How Often Should I Get An Oil Change?

[mitch84]

Hi

I've never really bothered much with the maintenance of my car , apart from the basics such as tyre levels and checking things are sufficiently topped up such as oil and water levels , now I'm wondering how often I should have my oil changed?

I dont do that many miles in my 1.6tdci , proberly 6-8k a year , so I normally just leave it to the yearly service at Fords ,is it better to get

a change more often than this , or doing the miles I do just stick to the standard oil change every time I book it in for its service , I can

understand someone who does a lot of miles getting more oil changes ,but is it worth the bother for cars doing not so many miles?

thanks

[Maleforce]

Just follow the maintenance schelule mate for the miles you do its fine but use a ford dealer then you keep the warranty.

[mitch84]

thanks , I had a feeling the miles I do in a year would be fine to just get a oil change on every scheduled service from Fords.

[NorthSussex]

Just follow the maintenance schelule mate for the miles you do its fine but use a ford dealer then you keep the warranty.

I don't think you have to use a Ford dealer to keep the warranty up, just a VAT registered garage.

[catch]

The important issue here is not voiding your warranty, so as the other posters have said stick to the Ford Maintenance Scheduled.

And Storming is correct you don't need to have the servicing done at a Ford Main Dealers.

Ford know that a lot of people are clueless in regard to the warranty conditions when they buy a new car for them. These clueless people mistakenly think they have to have the service carried out at a main dealers for the term of the warranty period, to stay in warranty, not so. Hence the push by the sales team at Ford dealerships to sign up these clueless people to three year maintenance contracts.....quick guys get the money of them before they go some where on the web and realise we are !Removed! them with expensive services for three years.

Oh I can here some people saying, hang on I got a discount off the normal service charges. So you think you got a deal? Well explain this, go into a Ford Dealers a day after your cars third birthday and book it in for an interim service, you will be charged £99........Anyway I digress .

So rule is stick with the terms of the warranty in regard to having the vehicle serviced.Which I believe is every 12.5k miles or every twelve months whichever comes first.

After the warranty has expired, its really up to you when you have it done. I for instance like yourself do very little annual mileage. My car is 6.5 years old and in the first year of ownership I did 5,450 miles between services 51 weeks apart.

When the next MOT came around 52 weeks later I had done 4,978 miles in a 52 week period, and that was on fully synthetic oil. So it was a no brainer to me, I said to my mechanic I'll skip the service and push it on another 6 months to the spring. Logic being I'll have my car serviced with an oil change in April prior to the holiday touring season. So this week I had it done 18 months after the last service having covered 6,333 miles. The oil was Castrol Magnatec fully synthetic bought last October on special offer at Halfords for £18.

So you see on an 18 month servicing scheduled [but with an MOT every 12 months were my mechanic gives the car a good look over as he MOT's it] I can cut the servicing costs considerably. On an 18 month cycle excluding MOT costs it will run out at £38.66 per annum.

For instance the Spark Plugs and Air Filter are down for changing every 37.5k or three years. I've covered 11,783 miles in the 2 years 8 months since they were renewed by Ford prior to me buying the car. They were inspected this week and look like they are good for another 12k so why change them!

OK your car is a TDCI but you get the drift, and really on the mileage you do is it really worth running a diesel? OK you have it now so i'm not suggesting for one minute you rush out and change it for a petrol. No I mention it more for maybe people doing mileage like yours and mine, but thinking of going diesel at their next car change.

Only on Monday I discussed the very subject with my mechanic. I said I'm tempted to go diesel if only for the road tax savings and overtaking torque of a diesel next time around. But I then I think why take the risk of failing DPF's. And he chimed in with, and the high incidence of failing Dual Mass Fly Wheels. A guy around the corner to me had two go on him in so many years.

Nope I'll stick to a nice simple petrol variant that can return me 50mpg with decent fuel in it on 40 mile runs on A roads driven at a reasonable pace.

[cuke]

Hi, describing us who choose service plans as 'clueless', IMHO, is a tad OT and rather off topic. The OP only asked when he should have his car serviced not a debate about the ways and wherefores of service plans, or anything about diesels either. BTW, many modern petrol engines now have a DMF...

[NorthSussex]

Hi, describing us who choose service plans as 'clueless', IMHO, is a tad OT and rather off topic. The OP only asked when he should have his car serviced not a debate about the ways and wherefores of service plans, or anything about diesels either. BTW, many modern petrol engines now have a DMF...

By what I have read the "Dual Mass Flywheel" fitted to some petrol engines has a lot less problems than the "Diesel Particulate Filter" Fitted to Diesel engines, their roll is not comparable. We should not set diesel owners against petrol owners and visa versa, we all drive a Ford Focus.

Again a bit off subject

[Mozo Jojo]

Hey,

As far as i know, oil changes chemical proprieties after about 1 year, and it doesn't lubricate as well, that is why they recommend changing oils once per year at least, or at about 10 miles ? (i know it's 15.000 km).

Also doing 5000 miles in London for example, or a very busy city, or doing a lot of short trips with a cold engine (and oil) it's not that good either. I change my oils every 8-10.000 km just because i run my car in the city a lot, with a lot of short trips for example.

I would never say that you would have troubles if you just keep the ford miles service schedule, especially if you still are under warranty, you shouldn't worry about this :)

Drive Safe

[NorthSussex]

Hey,

As far as i know, oil changes chemical proprieties after about 1 year, and it doesn't lubricate as well, that is why they recommend changing oils once per year at least, or at about 10 miles ? (i know it's 15.000 km).

Also doing 5000 miles in London for example, or a very busy city, or doing a lot of short trips with a cold engine (and oil) it's not that good either. I change my oils every 8-10.000 km just because i run my car in the city a lot, with a lot of short trips for example.

I would never say that you would have troubles if you just keep the ford miles service schedule, especially if you still are under warranty, you shouldn't worry about this :)

Drive Safe

If oil changes it's chemical properties after 1 year it would have a sell by date on the can.

[catch]

Hi, describing us who choose service plans as 'clueless', IMHO, is a tad OT and rather off topic.

Typical cuke, jumping in with both feet.

You were down my throat on another thread recently, I initially thought ...forget it, ignore it, let it go. But now I realise if I don't reply to your posts I going to get this hassle all the time. So I'll reply to that thread later, but first lets first deal with your comments on here

What I actually said was

Ford know that a lot of people are clueless in regard to the warranty conditions when they buy a new car for them .

I never said people who choose service plans are "clueless" that is a personal choice. So why did you say I did?

What I was saying was plain and simple, some people just don't know where they stand regards warranty terms and conditions. For the most part because they are to idle to read said terms and conditions. In other words, if you don't have all the facts then you don't always know what other avenues of choice you have open to you.

I suspect your incorrect interpretation of what I said was coloured by you opinion of me, in that I had the audacity elsewhere on the forum to offer up opinions that differed from yours...

And as to your comment regards the OP's question being strictly adhered to. Well it may come as something of a shock to you, but threads can and in some case do expand to cover associated aspects of that which is under discussion. It's the nature of public forums, therefore may I suggest if you want to decide the structure of threads and what can and cannot be written to them, you should consider setting up your own forum......I'll promise not to post on it

Catch

[NorthSussex]

Typical cuke, jumping in with both feet.

You were down my throat on another thread recently, I initially thought ...forget it, ignore it, let it go. But now I realise if I don't reply to your posts I going to get this hassle all the time. So I'll reply to that thread later, but first lets first deal with your comments on here

What I actually said was

I never said people who choose service plans are "clueless" that is a personal choice. So why did you say I did?

What I was saying was plain and simple, some people just don't know where they stand regards warranty terms and conditions. For the most part because they are to idle to read said terms and conditions. In other words, if you don't have all the facts then you don't always know what other avenues of choice you have open to you.

I suspect your incorrect interpretation of what I said was coloured by you opinion of me, in that I had the audacity elsewhere on the forum to offer up opinions that differed from yours...

And as to your comment regards the OP's question being strictly adhered to. Well it may come as something of a shock to you, but threads can and in some case do expand to cover associated aspects of that which is under discussion. It's the nature of public forums, therefore may I suggest if you want to decide the structure of threads and what can and cannot be written to them, you should consider setting up your own forum......I'll promise not to post on it

Catch

Ill second that Catch, It needed saying, you're not the only one Cuke has been a bit abrupt with, I thought it was just me he was having a pop at. Cuke, chill out man, life's too short. :D

[catch]

Hey,

As far as i know, oil changes chemical proprieties after about 1 year, and it doesn't lubricate as well, that is why they recommend changing oils once per year at least, or at about 10 miles ? (i know it's 15.000 km).

Hi Mozo Jojo

I bought a car from a Ford Main Dealer tagged as "Franchise Approved" it had not had a service for two years six weeks prior to them servicing it for me prior to delivery. So it kinda lays the lie about what Ford say about servicing and what Ford Main Dealers actually reckon can be sold as Franchise Approved vehicles !

I knew the history of the car before I bought it, I was not put off, I've owned cars for going on forty nine years. The deal was right, I've had the car for two years seven months, it has covered 44,500 miles and it never needs the oil topping up between oil changes, and runs sweet as a nut.

Totally agree regards keeping to the terms and conditions concerning the warranty.

But that said, there appears to be a lot of bull written about engine oil, for instance manufactures state it has to be this oil / that oil. Then Volvo had a issue where diesel fuel is seeping into the engine oil due to the DPF regeneration cycle on some new S40 diesels. Meaning there was more fuel and oil in the sum, which never mind the destruction of the lubricating properties of the oil. But could have potentially lead to the cars self fuelling them selves [like happened in the USA] Volvo's answer was to tell Main Dealers not to fill the engine oil to the line on the dip stick at service time. This was to allow for said engine oil contamination, I kid you not. [ I'll look for a link for you when I've time]