Hi All --

I am waiting on delivery of my 08 FEH (6 weeks hopefully) and I am curious where people take these cars for maintenance besides the dealer?

In the past I would take my car to walmart for oil changes and air filter changes and have them put in mobil one 15000 mile oil. I would do this annually. I would expect in a car needing an oil change every 10k that 15k oil would be fine, but will walmart have the oil filter? Air Filter? What about that hybrid battery filter?

Are there any other maintenance issues unique to the hybrid I should be aware of? Are there any maintenance issues I would be silly to take to someone other than the dealer?

Thanks,

Cris

 

My local Ford Dealer runs a very regular $34.94 oil change special.
Includes 5 qts synthetic 5w-20, and the filter and a tire rotation.

I would pay the same at the 10 minute oil change...

MM

 

I worry that non-Ford oil change places wont know enough about the hybrid or have any experience dealing with them.

As for the mileage between changes, I check the oil from time to time between changes. At around 5000 miles after the change I don't expect it to need a change yet, but I want to get a feel for what it looks like. Then every thousand miles or so I check it's progress.

An engineer friend of mine talked to me about what actually reduces the life of oil. A side effect of gasoline combustion creates acids which will then mix with oil and build up over time. Those acids are the most significant thing which degrades the oil (not dirt or heat as I had previously believed.). The harder the combustion, the more acids are created. The worst of them are created when the engine is under it's heaviest load during accelleration (usually from a stop, but any accelleration would do it). Since the hybrid transfers much of the torque demand for accelleration over to the DC electric motor, it bypasses or limits a lot of this load which would be the hardest on the engine and reduce the life of the oil. That's why hybrids can go so long between oil changes and normal combustion engines can't (without modifying anything special about the oil or the engine itself -- just transferring which motor takes the brunt of the load alters the oil life).

That said... obviously the way you drive the car makes a huge difference and 10,000 miles is a lot. I check the oil at 5,000 miles after the changes just to get a feel for what it looks like (I don't expect to need to change it yet but I want to get a baseline). Then every thousand or so miles thereafter I check it again to see how it's progressing and get a feel for if I'll really make it to 10,000 miles. If the oil starts to look pretty black then I wont wait for 10,000 miles - I'll change it early.

 

If the dealer is using the Motorcraft 5W-20 then it is a synthetic blend which means some (who knows how much) of the oil may suffer a loss of viscosity as soon as a standard petroleum based oil.

Has anyone ever provided an independant and/or scientifically verified process that correlates oil viscosity performance with color or appearance on the dip stick.(?)

 

I use Mobil 1 and go 15,000 miles or 1 year between changes.

The oil filters for 2005-2007 are a pretty standard size ( actually, other models of cars, I've heard Mazda in particular use them ) and easy to find at any auto parts store, even Wal-Mart. They do have 2 separate rubber O-rings, one large, the diameter of the filter element, and one small, the diameter of the drain plug. Same for the engine air filters. Easy to find. Even K&N makes the correct size if you like those.

The battery air filter is a different story. Not so easy to find outside of Ford, but yes, I have found 3rd party battery air filters. If you ask a parts store for a battery air filter, they won't know what you are talking about. However, ask for one by size. I think the battery air filter is about 3.5" x 5" x 1". (measure yours exactly though ) Turns out, I found a Yamaha motorcycle air filter that was an exact fit for the HV battery air filter. Probably a better built filter as well.
-John

 

Advanceautoparts.com sells the hybrid battery filter. This is the link: http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...ype=10&PTSet=A

 

John and Bill,

Thanks for those answers. I am glad I will be able to go to WalMart. It is much closer to me than my Ford dealer.

BTW how often does one change the battery air filter?

Cris

 

That was my thought as well, Wally is 5 min away, Ford is 30+. Plus I can spend more money while at Wally, Ford i sit in a char & watch boring daytime TV.
So the filters come with the 2 o-rings needed? I still have a year till my first change, just tring to get prepared!

 

For 2005-2007 the box has a filter element, and 2 O-rings.
There is no metal canister. The canister ( plastic ) on the car is permanent.
Usually under $5 at big stores.
Please check on 2008. I do not know about 2008.

 

My 08 FEH appears to use the same filter as the older models. It also has the permanent plasitc canister.