Road trip on new vehicle?

[mrjlube]

I have a 2016 Ford Escape 2.5l se. Did first oil change at 2,800 miles. I now have 4,500 miles on it. Question is im leaving michigan and driving to Colorado for a week,then drive back,trip will be over 3,000 miles total. Would you change the oil before the trip? This would be oil change number 2. And is motorcraft a good choice for this trip...?im open to suggestions. Thank you all.

 

[hemitom]

I would leave it and change it out when you get home .
you will only have 5000 and change on the oil. Nothing wrong with motorcraft

 

[SatinSilver]

I'd leave it in. Currently have 8k on MC syn-blend.

 

[Al]

No

 

[hyperscion]

I would change oil and filter. The engine is still breaking in, by changing oil/filter you are removing some of the metal shavings in filter.

And I would spend my trip not second guessing my decision. But your fine if you wait.

 

[Lolvoguy]

2.5 non ecoboost?

didn't know that was offered on the SE's

 

[FastLane]

I would change it. Oil is cheap. Engines are not.

 

[Yup]

I wouldn't change it. Well, depending what the break in oil change procedure is in the owner's manual. Does it have an oil life monitor? Are there special oil change break in intervals? If not, go by OLM or whatever the owner's manual says...probably at least a 5k interval.

 

[Yup]

Originally Posted By: FastLane
I would change it. Oil is cheap. Engines are not.


I doubt it would cause any engine failure...

 

[AirgunSavant]

Why throw away good oil?

 

[FastLane]

Who cares. Again oil is cheap. If I'm going on a long haul I go over the vehicle to make sure I won't have any issues. It's still new and the engine is breaking in. Cheap piece of mind.

 

[AirgunSavant]

Originally Posted By: FastLane
Who cares. Again oil is cheap. If I'm going on a long haul I go over the vehicle to make sure I won't have any issues. It's still new and the engine is breaking in. Cheap piece of mind.



Still breaking in.....??
If that's the case he best not drive the interstate.

 

[userfriendly]

Again. Who cares? We are discussing changing 5 liters of oil a month early, not Donald Trump.

 

[AirgunSavant]

Censored....

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

I would change the oil before the trip.

The main objective in initial oil changes on a new vehicle (engine) is to facilitate the removal of harmful manufacturing and break-in debris for those interested in long engine life.

Mr. Jim Fitch, founder of Noria Corp. has authored a book "How to select an Oil and Filter for your Car or Truck" The above statement is from page 43. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=How+to+select+an+oil+and+filter+for+your+car+or+truck

Table 13 on this same page Mr. Fitch outlines his RECOMMENDATIONS for the first few oil changes: 1st oil change within 100 miles of taking possession of the vehicle; 2nd oil change 1500 miles after 1st change, 3rd oil change 3K miles after 2nd, 4th and beyond at normal intervals. Go synthetic at 4th change. His recommendations are only if you're interested in keeping your car a long time.

If you've never heard of Mr. Fitch or Noria; I would suggest a cursory google search; his credentials are quite impressive in the world of lubricants.

Jim Fitch is the CEO and a co-founder of Noria Corporation. He has a wealth of “in the trenches” experience in lubrication, oil analysis, tribology and machinery failure investigations. Over the past two decades, Jim has presented hundreds of courses on these subjects and has published more than 200 technical articles, papers and publications. He serves as a U.S. delegate to the ISO tribology and oil analysis working group, and has been awarded numerous patents. Since 2002, Jim has also been director and board member of the International Council for Machinery Lubrication. Among his specializations are motor oil and Engine Lubrication.

I mean no "slam" to anyone on this board, there are some quite knowledgeable people on here who are experts in their fields; but I would rank Mr. Fitch right up there and take his advice over most anyone on this board.

Nevertheless, it is your vehicle and you are the one who must sleep at night with your decision. It's your car; do as you please, I'm just sharing thoughts from someone I believe qualified to offer informed opinion. Hope you enjoy your new vehicle.

 

[hpb]

Leave it. The oil that's in there now is still almost new.

 

[BrocLuno]

I might screw on a new filter and top up. The oil is fine. It has plenty of life left.

I'd likely also add a magnetic drain plug. Might get messy swapping it quick, but again, it's just top-up after.

The filter and the magnet will do all you're goinna do to make this bit easier. The oil is way OK...

 

[Alex_V]

You did good changing it early the first time. I wouldn't be concerned about changing it again until you get back from the trip - maybe change the filter but I can't say I would. Heck, I rolled my Cruze over 1,000 mi. on the odometer during a 1,000-mile trip right after I got it, on the factory fill. I always gave it good warm-up/cool-down periods, varied my cruise setting 5-8 MPH when on the highway, and didn't put any regular fuel in it (still don't). I believe an immediate drain of the factory oil on modern autos is a bit unnecessary, but I also think it's flat silly to run the FF to a full interval - 1,000-2,000 mi. is a good compromise to me. Oh, and my car now has 72K on it, runs like a fine watch, gets more than satisfactory fuel mileage and burns no oil.

 

[daves87rs]

Kinda a toss up...could go either way.....

Escape engines are pretty tough, so with the trip being almost all freeway- I would just change it when I got back. My local Ford dealerships sometimes do not see the Escape for it's first oil change until 10-12k miles. They'll survive either way...

 

[Branson304]

I would not change it before this trip.

In the future, use a solid synthetic blend (Motorcraft, Pennz. Gold or Valvoline MaxLife) or a full synthetic such as Mobil 1 or Pennz. Platinum with a Motorcraft or FRAM TG/XG filter & follow the OLM.

The 2.5L is not hard on oil & you have no break in metals to worry about anymore. These vehicles don't require any special break in procedures.

I drop factory fill in my Fords at 4K-6K then follow the OLM with a SynBlend or full syn after that. Never had a problem. My only exception to this rule would be EcoBoosts but you don't have to worry about that.