A Serious Reason To Maintain Your Engine Oil

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
I received a bulletin from Ford today on my truck. Apparently, the PCM may enter a "No Start" condition at the key ON position if the software detects a low level AND the oil life remaining is between 5-20%. So you could be stranded if you ignore your motor oil changes and levels. Whodda thought?!
 
No matter the vehicle you could be stranded if a belt broke, a coolant hose broke, the battery terminals were corroded to the point of the engine not starting or even the battery water low collapsing the plates. That is if the battery uses water. Seems to me FORD is attempting to save a vehicle owner tons of money by not allowing an engine to run low on oil.
Might want to check the transmission oil on vehicles that have an automatic transmission , that can also leave a person stranded & be costly to replace.

I'm guessing FORD has experience with vehicle owners that don't bother to check under the hood. Kind of reminds me of lawn mower manufacturers warning to customers to not put their foot under the mower deck with the engine motor running.
 
These days I only need to have my oil changed once a year.

I would prefer it if the vehicle maintenance schedule was based on hours of operation instead of miles driven.
 
I check the fluid levels in our vehicles at least once every 2 or 3 months. and change the oil/filter every Spring. Most years that amounts to 3 or 4 thousand miles on the Chevy, and 2 thousand, or less on the Dodge. Routine maintenance is a Whole Lot cheaper than allowing troubles to develop due to delaying simple oil changes. Besides, vehicles driven only short distances, or driven infrequently, can have a tendency to build up moisture in the engine, and cause premature failures....especially if they are always parked outdoors.
 
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fmdog44 said:
I received a bulletin from Ford today on my truck. Apparently, the PCM may enter a "No Start" condition at the key ON position if the software detects a low level AND the oil life remaining is between 5-20%. So you could be stranded if you ignore your motor oil changes and levels. Whodda thought?!
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I only drive about 5K a year so change my oil once a year when getting inspected. If I bought an oil burner, it's time for a new car from another manufacturer. My car might have a low oil indicator light I think.
 
I am against that no start condition if infact it disables the drivier from starting the vehicle and running it. I like the low oil level alarm and life remaining alarm but some vehicles already have those as alarms that you can see on the dash pannel.
 
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Knight said:
No matter the vehicle you could be stranded if a belt broke, a coolant hose broke, the battery terminals were corroded to the point of the engine not starting or even the battery water low collapsing the plates. That is if the battery uses water. Seems to me FORD is attempting to save a vehicle owner tons of money by not allowing an engine to run low on oil.
Might want to check the transmission oil on vehicles that have an automatic transmission , that can also leave a person stranded & be costly to replace.

I'm guessing FORD has experience with vehicle owners that don't bother to check under the hood. Kind of reminds me of lawn mower manufacturers warning to customers to not put their foot under the mower deck with the engine motor running.
Click to expand...
All the above can happen on any vehicle. That's why when I have my oil/filter changed the mechanic checks everything underneath & then on top. He will tell me if I need new CVCs or belts. So I replace them as he recommends I trust him over the dealer. He's also much cheaper.

I check my oil level once a month. Being 2018 it never needs oil. I also top off my windshield fluid then. I have the 5-year propylene glycol antifreeze in the Durango. That's also safe for animals in case I get a small leak.
 
With the newer cars and where the oil filter is located, I take it in for my oil changes.

Something my Dad taught me long time ago was to take a permanent marker pen and put a mark on the oil filter.
After the work is done, I look to see if the mark is still there which tells me they didn't change the filter like I asked.

So far that hasn't happened, but I still do it every time.
 
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