Another oil question.

[#1ford]

I have a 2021 mustang gt convertble, it has 5800 miles I have changed the oil every year 4 times so far , last season i drove about 800 miles! I live in Michigan so she snuggle under her car cover last spring when I went to the dealer they said that I really didn’t need to change oil so frequently. I do run the car once a month to keep fluid moving ,I run it for at least for 30 minutes the oil life says that I have 38 percent of oil life left , do I need to change it in the spring? I believe in good maintenance , and having the dealer do it for my records am ,I wasting my money ? Thank you for your time and help in advance!.

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[wingnutt]

…what’s your owners manual say about extended storage? Some of the guys on here change it both directly before, and again directly after winter naps

 

[K4fxd]

Go by the oil monitor, 38% I'd change it.

 

[Crew4991]

I'll grab some for the rest of this thread.. Here we go!

OP I would say change it for your peace of mind.

 

[robvas]

Leave it in there for two years

 

[ORRadtech]

I'm not sure why Ford said yearly oil changes are too much? The owners manual clearly says not to exceed 10k miles or 1 year between service intervals.

 

[robvas]

I'm not sure why Ford said yearly oil changes are too much? The owners manual clearly says not to exceed 10k miles or 1 year between service intervals.

Because common sense and oil testing will tell you that you can run it longer than a year. It won't magically 'turn acidic' and destroy your engine or anything on day 366

 

[ORRadtech]

Because common sense and oil testing will tell you that you can run it longer than a year. It won't magically 'turn acidic' and destroy your engine or anything on day 366

Sure, but since when does a Ford dealer (any dealer really) turn away easy money? After all, the owners manual backs it up.
That was the surprise.

 

[robvas]

Sure, but since when does a Ford dealer (any dealer really) turn away easy money? After all, the owners manual backs it up.
That was the surprise.

Either the guy was being honest or they can make more money doing other service work. Figure they would just send him through the quick lube if the dealer has it though.

 

[TrueBlue22]

I change the oil and filter in my 2011 S197 5.0 once a year: right before I put it into winter storage. I average 1000-1500mi driving per year (warm, sunny days only… convertible). Oil comes out looking brand new. Excessive? Maybe. But at $100/year, it’s pretty cheap insurance to keep the engine happy and protected. After 15 years and 107,000 total miles (the first 93,000 happened in the first six years while it was my DD), the engine runs like brand new, so I must be doing something right.

 

[robvas]

I put 3-4k a year on mine and change the oil every spring but that's because it's supercharged and I run it hard. The oil comes out pretty clean, if it was NA I would probably run it two years.

 

[MAGS1]

Once a year is good. Cheap insurance if nothing else. If you have an extended warranty (and you still probably have some time left under the original 5/60k powertrain warranty), follow the manual in the event you have an issue and need to make a warranty claim.

 

[Skye]

If you were not already familiar with the Oil Life Monitor calculations, it takes into account time, driving frequency, driving duration, temps, RPM, etc. At one extreme, sitting, the OLM will tick down close to 2% a week and reach zero in one year. At the other, frequent track use, it will count down much faster.

At 38%, your fine. While you can change it now, I wait until I'm at 10% or lower. If the car went into storage in the 30s and zeros-out while still in storage, let it sit. Change it when it comes out of storage.

From the time you've had the car, you probably have a good sense how quickly it counts down or when the OLM would expire. If your nearing the end of the season and realize it will expire while in storage, you can change it beforehand. I've done this. You're resetting the month you'll do your once a year oil change.

My oil change month is typically in the Fall, when the weather is nice, storage is near. I do not run the engine while in storage. I do not change the oil yet again in the Spring. I continue to follow the OLM.

During the driving season, any drive is at least 30 minutes. Always complete warm-ups. From both habit and desire, the engine and drivetrain are routinely stressed.

While the mileage tables from the Owner's Manual can be used, I believe these make some assumptions: 1) the OLM is not working, 2) you're driving 10,000 mi / 16,000 km or more a year, 3) you drive in "extreme" conditions or situations.

The topic of how frequently to change the oil can often vary from Driver-to-Driver, their cars and uses. Some don't care for the OLM and have their own schedule. Others, with modded cars or track use, might have drafted their own change intervals. It depends. I have an unmodified car. I follow the OLM.

I'm averaging 1700 miles a season, change the oil once a year and perform oil analysis at each change. All results show good-to-great.

Given the car, how much you drive, storage, Ford's recommendations, etc., I'd keep it simple: follow the OLM. Change the oil when the OLM is close to or has reached 0%. In your example: once a year.

YMMV.

 

[SCP440]

Running it for 30 mins is probably not doing it much good. Enough time to build up some heat but probably not enough time to get rid of the moisture. Running it half as often but run it twice as long would probably be better for the life of the oil.

 

[Optimum Performance]

I have a 2021 mustang gt convertble, it has 5800 miles I have changed the oil every year 4 times so far , last season i drove about 800 miles! I live in Michigan so she snuggle under her car cover last spring when I went to the dealer they said that I really didn’t need to change oil so frequently. I do run the car once a month to keep fluid moving ,I run it for at least for 30 minutes the oil life says that I have 38 percent of oil life left , do I need to change it in the spring? I believe in good maintenance , and having the dealer do it for my records am ,I wasting my money ? Thank you for your time and help in advance!.

This oil was in the engine for 5 years. Still good. Oil Monitor was on ( Change Oil - 0% life left ) for about 2 years.

I'll point out this sample has BG engine flush in it, so that is the Viscosity reduction....

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