DIY Oil Change! Warranty void?

[Grimmer]

Extra comments: It's encouraged to do as much of your own maintenance as possible to make sure it's done right. After hearing of all the horror stories of the techs at these dealerships forgetting to do something or using the wrong oil capacity, you'll know it is done right by doing it yourself.

^THIS^ The dealer shop did my first oil change. They didn't tighten the filter adequately and I discovered it leaking weeks later by chance.

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[green97probe]

2019 Mustang GT bought May 2019.
I need your guidance on topic of changing my own oil.

My car has 2500 miles but my oil life indicator says 30%life left. This is my first new car ever and I don't want to give Ford a chance if it ever occurs that I didn't use Ford recommended brand and viscosity.

1. Are these cars programmed to have oil life for only 3k oil changes?
2. It does not say in the manual that if I change my own oil I can void warranty but how do I prove to the dealer in future if there is an issue that I changed the oil on time and using Ford recommended specs.
3. I prefer to use Mobil 1 synthetic vs. Synthetic blend that for recommence.I've never used motorcraft oil before. I'm worried if something happens later on and Ford can say I didn't use recommended motorcraft oil and viscosity of 5w 20.
4. I've never used 5w 20 in any of my cars before but I'm assuming because of the way coyote engine is designed the lower viscosity oil can pass through various metal Parts easily.

Glad I'm not alone with this concern. I've got 2,800 miles on my 18 GT that was built on 3/6/18.

I've talked to two Ford service departments that gave me the "If we don't change your oil, Ford will deny an oil related claim." and "We won't change your oil until 5,000 miles." speeches.

I'm just going to do it myself and document it in the owner's section of Ford's site, and keep my receipts in my maintenance log.

This way, I know that's it's been done correctly with no chance of damage by a careless employee.

For what it's worth, my purchasing dealer never documented the airbag light fix or replacement of the leaking shock that the repaired right after I took delivery.

Also, they didn't fix my loose parking brake. The just gave me a runaround that it was part of some 12 month new car warranty and not under the bumper to bumper warranty.

 

[Zooks527]

^THIS^ The dealer shop did my first oil change. They didn't tighten the filter adequately and I discovered it leaking weeks later by chance.

On mine, the factory didn't tighten it, and it started leaking at about 4500 miles.

 

[2019fordmustang]

1) Number 1 was already answered above. 1 year or 10k miles
2) Number 2 was already answered above. Keep receipts and a log of maintenance
3) No, Ford isn't allowed to tell you what oil you HAVE to use. No monopolies here. Use whatever oil brand you want. Just make sure that oil brand meets the Ford specifications for this vehicle. Under warranty, it is best to run the same viscosity grade as well.
4) This engine does run tighter tolerances than engines decades ago, but that isn't the only reason Ford decided to run 5w-20 in the Mustang. CAFE is another reason. With 5w-20 being a thinner oil, it has less friction and therefore picks up an extra tenth or two tenths of a mile per gallon. This doesn't sound like a lot but when you take into account how many Mustangs Ford sells, it adds up.

Extra comments: It's encouraged to do as much of your own maintenance as possible to make sure it's done right. After hearing of all the horror stories of the techs at these dealerships forgetting to do something or using the wrong oil capacity, you'll know it is done right by doing it yourself.

Do you think the oil change interval for 10k is for full synthetic or the motorcraft synthetic blend ? I would assume the synthetic blend needs to be changed earlier than 10 k.

 

[Grimmer]

Motorcraft synthetic blend.

The owners manual specs the blend and the 10K / 1 year interval.

I spoke with Ford customer service about it. They said they do not put anything special in the oil at the factory for break-in and that I should change the oil when the car tells me to.

For me it turns out to be every year, basically at the same time I put on the winter tires.

However, don't forget to routinely check the oil level. Every engine will consume some oil, so don't let it go without checking it at 6 months or 5K... Of course you should be monitoring it more often than that anyway.

One of the reasons that the oil needs to be changed is the antioxidant additives that protect against corrosion by chemically binding with the bad actors will get consumed by doing their job. Since the 2016 GT has an 8 quart capacity (newer model years is even more?), there are plenty of additives in reserve.

 

[ORRadtech]

This is from the owners manual for my '18. Cannot imagine the '19 would be different.
You'll note that the recommended oil varies by country. In the US the optional choice is full syn. I found nothing about altering the change interval based on which oil you choose.

For the last several cars I've had I let the onboard minder tell me when to change the oil. All but one of those has, or had when I sold them, 180k+ miles and not a one burned any oil. You can, of course, change it more often but the only likely benefit would be to the oil companies...

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