2014 Ford Fiesta

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Mathew_Boss

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I bought my Girlfriend a 2014 Ford Fiesta for our efficient car here in Nebraska. We do not hot rod it or any thing like that, that's what my 2013 Lancer is for
wink.gif
Any way. The Oil it came with (guessing motorcraft brand) they said it was a 5w-20 blend got real dark at around 3k miles so I changed it out with Mobil 1 0w-20 EP wich meets the Ford Spec and is recomended by Mobil 1. I usualy try to check the oil in both our cars every week but it has been about 3 weeks since I last checked her car since we took my Lancer to Minnesota. anyway, after 9k total miles (6k on the mobil) its dark and maybe even a little chunky. I used a Mobil filter as well. The Mannual says to do 10k miles on syn blend do you think I got a bad bottle of mobil or has any one else had this happen to them? I run Pennzoil Ultra in my Lancer with a Wix Filter I think I will try this combo in the Ford. It just seems odd to me that the oil would look that bad after only 6k miles. any one have this car and have luck with another brand? Would PU turn out any better? I'm thinking if PU doesent do better I will just use PYB w/ a Wix and just do 5k OICs. I thought I saw a Castrol ad saying their extended performance edge was 60% cleaner then the industry standard but cant sem to find it now. that would put it better the PP and slightly behind PU for cleaning. Would that be something to try with NE winters getting so cold? I never had luck with Castrol in my 1.8T Passat but they were famous for sludge. Any thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: Mathew_Boss
anyway, after 9k total miles (6k on the mobil) its dark and maybe even a little chunky.

You cannot judge oil's condition just by its color.

But 'chunky'? Are you sure? If true, this would indicate sludge, and I highly doubt your brand new engine is already sludged up.
 
Its dropped 15mpg from when the oil was first poured in. from 45mpg to 29 or 30mpg on the same strech of highway. Its the darkest oil I have ever seen in a newer car. but I usualy change my lancer at 5k.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Mathew_Boss
anyway, after 9k total miles (6k on the mobil) its dark and maybe even a little chunky.

You cannot judge oil's condition just by its color.

But 'chunky'? Are you sure? If true, this would indicate sludge, and I highly doubt your brand new engine is already sludged up.
Exactly

I'd change it out again at 6k miles on the oil and 9k on the car, the. Change it again at 6k on the oil, 15k on the car and do 10k OCIs from there on out.
 
The cooler temperatures probably affected it. M1 0w-20 is a great oil ... I can't see why it would sludge after 6K miles, unless it has something else going wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: Mathew_Boss
Its dropped 15mpg from when the oil was first poured in. from 45mpg to 29 or 30mpg on the same strech of highway. Its the darkest oil I have ever seen in a newer car. but I usualy change my lancer at 5k.


Winter temps probably caused mileage drop.
 
Originally Posted By: Mathew_Boss
Its dropped 15mpg from when the oil was first poured in. from 45mpg to 29 or 30mpg on the same strech of highway.

Is your thermostat working correctly? Is the engine getting up to temp as it should?
 
15 mpg is substantial if you are taking similar operating conditions and duration. For example, if the high mileage came from a highway trip for 1/4 tank and then you compared that to around, that doesn't work.

I had the 1.6L in my 2011 Fiesta and it seemed like a pretty good motor, put 50K on it in 2 years, started it on MC 5w-20 early, and it appeared to use it a little, and then switched over to my stash oil in 5w-30 and that seemed to make no difference except the car stopped using oil. Same with a Focus, it drank the MC for some period of time, I switched to 5w-30 and it stopped. No clue if the motors were just breaking in early and needed a little refill, or what, but the MC 5w-20 just didn't work for me. Neither car objected in any discernible way to 5w-30.

But if you've got the turbo 3, it apparently really requires the 5w-20, I think I noticed this somewhere that Ford was listing acceptable alternatives of oil, and that turbo 3 really required the 5w-20 stuff.

But that big of a mileage drop for similar operating conditions doesn't sound good. Both my Fiesta and Focus got better mileage as the motor broke in, as compared to worse. The Fiesta broke in faster, the Focus took some 10K before it appeared to start getting finished up on breaking. Just going off mileage increase and oil usage to gauge that.
 
Take a picture of the dipstick with oil on it. I think your definition of "dark" is too light. It's probably just dark amber. If the oil really is pitch black & sludging up after 6k miles then the only explanation is that your GF is using too low of a gear and the engine is revving way too high all the time which would also explain the MPG drop.
 
My Lancer lost about 2 mpg due to temp change which is normal but 15 is pretty substantial. Of course tires are at 40psi just like they were when the M1 was new. I try to check everything every week. Something the Army taught me. I'm going to switch to PU tomorrow but from what I have seen from M1 I would be scared to use that product for more then 5k. My two VW's and my Lancer all get PU every 5k I chose M1 for the Ford because of the extended drains the manual calls for. The car warms up fine, usually faster then my Lancer does. Temp gages is where it should be. We had the break booster go out at 6k but I cant imagine that would have toasted the oil since it just made the brakes hard to press.
 
We also only use Mobil or Shell brand gas... I'm pretty picky about that though some times My Lancer gets BP or Super America gas when we go to MN. All Top Tier brands though.
 
How did you calculate 15 mpg. If you're not comparing full tanks, it's tough to accept the values as accurate. Better would be tank MPGs (miles driven divided by gallons to fill up) over a full tank, and compared give tanks before and five after the change.

I doubt you got a bad batch, but was the jug sealed? Did it look clean going in?

Has the car lost coolant?

Does she drive gently or hard?
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
Take a picture of the dipstick with oil on it. I think your definition of "dark" is too light. It's probably just dark amber. If the oil really is pitch black & sludging up after 6k miles then the only explanation is that your GF is using too low of a gear and the engine is revving way too high all the time which would also explain the MPG drop.


 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Something is not right, but I just don't think it's M1's fault.


You're right about that.
Trolling.gif
 
Last edited:
My last three oil changes have been between 8-10k on my Fiesta while using Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 with a Pure One or Fram Ultra filter. I have only noticed the oil darkening slightly towards the end of the oil change interval. I just hit 84k this weekend and changed the oil without any surprises on a 9k run. Currently it is filled with 0w-20 Quaker State so we'll see how that run goes. I normally drive 5-600 miles a week, mostly highway, but with frequent pulls to redline, and my uoa's show little to no wear for me. With your car having the booster replaced, have you checked any of the pcv plumbing lines? Seems like our cars have a lot of plumbing under the hood.
 
That isn't dark at all. This is what my dipstick looks like after 6,500 miles on my current fill, LOL

4sjsqp.jpg
 
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