

I usually wait until my truck is at 25% which is normally every spring. I have done this with all my Ford vehicles 2007 & 2015 Mustang GT's, 2013 Ford F-150 Ecobeast Screw, and now my 2019 Ranger. Never an oil issue with any of them. All done by the dealer.

 

[FoD]

...
who in their right mind wouldn't?

 

[Tim H.]

I just took my new 2020 XLT FX4 in for its initial 5k oil change to the dealer. I used 11,000 for pass points for the change which is cool.

I noticed that the oil life was at around 54% when I took it in. This would imply that Ford recommends oil changes around every 9-11,000 miles.

Does this sound like an interval which is too much? I can't imagine that Ford would be recommending intervals which are too long given that they could make more money with shorter intervals. Thoughts?

My service manager suggests 5k.

 

[Motorpsychology]

My service manager suggests 5k.

The oil life index is a voodoo sliding scale, it's not totally clock based. If you were to tow 6,000 pounds in a 110º desert sandstorm every day, that index might show 5% after only 1,000 miles. This is post #103 in this thread; lotsa debate on the subject. You do you. There is no harm done to the engine changing the oil more often.

 

[THLONE]

Every oil post is an opinion biased on the seat of pants science. So, you do you and I will do me. IMHOP Ford has done the most testing of this engine so, probably knows the most. People built this engine and people drive this engine. So many variables. Any oil testing is just that, oil testing, not the end all indicator to engine condition. So, if you want to spend your money on extra stuff, good for you.

 

[VAMike]

The oil meter in the truck said the oil was at 40%. The oil was (visually) fairly dark and dirty,

it's a direct inject engine, it has soot. the engine & the oil are designed to deal with that. it's normal for the oil to look dark fairly quickly, just like it does on a diesel and for the same reason. being dark doesn't indicate that there's something wrong with it or that it's overdue for a change.

 

[Colin Stuffmann]

I just took my new 2020 XLT FX4 in for its initial 5k oil change to the dealer. I used 11,000 for pass points for the change which is cool.

I noticed that the oil life was at around 54% when I took it in. This would imply that Ford recommends oil changes around every 9-11,000 miles.

Does this sound like an interval which is too much? I can't imagine that Ford would be recommending intervals which are too long given that they could make more sense

I just took my new 2020 XLT FX4 in for its initial 5k oil change to the dealer. I used 11,000 for pass points for the change which is cool.

I noticed that the oil life was at around 54% when I took it in. This would imply that Ford recommends oil changes around every 9-11,000 miles.

Does this sound like an interval which is too much? I can't imagine that Ford would be recommending intervals which are too long given that they could make more money with shorter intervals. Thoughts?

It’s 10k or one year. My first oil change was at 5k and was about 1 yr from purchase, second oil change was at 10k and 7 months later

 

[Montana Ranger]

Since the '80s, I've done all my vehicles at 5,000 miles, largely because 5,000 mile increments are easy remember on the odometer. Since my Ranger is primarily used for towing from late spring into fall, I'd be doing much shorter than the recommended 10,000 mile interval anyway.

There are exceptions to my rule: I have a convertible that I usually only drive from May into October for far less than 5,000 miles, so I change its oil at the end of the season. Last year, largely due to the lockdowns we drove our other car only a few thousand, so I'll likely be off that schedule as well.

 

[Arly]

Since the '80s, I've done all my vehicles at 5,000 miles, largely because 5,000 mile increments are easy remember on the odometer. Since my Ranger is primarily used for towing from late spring into fall, I'd be doing much shorter than the recommended 10,000 mile interval anyway.

Not to distract from oil changes, we tow with Ranger quite a bit as well.

 

[RJK619]

I just had my first oil service done on my 2019 xlt lariat fx4 with 4,776 on the clock but I did have the computer (oil life monitor) report 3% left so I'm thinking the clock is counting down from day one regardless of the actual mileage (?)
I rolled it off the dealership lot February of last year (2020)
all said and done I'm liking it...so far

 

[cocheese72]

I can see that point of view and that makes sense. However, wouldn't the electronic "oil life" thing take into consideration the short trips and cold weather that could make oil more inefficient?

I am at 3,777 Miles and oil is at 36%. A bunch of shorter trips does have an impact.

 

[HenryMac]

I am at 3,777 Miles and oil is at 36%. A bunch of shorter trips does have an impact.

How many months since the truck was built or when the oil was changed last?

 

[cocheese72]

How many months since the truck was built?

9.5 months.

 

[HenryMac]

9.5 months.

Well it's basing it on 12 months then. It states 10,000 miles or once a year.

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