First Oil Change at Dealer - Sloppy Job

[Guusgeluk]

On my Mustang GT 2021, the Ford dealer changed the oil type to 0W30 instead of 5W30. I guess a good decision in moderate climates (Holland). I noticed VW recommend nowadays the same on larger engines.

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[Starship Enterprise]

It’s crazy how service quality at every dealer is wildly different.

My dealer service so far has been great with both cars and they are always extremely concerned that we can give a 5 star review when surveyed by Ford.

 

[Doug Watson]

It’s crazy how service quality at every dealer is wildly different.

My dealer service so far has been great with both cars and they are always extremely concerned that we can give a 5 star review when surveyed by Ford.

So true just depends on the dealer.

 

[DT-GT]

Just had another oil/filter change today at my local Ford dealer. Quite pleased with their service. Full synthetic 5W-30.

 

[Frogdog1]

I make a deal with my dealer to let me take my preferred oil (PUP) and filter, bought from Amazon, I stood under the car while the very good tech changed the oil and we talked about things a little. He poured both 5 quart containers into the engine and left a half quart for me to take home since mine is an s650. Total labor cost was $35. I hope they continue letting me do it that way. I think they will.

Had a dealer done the kind of job the OP described, the shit would have hit the fan with the service manager. Putting an oily bottle inside my car and oily hand prints on the hood would have made me go into animal mode. I just don't have any tolerance when it comes to paying for sloppy work/service. Not sure I wouldn't have demanded my money back.

 

[Wiley Marmot]

@Mr Lahey --Dang! Sorry you got such ****** service. An oil/filter change is about as basic a service as it gets. If you ever have any explosive devices left on your GT; I wouldn't take it to that dealership for disarming!

Guess I'm lucky. My dealer's Fastlane Service is pretty good on oil/filter changes.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Well, today we took my Wife’s Lincoln for an oil change at the same dealer I got my Mustang from. I had a lot of faith in them.

For the Lincoln: With the PIA software update recall, oil change, tire rotation, inspection, etc. it was 2.5 hours. I requested full synthetic which came to 6 qt’s at $9 per quart. I wanted to check the oil before leaving so quickly pulled the dipstick but didn’t have anything to wipe it clean for a proper check. I felt like a suspicious ass so I just checked real quick, saw clean oil on the dipstick, and hurriedly closed the hood to not look like an ass.

Got home and did a proper inspect, and the oil was a full qt. Low! It barely hit the bottom dot on the stick. I know the guy only put in 5 qts and somewhere in the bay is an unopened qt. Idiot….

I called the dealer and they are sending out a mobile tech to bring the missing qt. I plan to use that opportunity to ask the mobile tech how he changes oil in a driveway and maybe can work out using him. I heard they siphon the oil out, But I will see if I can get him to do it through the drain bolt.

Long story short, my point is TRUST BUT VERIFY! After today I am fully justified to open that hood right in front of the service dept. and properly check the oil myself and make sure no oil has been spilled and all caps are shut. I now have today’s experience as justification to not take the service dept’s word that we are good to go.

(Why not just change the oil myself? I always did, but I am getting older, and my back is less tolerable of anything, and all I have is ramps anyway which would be a total PIA especially for taking off this deflector shield underneath. Screw that.)

 

[MAT1955]

@Eli GT ..... agree 100% with all you say and I repeat - if you want 5W-30 FULL synthetic you will almost certainly have to purchase in bottle/jug format to give to the tech. IMO that is the only way to guarantee you get 5W-30 FULL synthetic.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Relevant update…. This morning a mobile tech came over and verified the oil change was a qt. Low on the Lincoln.

I asked him how he would change the oil on my Mustang in the driveway. He said even though they have the siphon, he hates it because it takes too long and leaves too much old oil in the crankcase. (Mobile Techs usually siphon the old oil out from the dipstick tube) He said he’s rather climb under the car and drain properly it out the bolt… SOLD! he says he jacks the car up on the pinch welds.

So if anyone is considering a mobile tech, it IS possible to request a proper drain. They might say no though……and tipping doesn’t hurt.

 

[MAT1955]

@Starship Enterprise ..... 100% correct. Decades ago, my family built a set super expensive HP marine racing engines for a client as they started to get into marine. We wanted to sell him our automatic oil removal oil system. We told him , we will remove the oil pan drain plugs, install a cross drilled elbows (cross drilled because the elbow would protrude into the inside of the oil pan and the cross drill will allow 99% of the oil to get out) run SS hoses up to twin taps in the engine compartment which were attached to 12V pumps. You could drain both engines in 15 minutes and R&R the remote oil filters in another 10 minutes, then haul away the used oil for recycling. He balked and said he would use a dip stick tube siphon and had a great one. We said fine. He came back a month later. A friend of his had removed a drain plug as he thought it was leaking. About a pint and a half of oil ran into his bilge. Dip stick vacuum removal kits are for $hit birds that don't know squat about engines. BTW when he came back for the kits we charged him triple as we then had to do the job with his engines installed and truthfully because he was a cheap a-hole. The coyote engines are as close to racing engines as 99% of the public will ever get - yet I read post after post from dumba$$es trying to use crap oil and filters, extend their oil changes and cheap-out on service. I think there should be an IQ test that any potential GT or DH owners must pass before they purchase. NOW I feel better.

 

[GrabThatBlue]

I'm in Europe and here they put 0w30.

I told them I want 5w30 with the specifications like in the manual. First they said it will void my warranty.

Then I asked them how can something void my warranty if it is literally recommended in the Ford manual? Then they accepted my wish and told me that they will order 5w30 Castrol Magnatec DX for my service.

 

[Guusgeluk]

I'm in Europe and here they put 0w30.

I told them I want 5w30 with the specifications like in the manual. First they said it will void my warranty.

Then I asked them how can something void my warranty if it is literally recommended in the Ford manual? Then they accepted my wish and told me that they will order 5w30 Castrol Magnatec DX for my service.

0W30 is a smart option in winter, mine also has now 0W30

 

[GrabThatBlue]

0W30 is a smart option in winter, mine also has now 0W30

Guusje, leuk om ook een Nederlander te zien hier.

They only put 0w30 here in Europe because of emissions. Not because of the cold. They do this even in Spain and other warmer climates. They use the cold climate as an excuse. But our winters are not even that cold compared to many winters in some cold states in the USA.

So I stick with the 5W30 which handles cold climate just fine. I read some articles that 0W30 isn't that good for the car. But they get slightly better gas mileage. I don't care about driving 10km less lol.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

With this car I’m sticking as close to the manual as possible. after going down the rabbit hole on oil and filters, I finally decided to stick with Motorcaft FULL synth oil and filters. I had used Mobil 1 for years in my 06 GT, but I saw that Motorcraft filters have the proper shaped anti-drain back valve their engines need. The Motorcraft oil also came in first in some videos testing them.

OK ….results can be subjective in some ways, but I have a theory that the Motorcraft oil has the proper additive package that these engines need, and MIGHT have some additives that prevent the notorious ticking.

I don’t know if there was ever a survey done here to see if post oil change ticking was attributed to any brand of oil.

Am I wrong about any or all of this? Maybe….lol. But just expressing a hunch, and also just saying that when in doubt, it’s Ok to do what the manual says.

(There are exceptions, because the mobile tech thinks the underfilling in my wife’s Lincoln can be attributed to the fact that there are some errors in oil capacity specs on her car. For the 2.0L it can be 5.5 or 6.1 qts depending on what source you refer to.) But damn, all the dealer service tech had to do was check the damn dipstick before sending it out!

 

[MAT1955]

Tests of 0 weight oils show they do not protect nearly as well as 5 weight in high temperature internal conditions. I tried 0W-30 Full synthetic ONE time in my 2024 GT for winter storage as I start it every three or four weeks and run it. The engine "noise" is considerably more pronounced with 0 weight than 5 weight. That did it for me. O weight is part of the "environmental" decisions of locales trying to green everything up even if it is harmful to the operation of the vehicle.

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