Oil & filter change intervals / frequency

[Meanderthal]

That reinforces what Mark said above, about the oil life monitor (OLM) determining % life remaining from its algorithm, and only tripping to zero after the one (1) year mark.

69% / 11 months = ~6% per month. If your use of the Escape is fairly consistent, toward the end of 12 months the OLM will say you have about 25% remaining.

Then, a day later -- poof! -- 25% all gone. It's now 0% due to the one year time limit.

Obviously that's not an end of the world problem -- particularly not for most Bronco Sport Forum members who are well aware of when the oil in their BS needs to be changed. But oil changes are far from 'top of mind' for the average vehicle owner.

In fact, many may ignore the oil life display, or just look at it occasionally. So they may think they're in good shape and not immediately notice when it suddenly drops to 0%.

The OLM is a good idea. Since Ford has a established a one year max oil change interval, it would make sense to have the one year date next to the % oil life remaining.

Personally, our buying experience at the dealership was so poor that I'll never forget the delivery date, but if Ford is serious about the one year interval, then it would be helpful to have the date on the display.

For me, I would not be so concerned if after 1 year, the OLM suddenly changed to zero. It doesn't change what the oil can do just because of the OLM. If the oil was good enough 5 minutes earlier, then it still is.

That being said, it is time to get an oil change. I would say within the next 1000 miles or maybe 1-2 months (if you aren't driving that much).

Basically, this time limited oil change message does not say the suddenly your oil is not protecting your engine. It might not be, but the OLM doesn't really know that. It just knows that the oil is older than it would prefer. It might be bad, but if it is, it was bad before the OLM tells you so.

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[thekingprawn]

I'm coming up on my second oil change and debating between the time or mileage from the last change. 5 months is up at the end of the month, but I have 2k more miles. The OLM is at 54%, so I'm certainly not in danger of anything, but I paid for the maintenance package and intend to get my money's worth out of it.

 

[sajohnson]

For me, I would not be so concerned if after 1 year, the OLM suddenly changed to zero. It doesn't change what the oil can do just because of the OLM. If the oil was good enough 5 minutes earlier, then it still is.

That being said, it is time to get an oil change. I would say within the next 1000 miles or maybe 1-2 months (if you aren't driving that much).

Basically, this time limited oil change message does not say the suddenly your oil is not protecting your engine. It might not be, but the OLM doesn't really know that. It just knows that the oil is older than it would prefer. It might be bad, but if it is, it was bad before the OLM tells you so.

I agree 100%.

Needless to say, oil does not instantly turn to sludge on day #366.

After my many bad experiences with dealerships my concern is not giving Ford and/or our local dealer any reason to deny a warranty claim.

In fact, someone here in the forum used to be a service advisor for 20+ years. He has posted a few comments about how dealerships are pressured to keep warranty claims down and will grasp at any straw to deny coverage.

So that is my concern.

If Ford is going to hold owners to that one year time period, it would be nice (for some people anyway) to have a reminder, beside the OLM % display.

That said, engine failure that is not the fault of the owner is VERY rare.

 

[Bucko]

All this is easy for those who do not fit the normal driving average of 12,000 a year; change the oil twice a year. Pass on the once a year last gasp indication, as that too is the scape goat.

Change it twice a year, and push your worries onto something else, such as where can I buy heffa visen tucker beer in my area?

 

[Mark S.]

After my many bad experiences with dealerships my concern is not giving Ford and/or our local dealer any reason to deny a warranty claim.

The owner's manual states:

Your vehicle has an Intelligent Oil-Life
Monitor system, a message appears in the
information display at the proper oil
change interval. This interval may be up to
one year or 10,000 mi (16,000 km).

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 mi
(800 km) of the message appearing. Make
sure you reset the Intelligent Oil-Life
Monitor after each oil change.

If you change the oil within two weeks/500 miles of the notification you are golden as far as warranty coverage.

 

[sajohnson]

The owner's manual states:



If you change the oil within two weeks/500 miles of the notification you are golden as far as warranty coverage.

Thanks for pointing that out Mark.

In post #41 I wrote:

"Hopefully, if the owner changes the oil within a week or so of the monitor tripping to zero that would not void the warranty, but it's best not to give Ford any straws to grasp at in the unlikely event of a warranty claim."

My hope has been realized!

In #45 I said::

"The OLM is a good idea. Since Ford has a established a one year max oil change interval, it would make sense to have the one year date next to the % oil life remaining.

Personally, our buying experience at the dealership was so poor that I'll never forget the delivery date, but if Ford is serious about the one year interval, then it would be helpful to have the date on the display."

I still think that would be a good idea. Not absolutely necessary, but if that were the determining factor then the majority of features/options on newer cars could be eliminated.

It is helpful that Ford gives owners a 2 week/500 mile cushion. In most cases that should be enough, but there will be cases where the OLM drops from (say) 30% to 0% overnight and the owner is leaving in the next couple days on vacation (or whatever). Stuff happens.

Of course, at the end of the day, keeping track of oil changes is the responsibility of the owner. Ford doesn't have to have a date display, but it would be helpful.

 

[Summit]

This is what I found online.
Seems Ford recommends at 7500 miles or 1 year - what ever comes first

Determining the Oil Change Frequency
Ford recommends changing the oil in your Bronco Sport every 7,500 miles or at least once per year, whichever comes first. It is important to conduct regular maintenance and not rely solely on the oil life indicator, and it's important to note that driving conditions can vary, and certain circumstances might require more frequent oil changes. For example, if you frequently drive in extreme weather conditions, take your Sport off-road, or tow near your capacity, you may need to change the oil more frequently.

I did the first oil change on our BigBend at just over 6K with
Full Synthetic 5W-20 with a Motorcraft FL-910S Oil Filter.
May go to 5K for next one.

I will probably do every 5K on the Badlands with
Motorcraft Full Synthetic 5W-30 with a Motorcraft FL-910S

 

[sajohnson]

I imagine this has been posted earlier in the thread, but to take the guesswork out of when to change the oil, having it analyzed by a lab like Blackstone is helpful.

There is no fixed number of miles that is right for all vehicles, or even all Bronco Sports, under all conditions. That's why proclamations of "every X miles" are not helpful (aside from the mfr's recommendation). Even the mfr's number is going to be too long for some vehicles and too short for others.

IDK if this is still the case, but MB had an oil life monitor that would incorporate many factors, including: ambient temp; coolant temp; engine load; driving style, etc. The recommended change interval could be as short as 2,000 miles or as long as 25,000 miles.

 

[Mark S.]

This is what I found online.
Seems Ford recommends at 7500 miles or 1 year - what ever comes first

Determining the Oil Change Frequency
Ford recommends changing the oil in your Bronco Sport every 7,500 miles or at least once per year, whichever comes first. It is important to conduct regular maintenance and not rely solely on the oil life indicator, and it's important to note that driving conditions can vary, and certain circumstances might require more frequent oil changes. For example, if you frequently drive in extreme weather conditions, take your Sport off-road, or tow near your capacity, you may need to change the oil more frequently.

Can you please share a link to this?

 

[Summit]

https://thebronconation.com/news/bronco-sport-oil-change-keeping-your-vehicle-running-smoothly-t.18323/

 

[coopny]

https://thebronconation.com/news/bronco-sport-oil-change-keeping-your-vehicle-running-smoothly-t.18323/

This Bronco Nation article, at best, misunderstands what the owner's manual actually states.
2023 Ford Bronco Sport Owner's Manual
Depending on your operating conditions, you can get up to 12,500 miles on synthetic blend oil no issue...on the most severe side, it could be as little as 3000 under "extreme operating conditions". Ranges are 3k-5K extreme, 5K-7.5K severe, and 7.5K-12.5K normal.

Most people are bad at recognizing that, even if they get groceries and aren't trying to emulate Dale Earnhardt on public streets, that many drivers would fall under severe operating conditions easily. I remember renting cars in the Quad Cities with -15F air temp in the winter and... those are not fun conditions for engines. 15 minute drive, 13.5 minutes in hot air would just start to come out of the vents (and at that temp, idling for engine heat isn't gonna matter... you could idle for 30 minutes and the engine would still be stone cold.) Same time summer days could be 100F+ easily. If you were in the Mediterranean-esque climate of some parts of Socal, sure maybe you'd fall into normal conditions. A person who commutes 30 minutes each work will get that car to temp in cold winters... a person with a 5 minute commute at -15F isn't going to get the engine to temp either day.

The intelligent oil life monitor tracks this. It knows the outside temperature, it knows the engine temp and RPMs. It understands that 200+ highway miles at 2500rpm is easier on the engine than 15 minutes idling at extremely cold ones.

Per a summary on the F-150 Forums:
All of the above. The computer takes all of this information [mileage] along with coolant temp, oil temp, ambient temp, number of driving cycles, how long the engine runs at operating temperature, how long the engine idles etc. It "knows" if you're in stop and go traffic the same way you can see the engine idle hours in the info display. It "knows" when you're are towing when it detects you have plugged a trailer into the smart connector.

IMO I trust the IOLM up to 10K miles (which usually isn't my oil change factor, which is 10K miles/1 calendar year/IOLM tells me to do it sooner). The only area I don't trust the IOLM is to accurately count 12 months, but otherwise the IOLM sees all operation and operating environment factors of the car while the engine is started.

Generally my oil changes in 2015 Ford Fusion Titanium (2.0L ecoboost) were dictated by time... but one time I had the IOLM drop from 45% to 2% with just 5200 miles on full synthetic. I went to valvoline and had them change the oil.

I also do periodically check the dipstick to see if the oil level is OK, oil doesn't look grimy (darker is normal over time) and doesn't smell burnt separately from the IOLM, but heeding that in Ford vehicles that have had that, I've never had a problem.

 

[RSH]

There is no magic oil change interval, it's all dependent on how your vehicle's is used and the conditions it's used in.
The oil life monitor calculates when the oil should be changed.
It's all in the owner's manual, you can use it as a guide to help determine which conditions and driving situations resemble how you use your vehicle.

 

[Mark S.]

Seems Ford recommends at 7500 miles or 1 year - what ever comes first

https://thebronconation.com/news/bronco-sport-oil-change-keeping-your-vehicle-running-smoothly-t.18323/

For the record, this is not a recommendation from Ford. The Bronco Nation website is independent from Ford.

As @coopny notes, you should read the manual for yourself rather than have someone else interpret it for you. I would not trust the author of this article; she claims that, "[the IOLM] provides a warning on the screen when the oil life falls below 25% and prompts you to change the oil immediately when it reaches 0%." This is not factual; the first notification you'll see is when you have 5% remaining.

You can read Ford's FAQ site regarding IOLM here.

 

[Summit]

I was just presenting what I found online. I chose to chain oil as I felt necessary but it seems there are different trains of thought.
For us we are going to stick with around the 5k mark with full synthetic.
We plan on keeping both ours for the long haul.?

 

[sajohnson]

For the record, this is not a recommendation from Ford. The Bronco Nation website is independent from Ford.

As @coopny notes, you should read the manual for yourself rather than have someone else interpret it for you. I would not trust the author of this article; she claims that, "[the IOLM] provides a warning on the screen when the oil life falls below 25% and prompts you to change the oil immediately when it reaches 0%." This is not factual; the first notification you'll see is when you have 5% remaining.

You can read Ford's FAQ site regarding IOLM here.

OK, maybe I'm being old and grumpy, but using the IOLM seems unnecessarily complicated and restrictive. One FAQ:

Is there a driving distance requirement to receive oil life estimates?
"In order to receive the estimated due date and distance remaining, your vehicle must have been driven for 150 trips for the driving pattern to be detected and the estimates to be considered valid. If the driving pattern is not predictable, the service estimates will not be displayed."

Fortunately, we don't drive much, so the oil is changed every year. No need to mess with the IOLM.