something_amusing

I just did an oil change on my 2007 F150 Lariat before I do a bunch of long driving. The oil change warning wasn't on the display yet. I've been trying to find instructions for resetting the oil life so the warning doesn't pop up prematurely. I have the 3-button dash. Holding Info, Setup, or Reset never brings up the XXX% oil life screen. If I press Setup then press Reset it goes through checks, but nothing about oil life is displayed. I've checked the driver's manual and nothing in there. I don't have access to a repair manual at the moment and haven't found one online for free. Any help would be appreciated.

redraiderford

It doesn’t have an oil life indicator

something_amusing

Well that would explain that. Thank you. I saw so many instructions for ones in that year range that had it, i just assumed. And you know what i get for assuming...

redraiderford

No worries! I wonder why Ford didnt include the oil life

dukedkt442

I personally find OLM the worst things ever for large scale engine reliability. They lull owners into thinking the manufacturer’s obscenely long OCI is absolute, and then these owners argue with mechanics about the causes of their engine problems when those problems arise. “I never let it get to 0%!” The OLMs are based on algorithms of total elapsed time, engine miles and ignition cycles. Notice that Blackstone Labs is not part of the oil “testing” process. If I followed the OLM on another of my vehicles, it’d have me going almost 20k miles between oil changes. I’ve seen so many OCI related issues on other people’s vehicles I work on and seen on the interwebz to really shake my head at the things, and never trust any claims the manufacturer makes about maintenance: their liability ends with the warranty and would much rather sell you a new truck at that time than see us continuing to drive these old machines. Same with the government: newer, safer, cleaner and more fuel efficient vehicles are the focus, and strict following of an OLM can easily increase vehicle turnover. The manufactures are the same ones that often claim “lifetime fill” for transmissions and driveline components, after all... I think we’ve all seen enough 5.4 sludge issues (remember Jefford?) to agree that following a Ford OLM of 7500 miles or whatever they said on semi syn would lull folks into a false sense of security. Same with the Silverado guys who follow GM’s OLM and then cry about AFM lifter failures, or German car owners following the obscene 10-15k OLM and have severe sludge and consumption issues as a result. Oil life monitor is not synonymous with engine life monitor.

I’ve got 80k on my Silverado and it’s as silent as a church mouse, mileage the fanboi’s say I should be fearing lifter failure; I change oil when the OLM says I have 50-60% left (I run a 5k OCI on full syn on all my own vehicles). I don’t have to reset the OLM on my X3 until maybe every 4th oil change... I’ve put almost 160k on that and have to reset it so infrequently I always have to look up how to do it. Same with the wife’s Jetta.

So after that long diatribe...maybe lack of OLM was a fleeting example of Ford’s engineers briefly winning a battle against the accountants and marketers, even though they lost on the FPDM, chain tensioner, and recommended oil change interval battle fronts?

SCORGE

Every 3k conventional
Every 5k synthetic.
I know newer vehicles are more efficient, but man... 10k oil change intervals is scary