2.5L Fusion oil capacity discrepancy

[6starprez]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I wouldn't buy another quart just for .1 of a quart. We used to have a 3.1 Malibu that called for 4.6 quarts. I either used 4.5 (and it put it right at the full mark) or 5 quarts if using an oversized filter and called it a day. The engine was still spotless and ran fantastic at 150,000 miles when we traded it in. It never consumed any oil, either.


Same thing with my Odyssey needing 4.6, I put in 5 quarts. I've put a little more in other cars too just to empty the container but I've never added less, 5.3 to 5.0


Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
The first couple of oil changes for my '12 Outback (Earlier, belt driven cam motor) I could not get the specified 4.25 or 4.4 quarts to fit. Then I discovered that raising the rear wheels the depth of a 2"x4" got another 10oz out of it, and allowed me to put in the specified amount. As I said earlier, this is a site for those that obsess......


Wow, I would have thought raising side to side might get out more oil. 10oz is about .3 quart so that isn't too bad if I wanted to go from 5.3 to 5. The oil level on the dipstick drops maybe 1/4" in 5K miles so next OCI I'll try 5.

 

[Pingeye2]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
The OM for our '11 Fusion states that the oil capacity is 5.3 quarts (5 liters) with oil filter. When the Fusion was re-designed for '10, and the 2.5L was first used, the OM stated only 5 quarts capacity. Subsequent revisions of the OM stated 5.3 quarts for the '11 and '12 model years. The motor itself was unchanged, however. The 2.5L is still being used in the '15 Fusion, and was also used in the '13 (first year of re-design) and '14. For those model years, Ford went back to a 5 quart capacity, as specified in the OM. Now, honestly, 0.3 quarts probably won't make a difference in the real world, but which is it? 5.0 or 5.3? I'm hoping we have a Ford service tech on here that has some insight as to why the number has changed back and forth over the years

FWIW, 5.3 quarts does put me just at, if not a mm or so over the full line on the dipstick.


Klutch9: I have an '11 Milan with the 2.5L which as I'm sure you know is the same as the Fusion. I also scratched my head when we first got the car at the odd quantity and as you, I also wondered why it was different from previous years and also from the newer years. I gave up trying to understand why, however I did learn this: Motorcraft does market (or did) their 5w-20 synthetic blend in 5.3qt jugs at Autozone. For the first couple of changes that is what I used because it was under warranty, the quantity matched perfect and the price was right. Somewhere between then and now, I switched to PP because the pricing on the MC jumped up and I have had very good results with PP in other vehicles. I also at one point did a 5.0qt PP fill because that is what I had on hand and I have done so ever since.

There is a lot of debate as to what the marks on the Ford oil dipstick represent and even the owner’s manual is vague, only stating that if the level is between the two holes it's "acceptable".

On the dipstick there are two holes and a hashed section. The lower hole represents the MIN level and the upper hole represents the MAX level. The upper line of the hashed section is supposed to represent FULL. Interpretation would then say that there is some allowance over the FULL level to the MAXIMUM quantity that should be in the pan. This seems to be the consensus based on the research I have done. I’m expecting an ensuing debate now that I have stated this.

For my car, if I drain the oil, put a new FL910-S filter on (not pre-filled) and pour 5.0qts in, after running to distribute the oil and after a settling period, the oil level on the dipstick is exactly at the top line of the hashed section. If I do all of the above but fill it with 5.3qts it's exactly at the MAX hole. This is measured on level ground.

On the ’13 Fusion 2.0L Ecoboost, the OM states 5.7qts with filter. 5.75qts with an FL910-S (not pre-filled) gets me to exactly the top line of the hashed section. I suspect it would take 6qts or more to get to the top hole but I’ve never tried.

 

[C4Dave]

The owners manual for my 2014 Fusion 2.5 states the capacity with filter change is 5.7 quarts (5.4 liters).

I haven't changed the oil yet (still too new), but the oil has been about half-way between the low and high marks on the dipstick. It's been like that since I bought it with 300 miles on it.