More than 6 months between 1st and 2nd oil change -- did that blow the warranty?

[barrys]

I now have a 2010 4.0 -- my third Ranger.
When I got it, the customer care dude and the service manager both said there was no time amount on the oil change maintenance schedule and that it was just every 7,500 miles. Of course I was skeptical and changed more than that, but maybe not enough. I did my first change at about 6 mo and 3K. Second one 8 mo later at about 7,500K.

Then... my neighbor pulled up in his new/used Escape and said he was told 6mo or 7,500 miles, whichever comes first. I said no no no. Blah blah blah. Then I read the book in the glovebox and it agreed with him. 6 months... If it's an issue then it's all my fault because I can read. But, if there's someone on who really know what the rules are, I'd love a response.

 

[RangerSVT]

Whatever comes first, oil does break down over time, not to mention if the truck sits any length of time, contamenants get in the oil...

SVT

 

[barrys]

I'll be changing at 5.5 months from now on. But, I called the shop and they said that the "cutoff is something like a year" as far as dealing with service record lookups for warranty issues.
They've stood behind the truck pretty well so far and seem like a good dealer.

 

[pcollins]

Not like the dealer is going to be able to tell if its a month late. I woudn't have even called them.

 

[barrys]

I agree I shouldn't have called. But, the "how is the dealer going to know?" part is a little different these days. It's all on the computer. I can even view it on the Ford site. Secrets are getting harder and harder to keep these days.

Oh well. It is what it is. Time to let go and start changing my oil every 5.99 months.

Good thing I work for a data storage server company. All these companies that track all this stuff have to buy a lot of those servers and I hope they're buying ours...

 

[exbass94]

Even if you don't change the oil on time, they can't void your entire warranty. If you have a problem with the truck, they have to prove the problem was caused by the lack of maintenance before denying the claim. For example, the suspension has nothing to do with the engine. If you bring the truck to the dealer for a suspension problem, that would be covered under warranty because not changing the oil wouldn't affect the suspension at all. On the other hand, if the engine starts knocking or having problems AND THEY FIND THAT NOT CHANGING OIL CAUSED IT, then they would deny your warranty claim.

I don't put a lot of miles on my truck, so changing the oil every 6 months would be horribly excessive. When it was still under warranty, I kept two sets of records. One that said I changed the oil every 6 months (that was the set I would have shown to the dealer if I had to make a warranty claim), and then I had the REAL set of records that showed what I ACTUALLY did (for my own reference).

 

[barrys]

I think that's the plan...

I don't put a lot of miles on my truck, so changing the oil every 6 months would be horribly excessive. When it was still under warranty, I kept two sets of records. One that said I changed the oil every 6 months (that was the set I would have shown to the dealer if I had to make a warranty claim), and then I had the REAL set of records that showed what I ACTUALLY did (for my own reference).[/QUOTE]

 

[pcollins]

Well I do all my own oil changes so the dealer won't have a computer record of anything on my truck.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Well then I hope you keep a record of all your oil and filters you buy because if you cannot produce any maintenance history they can deny warranty work if caused by 'lack of maintenance'.

Pretty much all ford products 2008+ are all 6months. I know around here we follow the severe duty maintenance schedule which is 6 months or 8000kms.

 

[pcollins]

Yes, i do keep a record. What I'm still trying to figure out is why fords warranty is such shit compared to Chevy and dodges? I almost bought a chevy for the extra 40,000 miles on the warranty.

 

[barrys]

Hi Sasquatch_Ryda. Long time. Hope all is well.
I have a really specific question. Have you ever actually seen Ford turn down a warranty request for 8 months between two oil changes and all the rest within 6 months?
A contact I spoke to at my dealer who seems straight up said he had not. But, more than a year sets off all kinds of alarms...

 

[6.2]

I get my
Oil changed every 2.5 months about. Sometimes every 2 months.

 

[adsm08]

Hi Sasquatch_Ryda. Long time. Hope all is well.
I have a really specific question. Have you ever actually seen Ford turn down a warranty request for 8 months between two oil changes and all the rest within 6 months?
A contact I spoke to at my dealer who seems straight up said he had not. But, more than a year sets off all kinds of alarms...

I haven't seen it. The prior approval forms ask if there is evidence of lack of maintenance. So if the engine is all sludged up, you are screwed. If the guts of the engine look like the oil was kept up with, it usually doesn't get looked into too much IME.


Now I did just hear a story last week from another shop about a woman who brought in her car, engine blown up and full of sludge. She produced oil change receipts from Jiffy-Lube. They were all out of order, dates and miles didn't match up in the right order, and the filter on the engine had a date more than 3 years past and the initials of the guy working on it.