I am a few days shy of my Escape being six months old. The book says you should change the oil at 10,000 miles or 6 months. I am only at 3750 miles. If I wait another month till I get to 5000 miles will this void my warranty? Should I just get it done now?

 

That's a pretty good question. I'm in the same boat--the car is almost 6 months old and I'm at 4,300 miles. The oil is synthetic and I am not worried about doing any damage to the engine by not changing it, but I would hate to have any potential warranty denied.

My HCH factors in time as well as engine revolutions in the maintenance minder calculator which takes the guess work out of things. If Ford tried to give me a run around regarding timing of oil changes on a warranty, I guess I would point to the maintence minder and say I changed it when it told me to....

 

I thought the US Schedule service interval was 12 months or 10,000 miles for oil changes. That's what my owner's manual shows. I did my first oil change at 5,000 miles to Castrol, then changed again at 10,000 miles to Mobil 1. Now I'm gong to stay with Mobil 1 on the 12 mo / 10,000 mi schedule.

 

I just looked at the book and it does say 10,000miles or 12 months. Under special Driving Conditions (towing, extensive idling, dusty roads, or off road) change every 6 months. I don't fall into any of those conditions.

I belive I will use the 5000 miles (7 to 8 months) intervals since I will be getting tires rotated then also.

I have always used Valvoline oil. Would the DuraBlend be a good choice or should I use SYNPower (full synthetic)?

 

Switch to 0W-20 weight synethic oil for a slight improvement in fuel economy. You can purchase this oil at the big name stores (Walmart) for a cheaper price.

 

Changing your oil MORE often than the maintenance GUIDE cant void your warranty. Unless you forget to fill it with new oil. I changed mine when I first got it because someone used 10 w 30 in it. Since then I use synthetic and go 10,000 mi between oil and filter changes, and dont even worry.

 

I won't be going 10,000 miles a year so i will have to change by time not miles. Also are you using the 0w-20 as mentioned above?

 

No I use the 5W 20 synthetic and a NAPA gold filter.

 

Um... "extensive idling".... its a hybrid.... its not SUPPOSED to idle much at all! Demonstrates how much of the info out there (even in the manual) that might not be hybrid specific but more cut and paste from the standard version...

 

I would guess that many of the hybrids Escapes used as taxis would be required to idle for long periods. Even a hybrid will spend some warming up time in the middle of winter waiting on customers.