PSA Video: This is Why You Never Run Extended Oil Change Intervals on The Ford Ecoboost Engines!
summary: change the oil every 5k miles if not sooner, do not rely on the oil life display. Also insist on changing the turbo filters if you ever have any turbo work done.
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Yupe watch it this morning. Been doing 5k intervals for YEARS on all of my cars. Never rely on the manufacture or dummy light. I don't care about all of the engineering Ford put into developing the oil reminder system.
A lot of consumers purchase those maintenance plans and they are stuck with the 7500-mile intervals. They won't change it sooner as it's not part of the contract.
A lot of consumers purchase those maintenance plans and they are stuck with the 7500-mile intervals. They won't change it sooner as it's not part of the contract.
I'll probably stick to 10K intervals, did it on the 2.0L ecoboost in my fusion to 78K miles/8 years running full synthetic at 1 year/10K miles/oil life monitor tells me, whichever is less (generally that made them 7-8K oil changes, although the OLM told me to replace the oil once around ~5.5k and I heeded it) with no issues.
For those people planning to retain the car long enough to get to 200K+, maybe a shorter oil change interval is warranted... I personally don't drive that much, and with all of the electronics/safety sensors/etc wired the way they are these days, I figure trying to bet on a 20 year lifetime for a modern car is foolhardy (I drive about 10K miles a year.)
The one really interesting aspect of this (for me) was servicing the turbo oil filters if any work relating to its removal or inspection had to be done, which is something I would now insist on in that case.
EDIT: I will add a couple qualifiers on here, namely in not all engines being the same:
For those people planning to retain the car long enough to get to 200K+, maybe a shorter oil change interval is warranted... I personally don't drive that much, and with all of the electronics/safety sensors/etc wired the way they are these days, I figure trying to bet on a 20 year lifetime for a modern car is foolhardy (I drive about 10K miles a year.)
The one really interesting aspect of this (for me) was servicing the turbo oil filters if any work relating to its removal or inspection had to be done, which is something I would now insist on in that case.
EDIT: I will add a couple qualifiers on here, namely in not all engines being the same:
- The 3.5 Ecoboost first gen (2010-2014) had known issues with carbon build up because it was direct injection only. The later 3.5 EB engines did direct and port injection to account for this. The YouTuber doesn't mention what vehicle this engine came from as far as I can recall, but that engine is known to have specific issues with this.
- Meanwhile, the 2.0L EB in the BS BL + FE has been in service since 2015 without any major issues... the long block was redesigned to account for coolant intrusion, but that wouldn't be an issue in the BS. From what I've heard, the 2.0L twin scroll was also more of a tweak on the earlier 2.0L engine (vs. the 1.5L EB going from 4cyl to 3cyl which was a huge change.)
- The 1.5L I3 on other BS models more of a wildcard because it was only introduced in 2018, so I'd be more wary on trying to predict the long term issues with that engine.
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Pay attention to the engines in this vid. 5.0, 3.5, and early 2.0's.
None are the 1.5 or later 2.0's. Stick with the recommended oil changes. Change earlier if you are hard on it (I.E. trail it in dusty areas, forge in water, or tow) all deserve earlier change intervals.
None are the 1.5 or later 2.0's. Stick with the recommended oil changes. Change earlier if you are hard on it (I.E. trail it in dusty areas, forge in water, or tow) all deserve earlier change intervals.
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A couple of thoughts:
- This is one engine. Is this a wide-spread issue? If so, I've not heard about it. I've seen others post about getting several hundred thousand trouble-free miles with their EcoBoost engines following recommended maintenance. The presenter in this video even notes that (aside from the turbos) inspection of internal parts of the engine does not reveal indication of poor oil maintenance.
- What caused the plugged turbo oil screens on this engine? We have the presenter's opinion on that, but nothing else. This engine had nearly a quarter-million miles on it. The presenter mentions this fact almost in passing, as if that has no bearing on the topic. He offered nothing regarding this engine's history (other than mileage). We have no clue how the engine was used, whether it was ever modified, what kind of oil used, etc., etc., etc. Any of those factors can have as great or greater impact on oil contamination than oil change interval. Hell, we only have the presenter's hearsay from the owner that they used Ford's recommended change interval, but we don't know that for a fact.
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Lots of good info in this vid. I always try to adhere to 5000 mile/8000 km interval.
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Well said as per usual , Mark.
All fair points, but there's a "nontechnical" benefit I get from adhering to a ~5k mile oil change "regimen": I just do it. The extra cost is minimal over the lifespan of the vehicle, and I know I won't procrastinate or miss an interval. Different calculus if you go to a crappy shop, though, as you increase the odds of them screwing something up during a routine oil change...
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And perhaps he is under GM's payroll
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Aaaaaaand, this is how urban legends are born. "Journalism" used to be about getting at the truth. You would think the credulous "journalist" who wrote this and the editors who published it would at the very least have gotten a comment from someone at Ford. You know, an actual AUTHORITY on the subject...
https://fordauthority.com/2023/05/ford-ecoboost-engines-should-get-5k-mile-oil-changes-video/
https://fordauthority.com/2023/05/ford-ecoboost-engines-should-get-5k-mile-oil-changes-video/
I agree with you for the most part, but we know that any comment from a representative of FoMoCo would be tailored by 15 lawyers. No "expert" within the Ford umbrella would actually be allowed to speak freely about their experience.
We also know that lots of people treat almost anything they read on the internet as the same as anything else they read on the internet. There are very clearly differences between just your somewhat average person creating a YouTube video, a journalist who may, or may not, have the knowledge to truly understand the issue, and a true technical expert in the field. Hopefully a journalist would be reporting the views of at least one technical expert but that is not always the case.
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