New owner first impressions

[JohnSC]

Well, it’s time to update my experience after another 6 months.

In late May I had about 1600 miles on the Expy. Yeah, it is a second car and I drive the X4M40 most of the time. I brought it in for an oil change before leaving. The service greeter told me it did not need one yet, I explained that I was leaving on a 5000 mile trip towing a camper and wanted to get ahead of the curve, and I have paid for 2 oil changes per year as part of my ongoing maintenance agreement, so it got done.

I had a couple of trips towing the camper since then, and I now am showing over 8000 miles, at least 6000 of them have had the trailer behind it.

First of all - I am very impressed with how it pulls a 7000 pound camper. Unless it is very windy, the only reason I know it is back there is that the transmission is in 6th through 8th gear instead of 9 or 10. And the Expy’s gas tank has a hole in it.

We went from South Carolina due west to New Mexico and then north to Colorado. Got into the mountains and dropped the trailer at about 7000 feet elevation. No issues at all with the truck. The trailer on the other had burned up some expensive parts in the water heater…

Got back home for a week, and then left for a visit with some high school buddies in the Chicago area. On the way home we stopped in Indiana to get some more solar panels added to the trailer and at the factory where it was built to get some warranty work done as I don’t like waiting for the dealer to get approvals and get parts to fix those things. I highly recommend that approach with camper trailers - the manufacturers right now are panicking because the market is so bad, and they are happy to make owners happy with them.

So now I need to schedule another oil change, but other than that I am happy with the truck. No other comments or issues to report.

I did find a 12v/110v powered ice chest to put between the second row seats to keep drinks cold in the car. Works like a champ, I unplug it at the end of the drive and plug in again when leaving the next morning. By the time I am ready for a drink it has cooled the stuff in it off. Very interesting, it can be opened from either side and has a small colder chamber at one end that is supposed to be a freezer although I have not had the need to test that.

One question - does the truck take into account trailering miles when calculating when it needs an oil change? Is that considered harder miles and will it tell you in a shorter time it is time for the next one?

 

[BIGRED03]

I think trailering that weight counts for severe service intervals.

 

[lobsenza]

Is the oil change reminder on the truck based on just miles or does it take into account driving conditions?

 

[JohnSC]

I think trailering that weight counts for severe service intervals.

Thanks. Got to schedule something then.

 

[SyndicateZ]

Is the oil change reminder on the truck based on just miles or does it take into account driving conditions?

It does take into account driving conditions/style mainly.

 

[kep5niner]

For at least the past 10 years, all of my Fords have the Intelligent Oil Life Monitoring (IOLM) system. It does take into account driving conditions, whether towing or not, engine load and torque requirements. The owners manual tells you to not change the oil until the IOLM tells you to, effectively saving you from unnecessary oil changes. I can get up to 10,000 miles between oil changes in my 6.7 diesel if not towing, and it's still going strong after 140,000 miles.

At first I thought the IOLM was gimmicky, and that of course Ford doesn't want you to change the oil at the traditional 3 months / 3,000 intervals from years past - they're in the business of selling vehicles/ engines. However, I've adhered to the IOLM schedule since day one on all of my Fords that have it, and have logged hundreds of thousands of miles in my fleet with no engine or oil related issues. So it must work.

 

[apex96]

For at least the past 10 years, all of my Fords have the Intelligent Oil Life Monitoring (IOLM) system. It does take into account driving conditions, whether towing or not, engine load and torque requirements. The owners manual tells you to not change the oil until the IOLM tells you to, effectively saving you from unnecessary oil changes. I can get up to 10,000 miles between oil changes in my 6.7 diesel if not towing, and it's still going strong after 140,000 miles.

At first I thought the IOLM was gimmicky, and that of course Ford doesn't want you to change the oil at the traditional 3 months / 3,000 intervals from years past - they're in the business of selling vehicles/ engines. However, I've adhered to the IOLM schedule since day one on all of my Fords that have it, and have logged hundreds of thousands of miles in my fleet with no engine or oil related issues. So it must work.

I’m one to change oil out every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. If the oil life monitor is capable of adjusting to loads and driving styles, to what oil is it calibrated too? There’s a big difference from conventional to semi-synthetic to full synthetic.

I’ve never thought to inquire with my local service advisor about this. If anyone else has, there input would valuable to hear, for the community.

 

[kep5niner]

From the IOLM FAQs:

8) Should I use synthetic oil?

You can use a synthetic oil if you prefer. The Ford engines have been tested using the Motorcraft® synthetic blended oils. If you do use synthetic oil, it needs to meet the Ford specifications for motor oil and the specific oil weight as indicated in the Owner Guide. Ford still recommends performing the oil change service intervals as indicated by the IOLM.

 

[JasonH]

I’m one to change oil out every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. If the oil life monitor is capable of adjusting to loads and driving styles, to what oil is it calibrated too? There’s a big difference from conventional to semi-synthetic to full synthetic.

I’ve never thought to inquire with my local service advisor about this. If anyone else has, there input would valuable to hear, for the community.

The Ecoboost is hard on oil. Use synthetic that meets Ford's specification. I think the latest is WSS-M2C946-B1 but you'll want to confirm. Use lower gears when towing to limit boost. The manifolds on the Expedition warp when subjected to too much heat. Using the lower gears will reduce boost and heat. You can monitor boost and temps using an ELM327 adapter and mobile phone app, like Torque.

 

[ryoung57]

Is the oil change reminder on the truck based on just miles or does it take into account driving conditions?

It’s more related to engine hours, so mostly RPMs, probably with some info on temperature factored in.