GTC

So the good folks at Woody Anderson Ford strenuously advised me to change my 2012 Mustang's synthetic blend oil every 5,000 miles. Problem was, at the different 5,000 mile intervals my car's Intelligent Oil Life Monitor* was telling me I had 40% (previously) to 57% (this time) of my oil life left. So I tell the service manager, and he says you can follow that if you want to, but we recommend every 5,000 miles at a minimum.

A ton of reading firmly says two things: 1. If your Mustang has an oil life monitoring system you can safely rely on it and you should. 2. While the dealership's (not the manufacturer's) recommended increased intervals feel like tender loving care for your new ride, they are clearly for the benefit of the dealer or the Jiffy Lube, not for you. They are trained to "upscale" you which is the practice of selling you other stuff by getting you in, and the industry estimates that over the life of the car, it is worth an additional $1,800 dollars to them to bring you in on these shortened unnecessary changes (edmunds.com) through selling you oil you don't yet need and by upscaling you. In fact, when these studies would pull the oil from GM and Ford vehicles when their monitoring systems said it was time to change it, laboratory analysis generally showed an additional 2k to 3k miles left on the oil by which the car could run completely protected.**

Besides the oil life monitoring technology, more importantly oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you'd never know it from the quick-change behavior of many of us Mustang owners. The technology has come so far that the longest oil change interval I read about for any auto manufacturer is 20,000 miles, for all Porsches. Wow. Ford says not to let your Mustang go past 10k regardless, and sooner according to that fancy oil life monitor you probably have.

So my Mustang's had oil changes at 5,000 and 10,000 miles and is about to hit 15,000 miles; but the car reports there is 57% oil life left even with my heavy footed expressway driving, and the enumerable times I drop to lower gears on the highway. I'll wait for the car's oil life system to make the call for a change this time.

We love our Stangs, and if you're still worried, you can dismiss the 3k/5k hype by getting your oil analyzed. An inexpensive oil analysis will tell you the condition of your oil and reveal any problems that your engine may be experiencing. Sample tests can even show traces of fuel and coolant in the engine oil, which are early signs of engine problems. When you get your results back from the lab, you'll also get a recommendation on how much further you can go between oil changes. I would use companies recommended by reputable car site like, again, edmuds.com.


*The Ford system constantly takes information from a multitude of sensors throughout the vehicle and then use a complex algorithm to conservatively predict the life of your oil. It's also important to note that these systems while very advanced, even so, can't recognize if you've switched to another blend. And finally, over time, oil becomes contaminated by gases that blow by the pistons, and the longer the oil sits with that contamination, the more it degrades. So if you're only driving your Mustang on weekends, sitting around a lot is may be one scenario where you might up your frequency if it sits long enough.

** For example, one GM car driven by edmunds.com went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. They sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The results showed the oil could have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service.

Note: Mobil 1 Extended Performance, for instance, is guaranteed for 15,000 miles. But the only reason you should do it at 10,000 miles is if your Mustang is still under warranty because if you do not follow Ford's recommended service intervals it could void your warranty not harm your engine. Anyway, a 1998 Mustang, which is probably out of warranty right? — which calls for oil changes every 5,000 miles — could cut back from three changes to just one.

Okay, let me hug a tree on the way out of here. A final reason: 153.5 million gallons of used oil is generated annually - and that is just for the State of California!

Tex-stang

That's very good information. I don't put a lot of miles on the stang even though I drive it everyday. So I always just change my oil twice a year. Monitor said below 50 percent last time I changed my oil.

amyhughes

I just bought a demo that has apparently only been driven 400 miles (200 in the last few days, by me) in the five months since its last oil change. Do I change it at six months or not? Oil life monitor currently says 57%, so either it accounts for time or the sensors can detect the aging.

Change it at six months or no?

cdotcollins

good info to know. thanks

GTC

Amy Hughes: I do not believe current sensor technology used for the Mustang's Intelligent Oil Life Monitor can detect aging. And your manual says NOT to do your first oil change before 5,000 as rings are seating and so forth. So ask your mechanic. If it were me I'd put the 5,000 miles on it, then follow the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor from that point forward.

There are a couple of places in your Mustang owner's manual that discuss this. In fact if you download the PDF 3rd Edition of the 2012 manual, on page 333 you can see a short discussion of the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor with a prediction chart of your change intervals based on driving severity (so I'm guessing it's in your '13 manual). Even though I drive my car pretty briskly and use it's acceleration, I don't have heavy loads or towing etc., and I'm guessing I'll be going in North of 8,000 miles, we'll see. Here are some articles and videos from edmunds.com and two from Consumer Reports, a Google search will give you many more:

First is an article with at least three video links that includes:

VIDEO: Motor Oil — Understanding the Numbers
VIDEO: Motor Oil — Debunking Common Myths
VIDEO: Motor Oil — Conventional vs. Synthetic:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/when...-your-oil.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/oil-...g-systems.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-...motor-oil.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/what...lling-you.html
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...e-myths-ov.htm
Here's an interesting study by Consumer Reports reported by another web site: http://www.triumphspitfire.com/Oiltest.html

GTC

By the way, I 'll mention a testimony. I participated in the law enforcement of Mardi Gras in Mobile, AL last week, and drove a patrol car (Ford Crown Vic) down to Mobile. The vehicle had 173,000 miles on it, but it drove just fine. The odometer could of said 73,000 and I'd of believed it. And you have to remember not only do these cars have hard lives, the odometer doesn't reflect the multiplied hours and hours these vehicles idle. And it still looked fine by the way. I never checked what year it was, but I'm really impressed with the state of automotive technology today in general and Ford in particular.

amyhughes

Thanks, GTC. The car has 6200 miles on it. It was a demo. The owner of the dealership drove it before it became a lot demo. I bought it at 6000 miles. It was serviced at 5800, but that was five months ago. So, it sat hardly used for five months. Its second servicing is due at 10800 miles or six months, which would be next month, but it will have nowhere near 5000 more miles on it.

So I'm wondering how hard a rule the six month thing is.

amyhughes

I should add that this is going to be a recurring concern of mine. Though it's my daily driver, I drive less that 7000 miles per year. SHould I still be changing the oil every six months?

amyhughes

The manual for my 2013 says the normal interval is 7500-10,000 miles. It gives no guidance for low mileage use, that I can find.

GTC

Yeah, I think you've got a question for a well informed service manager.