Focus Fanatics Forum banner

ST Oil Changes at Ford Dealerships

51K views 64 replies 28 participants last post by  yamahawarrior89 
#1 ·
Back in early April, and at 5000 miles, I took my ST3 to my local dealership for it's first oil change. Great, speedy service with no problems.

Earlier this week while browsing some Focus ST forums I noticed people complaining about taking their STs to dealerships and getting the wrong oil (5W20) put in their cars. I was immediately concerned to say the least. Sure enough upon inspecting my service invoice there it was, they put 5W20 instead of 5W30 in my ST.

I called the service manager right away and he recommended I take my car in right away to get the right oil put in and that he would advise the on duty service manager about my situation. When I went in after work the service manager on duty was completely unaware of who I was and why I was there. I explained and he kindly complied with what I was asking for.

The problem was that he kept telling me that the system they use for maintenance service was telling him to have 4.5 quarts of 5W20 put in my car. He was saying that he put my VIN # in and that's what the system was telling him to have put in. Concerned I pulled out the supplemental ST manual that came with my car and sure enough there it said that my car required 5.7 quarts of 5W30 just like I had read about online.

I've reached out to Ford and they got back to me that they would look into the situation.

I'm mad at myself for not realizing for so long that they had put the wrong oil in my my precious ST3. But my worry is about other ST owners that wouldn't even think about looking this up. Why would the system at the dealership not give the appropriate information for the car?

Anyways I just wanted to post this on here in case anyone else had a similar situation or had also heard about this being an issue. Also sorry in advance if this has been posted already in the past!
 
See less See more
#6 ·
Hey gang!

This is Ashley, the new customer service rep here on the forum.

I just wanted to let you know that we are looking into this and I'll get back with you as soon as I know more. :)

Have a great day!

Ashley
 
#8 ·
Apparently nothing has changed. I had my oil changed at the dealer while they were performing a front side marker light recall yesterday. Their maintenance source said 4.5 qts of 5W20. After I showed them the ST Supplement, they checked Oasis (I think) which confirmed the 5.7 qts of 5W30. Thank you to the original poster for the head up!
 
#11 ·
So, I'm very glad that I read this thread before my first oil change today because guess what...they put 4.5 quarts of 5w-20 in my baby! Luckily I remembered to ask before I drove away, as I forgot to ask beforehand. They did however gladly and promptly re-changed the oil and gave me two free oil changes also. Very appreciative of this post!
 
#12 ·
Hey Joshw, I'm like you, traded a 2012 Focus Titanium in for a 2013 ST. One of the smartest stupid things I have done, but had to get back to a manual transmission and couldn't be happier! [woot]

As far as the oil, I definitely wanted 5.7 qts of 5w30 oil for Sunday's autocross in 100 degree weather and not the 5w20. Again, thanks to the original poster!
 
#13 ·
My dealer put in 5W20 at the first oil change for my ST3 last weekend. I caught it before leaving the lot (window sticker led me to check the service invoice against the ST supplemental manual). Brought the discrepancy to the attention of the service advisor, who sent the car back to the service bay for a change of filter and a fill of 5W30. Perhaps some of the techs might not be trained up on the model-specific differences.
 
#20 ·
Often at the least the initial change is paid for by the dealer, and for some people it's the connivence of having someone else do the work.

If you properly documented the change and kept receipts for everything the warranty would still be valid, but it's easier to have the records created at the dealer and it sticks in the vehicle's service history forever.

[facepalm]
 
#27 ·
Look at the ST owners guide supplement for the proper oil change information.

If you only read the base Focus owners guide you will be mistaken into believing that the ST takes only 4.5 quarts of 5W20 like the N/A duratec 2.0 L GDI. The ST requires 5.7 quarts of 5W30 oil as stated in the specific maintenance section of the ST owners guide supplement.

It's still on page 26 of the 2014 ST owners guide supplement which should also be in your glovebox as well as on owner.ford.com

If you put only 4.5 quarts of oil in it then you can risk damage to the engine.
 
#32 ·
only motorcraft and castrol oil? so does that mean if you use other brands it will affect the fuel economy and durability? I think if it's a good oil any engine oil will do right? as long as it's good it won't affect fuel economy and engine durability? like mobile 1, quaker state, valvoline etc....

we can also use conventional oil right? manual says full syn and blend.

also oild change for full synthetic is 6k to 7500, conventional is 3k, how about blend?
Ford just says to run oil that meets their specifications:

XO-5W30-QSP (US)
•CXO-5W30-LSP12 (Canada)
•XO-5W30-QFS (US)
•CXO-5W30-LFS12 (Canada) /
WSS-M2C946-A with API
Certification Mark
The manual snippet posted by dieselboy is not for the U.S. specification car as it calls for a different oil specification than required here.
 
#31 ·
only motorcraft and castrol oil? so does that mean if you use other brands it will affect the fuel economy and durability? I think if it's a good oil any engine oil will do right? as long as it's good it won't affect fuel economy and engine durability? like mobile 1, quaker state, valvoline etc....

we can also use conventional oil right? manual says full syn and blend.

also oild change for full synthetic is 6k to 7500, conventional is 3k, how about blend?
 
#42 ·
I bought 4 different oils today and i will send samples from each oil change and then see which one is the best for my car ...i have motor craft , castrol, valvoline, mobil1 and Pennzoil platinum and ultra lined up for Blackstone test ..i will try royal purple and Amsoil after these oils .
I want to see which oil do the best protection at 10.000 miles oil changes
 
#34 ·
WOW is that right?!?! you don't use their oil/filter they won't warranty the new car?!?!

I was thinking about getting basic maintenance in local shop or do it my own, now if I still use ford oil/filter but I don't do the scheduled maintenance in ford dealer, will they void the warranty?
 
#35 ·
we have had several issues with both of the 2012 focus's I have...that being said one of the comments that was made to me from the manager of the service dept.."we are trying to be competitive with regards to the cost of services we offer ie. basic oil changes and we offer a several point inspection with this service...but if somthing goes wrong with the engine you better have a ford filter and oil installed because ford will fitght you in court" the 2012 and newer focus's have a 6 month or 8000km session between oil changes...50.00 twice a year to not have a warrenty issue with the motor is a small price to pay...because this is ford we are talking about lol..
 
#39 ·
Probably not an oil analysis but you might have to show records of what type of oil you used if you didn't get it changed at the dealer. Again with gm, if you can't prove you used oil with Dexos in it you might have a problem with warranty work if related to oil issues.
 
#38 ·
next time you are in for service just ask the what if question about the warrenty issues that can arise from not using ford oils and filters...you dont buy a focus for its people moving capibilities...the vehicles are for the spirited driver, sporty and they inspire confidence...in the service waiting area which I was in today haha...there was a brochure.."do you have warrenty, do you have a ford filter" or somthing to that effect...and lets say something does happen to the engine, at least for the warrenty period it would be nice not to have to argue about the oil and filter...I had the oil changed at a different garage once..the result was a sensor faulted and the engine would not run on all 4 cylinders...the computer recorded the problem which resolved itself before I could have it looked at by ford..the mech said that is was a oil sensor and it seems to be ok at that time...but I will never do an economy change again even though it was valvoline oil...
 
#41 ·
They could deny a warranty claim and possible void your warranty. Think anything oil related, leaking seals, turbo problems etc, not necessarily a blown engine. Basically, you would be responsible for the bill either at dealer or elsewhere.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top