Time vs. distance

If you are doing the first oil change (after initial engine break-in), you might want to do it early like around 1500-2000 miles. Then reset the OLM back to 100% and go from there. The OLM will say to change the oil in 1 year, even if the car isn't driven much.
 
I think I may have seen it at 100% when I was wandering through the myriad of displays so I'm guessing reset at dealer. I'll check it next time I'm out, if I can find it again. :)
 
@LDB, just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, you only anticipate driving the vehicle about 2500 miles annually?

If so, I'd probably change the oil once a year.
 
The Ford OLM will be at 0% in one year anyway ... even if the car sat in the garage the whole year and was only driven 1 mile..
This.

Ford OLMs count by mileage and time. It will go off after one year, no matter what. Here's the page from the manual. Doesn't specify any time frame requirements, but it does specify mileage for Severe and Extreme use. Honestly, I don't know if the OLM actually differentiates between Normal, Severe, and Extreme. The only mention to time I could find was in the Special Operating Conditions section when the vehicle is driven in the desert or dirt constantly (not just a drive down a dirt driveway twice a day) or if it idles more than it moves.

I'd probably just change it out every 3K miles or 100-150 hours. The time it sits really has nothing to do with it, which is probably why it doesn't even give you a timeline other than one year.

2022 Escape Owner Manual.webp
 
^^^ To add ... there are a lot of threads about going more than a year on the oil if the mileage is low, but the OP says he would probably be doing short trips most of the time. People who go 2 or 3 years on the oil (and only drive a total of maybe 3000-5000 miles in that time) say they do a lot of driving where the oil gets to full temperature for a long period - like 30+ mile drives. But if doing majority of short drives, I'd change the oil once per year even if the mileage is really low.
 
Annually

PLUS...

At least one 30+ mile drive once a month, with at least three full throttle runs to redline in gears 1&2 once fully warmed up.

Think of that as maintenance.

^^^^^^ this ! +1

Seems like the path of least resistance would be to take a 50 mile pleasure drive, preferably twice a month. At least once monthly.

Z
 
If you want a definitive answer, take an oil sample and send it to Polaris or one of the other labs. Otherwise, RTB, FD. (Read the book, follow directions).
 
After Covid kicked in, the wife's 2012 Highlander went from 45 miles a day to about 1000 miles a year. Working from home for her has been like getting a raise. Random shopping trips and going to the church made up the bulk of the 1000 miles. I changed it recently after she ran it 2 years and about 2000 miles. Mobil1 5w20 EP. Unless her driving changes, I'll change it again in 2000 miles. I changed the oil previously every 10,000 miles (even the 1st change) and it currently shows around 132,000 miles.
 
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After Covid kicked in, the wife's 2012 Highlander went from 45 miles a day to about 1000 miles a year. Working from home for her has been like getting a raise. Random shopping trips and going to the church made up the bulk of the 1000 miles. I changed it recently after she ran it 2 years and about 2000 miles. Mobil1 5w20 EP (or XP or whatever they call it now). Unless her driving changes, I'll change it again in 2000 miles. I changed the oil previously every 10,000 miles (even the 1st change) and it currently shows around 132,000 miles.
 
@LDB, just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, you only anticipate driving the vehicle about 2500 miles annually?

If so, I'd probably change the oil once a year.
Yes, maybe as high as 3500 annually if I ever get to drive cross country again, aka to the far side of Houston, to meet family for lunch every few weeks. I work at home and in our big town / small city pretty much everything is less than 3 miles from home in the center of town.
 
This.

Ford OLMs count by mileage and time. It will go off after one year, no matter what. Here's the page from the manual. Doesn't specify any time frame requirements, but it does specify mileage for Severe and Extreme use. Honestly, I don't know if the OLM actually differentiates between Normal, Severe, and Extreme. The only mention to time I could find was in the Special Operating Conditions section when the vehicle is driven in the desert or dirt constantly (not just a drive down a dirt driveway twice a day) or if it idles more than it moves.

I'd probably just change it out every 3K miles or 100-150 hours. The time it sits really has nothing to do with it, which is probably why it doesn't even give you a timeline other than one year.

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yes the OLM can see the difference between normal severe and extreme ..... this is why they wrote ... When to expect the olm .... and I know from experience with my F150 3.5 Eco :-)
 
I know all Fords at least 2015 and newer have an OLM that will go from 100% to 0% even if the engine never runs. The Ford owner's manuals use to say change once per year (or if the OLM says to change oil in less than 1 year), so that aligns with the OLM time count down.
Owner's manuals for all the vehicles in my family, mostly Fords but also one GM and one Chrysler, say to go by the OLM but not longer than one year regardless of miles.
 
yes the OLM can see the difference between normal severe and extreme ..... this is why they wrote ... When to expect the olm .... and I know from experience with my F150 3.5 Eco :)
That's interesting if that's your experience. I've never seen any differentiation in my fleet. I have Transit 250s, F150s, and Transit Connects that definitely fit under the severe, if not the extreme, definitions from the manual and they all have OLMs that go off at 10K on the dot.
 
perhaps a difference between the OLM from GM and Ford...of the cars I currently help take care of one is a 2013 Malibu with the 2.0T engine...she doesn't put a lot of miles on it; mostly short trips but around the 10-11 month mark, the OLM is in the single digits but only at about 4K miles...another, a 2014 CTS Sport Wagon with the 3.0 V6 also goes close to 5K miles and 10-11 months before the OLM is in the single digits...

Bill
 
Transits have a dumb OLM it is a miles.time counter, it will go off at 10,000 or a year at least mine did.. Thought the F150 had IOLM but maybe some models do not.

The Escape has iOLM and it should still trigger at a year.
 
Thanks for the input. No, it will get a 60 or so mile round trip maybe 3-4 times a year. If things ever get back to semi-normal and I can meet family for lunch and a visit then it will be a 9x mile round trip about once every 6-7 weeks plus the few others.
with your use, just get a bicycle or walk
 
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