I ran this FL-500-S for about 1 year with my 2018 Ford Explorer XLT AWD / 3.5L N/A V6, ran it almost 5k miles. Oil was Idemitsu 0W-20. I got a bunch of 5 qt jugs of Idemitsu xW-20 and xW-30 for free, so I might as well use it up. Fuel used was mainly Top Tier Costco 87/93 octane fuel. Driving was mixed freeway/city, with plenty of WOT sessions.
Only one of the pleats looked "warped". The rest of the pleats looked fine, and I couldn't find any noticeable metal shavings or debris, nor could I identify any torn pleats.
Off-topic commentary:
My lease for this Explorer is coming up at the end of this year. I'd keep it, except for the potential internal water pump failure, and the bad PTU/transfer-case design. With my annual driving mileage, I would hit the danger zone for the water pump failure in a few more years. I do not want to tear apart the front timing cover to replace it (does not look fun, I don't want to spend 12 hours of my timing with this) and I do not want to pay a shop $2000 to replace it. I can handle the gear oil bath with replacing the PTU 75W-140 every 30k miles, it's not fun but it is do-able especially with all the room under the Explorer.
The Explorer has not given me any real problems, other than weird shifting with the 6F55, and the severe lack of power from this engine. It is surprisingly leak-free underneath the car. PTU, axle half-shafts, oil pan, and trans are completely dry. The factory equipped Michelin Latitude Tour HP 245/60R18 tires are absolutely amazing. They ride great, are quiet, treadwear seems fine at this mileage, and punch through floods, rain, and snow/ice with the greatest of ease. The Explorer is about 4800 lb, and doesn't hydroplane in the rain or slush. I've gone through potholes that would have eaten my Fusion Sport's 235/40R19 factory tires and wheels for lunch, and with the Explorer it felt like a Stryker driving through a 4 foot ditch - hardly noticeable.
The leading edge of the hood on the Explorer has noticeable corrosion. The paint is bubbling and peeling, with lots of aluminum oxide seeping out in multiple spots. I hear there is a special 5-year corrosion warranty that will cover this, as Ford has to replace the entire hood and not just repaint it. The right rear door panel is misaligned (sticks out) - which is a common problem. The right rear part of the roof rack keeps popping loose, but I solved this 2 years ago by heating the panel and remolding it so it makes contact with all the clips (common problem among 16-19 Explorers). Ford's solution is to use a bolt/screw with RTV adhesive. Mine has held on solid for 2 years.
I love the factory LED low-beams. IIHS shows they are very bright, and I can attest that these are probably the best factory headlights on any car I've owned and driven. I don't even have LED foglights on this Explorer and they light up the peripheral areas and the ground just fine. I have the LED foglights on my 2017 Fusion Sport (Same ones as the Explorer had I gotten them) and they are wortheless except for the extra peripheral lighting and the 6 inches in front of the car. The HIDs on my SHO were garbage, as are the LED high/lows on the Fusion Sport. They don't light up enough of the road in front to spot potholes in bad weather (as an example).
As a comparison, my 2017 Fusion Sport has a sheen of trans fluid under the same 6F55, with engine oil seeping from the plastic oil pan/RTV sealing, and has gear oil around the half-shafts and PTU. One time during the summer, the entire right side of the underbody, from the engine compartment all the way to the exhaust tips and the wheel wells, were covered in some kind of oil. It did not reek of onions, so it wasn't gear oil from the RDU or PTU. It was too dark to be ATF (Mercon LV is almost clear these days). My guess it was engine oil, but I checked the dipstick and couldn't detect a leak. It has not done this again.
Only one of the pleats looked "warped". The rest of the pleats looked fine, and I couldn't find any noticeable metal shavings or debris, nor could I identify any torn pleats.
Off-topic commentary:
My lease for this Explorer is coming up at the end of this year. I'd keep it, except for the potential internal water pump failure, and the bad PTU/transfer-case design. With my annual driving mileage, I would hit the danger zone for the water pump failure in a few more years. I do not want to tear apart the front timing cover to replace it (does not look fun, I don't want to spend 12 hours of my timing with this) and I do not want to pay a shop $2000 to replace it. I can handle the gear oil bath with replacing the PTU 75W-140 every 30k miles, it's not fun but it is do-able especially with all the room under the Explorer.
The Explorer has not given me any real problems, other than weird shifting with the 6F55, and the severe lack of power from this engine. It is surprisingly leak-free underneath the car. PTU, axle half-shafts, oil pan, and trans are completely dry. The factory equipped Michelin Latitude Tour HP 245/60R18 tires are absolutely amazing. They ride great, are quiet, treadwear seems fine at this mileage, and punch through floods, rain, and snow/ice with the greatest of ease. The Explorer is about 4800 lb, and doesn't hydroplane in the rain or slush. I've gone through potholes that would have eaten my Fusion Sport's 235/40R19 factory tires and wheels for lunch, and with the Explorer it felt like a Stryker driving through a 4 foot ditch - hardly noticeable.
The leading edge of the hood on the Explorer has noticeable corrosion. The paint is bubbling and peeling, with lots of aluminum oxide seeping out in multiple spots. I hear there is a special 5-year corrosion warranty that will cover this, as Ford has to replace the entire hood and not just repaint it. The right rear door panel is misaligned (sticks out) - which is a common problem. The right rear part of the roof rack keeps popping loose, but I solved this 2 years ago by heating the panel and remolding it so it makes contact with all the clips (common problem among 16-19 Explorers). Ford's solution is to use a bolt/screw with RTV adhesive. Mine has held on solid for 2 years.
I love the factory LED low-beams. IIHS shows they are very bright, and I can attest that these are probably the best factory headlights on any car I've owned and driven. I don't even have LED foglights on this Explorer and they light up the peripheral areas and the ground just fine. I have the LED foglights on my 2017 Fusion Sport (Same ones as the Explorer had I gotten them) and they are wortheless except for the extra peripheral lighting and the 6 inches in front of the car. The HIDs on my SHO were garbage, as are the LED high/lows on the Fusion Sport. They don't light up enough of the road in front to spot potholes in bad weather (as an example).
As a comparison, my 2017 Fusion Sport has a sheen of trans fluid under the same 6F55, with engine oil seeping from the plastic oil pan/RTV sealing, and has gear oil around the half-shafts and PTU. One time during the summer, the entire right side of the underbody, from the engine compartment all the way to the exhaust tips and the wheel wells, were covered in some kind of oil. It did not reek of onions, so it wasn't gear oil from the RDU or PTU. It was too dark to be ATF (Mercon LV is almost clear these days). My guess it was engine oil, but I checked the dipstick and couldn't detect a leak. It has not done this again.
