yearly oil changes. good or bad idea?

[fordfan22]

i have a 21 ford ranger. 2.3l ecoboost turbo. my miles vary but it falls between 4k - 7k per year. i seem to be doing a slight bit more miles with my truck than with previous vehicles. however i rarely surpass 5k.

are yearly oil changes a bad thing? its the time vs. miles that im unclear about. for a yearly oil change i would be using M1 EP 5w30 with a fram ultra synthetic filter. both oil and filter rated for 20k miles. i dont quite buy into the 20k miles thing but its what it says.

opinions are welcomed and does anyone else do the yearly changes? would any quality brand synthetic oil be ok to use for yearly oil changes or does it need to be the extended type? seems like a waste to change every six months with so few miles.

 

[Tdbo]

You should be fine.
The Mustang gets an OC once a year.
It didn't get one last year because I was not going to drop a whole sump of Mobil 1 with 600 miles on it.

 

[hemitom]

i have been doing once per year oci for probably 20 years.
i put the same miles per year as you 5 to 6 k any name brand oil is more than up to the task for this.

 

[fordfan22]

i forgot to ask this in the original post but would the motorcraft 910s be good enough for yearly changes even though its not synthetic?

 

[Malo83]

With a Turbo every six months minimum.

 

[JTK]

This is what I do on my 83yr/old Mom's 2015 Toyota Camry. She drives less than ~6K/year. It still has all original brakes even.

 

[Warstud]

i forgot to ask this in the original post but would the motorcraft 910s be good enough for yearly changes even though its not synthetic?

What does the manual say ? I think you want to use a synthetic since it's a Turbo

 

[fordfan22]

What does the manual say ? I think you want to use a synthetic since it's a Turbo

manual says 910s or if one is not available use a filter that meets the correct specs. then it says using non ford parts could void a warranty. so according to this if i use a filter that isnt motorcraft but meets their specifications, my warranty could be void? am i understanding this right?

 

[bullwinkle]

manual says 910s or if one is not available use a filter that meets the correct specs. then it says using non ford parts could void a warranty. so according to this if i use a filter that isnt motorcraft but meets their specifications, my warranty could be void? am i understanding this right?

The Magnuson-Moss Act means that aftermarket parts do not AUTOMATICALLY void your warranty-but the part manufacturer may have to be the one who covers the problem. Good news is, as cheap as MC filters generally are, there’s really no good reason not to use them until the warranty expires.

 

[GMFan]

Since you are under factory warranty follow the manual. Most car manufacturers have a time limit. If it says X miles, or every 6 months, whichever comes first you have to change it at the 6 month mark regardless of how many miles on you did.

If your truck has an oil life monitor (OLM), follow it. Not sure on Fords, but most GMs say to follow the OLM, but in no case go more than 12 months between oil changes. That means if you drive 200 miles in a year you still have to change at the 12 month mark.

Don’t waste your money on extended performance oil if you aren’t putting on lots of miles. That’s for people who put 20,000 miles on their car in less than 1 year. Regardless do NOT do this on your factory warrantied car unless you want to immediately throw away the warranty on your new truck. The * on the oil bottles stating 20,000 mile intervals will ALWAYS say to follow your vehicles maintenance as dictated in the owners manual.

If your manual dictates 12 months oil changes and your OLM or mileage limit isn’t reached in that time period I would use a standard off the shelf synthetic oil meeting Ford specs and not give it a second thought and change it yearly.

 

[demarpaint]

Turbo, try 6 months do a UOA and see how the oil held up. That eliminates guessing, and one size fits all statements. If you have a way to extract oil via the dipstick tube you don't even have to drop the oil.

 

[NormanBuntz]

With a Turbo every six months minimum.

What about miles???

 

[ATex7239]

Out of warranty it’s fine to do one year. Under warranty do whatever time is recommend by the manual.

I guess you could call it “a waste.” But let’s be real here, we live in an utterly wasteful society.

Potable water is wasted to water grass and fill swimming pools. Soccer moms drive gas hog Tahoes to chauffeur around one 5 yrs old while dad commutes in an F150 that likely has never seen tow/haul mode. And I’ve seen stats that up to 40% of all food in America goes uneaten.

Your “waste” of an oil change isn’t saving the planet.

 

[fordfan22]

thank you for all the replies. looks like ill be doing 6 month changes with whichever synthetic walmart has on sale. likely quaker state. it seems to be the best brand for the $$ so far. the manual says never exceed 10k miles or 1 year, but also suggests 5k/6month changes.

 

[GMFan]

thank you for all the replies. looks like ill be doing 6 month changes with whichever synthetic walmart has on sale. likely quaker state. it seems to be the best brand for the $$ so far. the manual says never exceed 10k miles or 1 year, but also suggests 5k/6month changes.

Based on your image snip from your manual you could do a change once a year if you’re driving less than 10,000 miles. From your post you said you average approx 5,000 miles/year so you could use Quaker state synthetic and oil filter and change once a year and you’ll be fine. Make sure to keep receipts and write mileage/date on them for record purposes in case you ever need to exercise your warranty on the truck .

 

[volk06]

What does the manual say ? I think you want to use a synthetic since it's a Turbo

He is referring to the filter, not the oil itself.

OP - you don’t need a synthetic oil filter for your mileage.

 

[volk06]

thank you for all the replies. looks like ill be doing 6 month changes with whichever synthetic walmart has on sale. likely quaker state. it seems to be the best brand for the $$ so far. the manual says never exceed 10k miles or 1 year, but also suggests 5k/6month changes.

It only suggests that if OLM accidentally gets reset early. Just follow 5k ocis and change it when that hits. Changing full syn at 6 months with 2500 miles, is a waste of your time, money and resources with no conceivable increase in engine longevity .

While ecoboosts are DI and turbos, most handle 5k ocis with a breeze.

 

[ZeeOSix]

manual says 910s or if one is not available use a filter that meets the correct specs. then it says using non ford parts could void a warranty. so according to this if i use a filter that isnt motorcraft but meets their specifications, my warranty could be void? am i understanding this right?

Only if the aftermarket part causes some kind of damage ... that damage may not be covered by the Ford factory warranty. Pretty standard thing done by car manufacturers.

 

[ZeeOSix]

i have a 21 ford ranger. 2.3l ecoboost turbo. my miles vary but it falls between 4k - 7k per year. i seem to be doing a slight bit more miles with my truck than with previous vehicles. however i rarely surpass 5k.

are yearly oil changes a bad thing? its the time vs. miles that im unclear about. for a yearly oil change i would be using M1 EP 5w30 with a fram ultra synthetic filter. both oil and filter rated for 20k miles. i dont quite buy into the 20k miles thing but its what it says.

I'm pretty sure your OM will say change oil when the OLM says so, or after 1 year ... which ever one comes first.

 

[ZeeOSix]

The Magnuson-Moss Act means that aftermarket parts do not AUTOMATICALLY void your warranty-but the part manufacturer may have to be the one who covers the problem. Good news is, as cheap as MC filters generally are, there’s really no good reason not to use them until the warranty expires.

To add, the Magnuson-Moss warranty act does not protect the vehicle owner from the car maker to deny a warranty if it's proven that an aftermarket part was the cause of the failure and damage. The MM warranty act will prevent the car maker from denying warranty on something that was not cause by the aftermarket part - ie, the car manufacturer can not deny warranty on a bad shock absorber if someone used an aftermarket oil filter.