Longevity of Mercon LV in a 2017 Ford Escape?

Status
Not open for further replies.
mrdctaylor

mrdctaylor

Joined
Jun 5, 2003
Messages
848
Location
McGregor TX
Guys,

My son has a 2017 Escape with the 2.0L Ecoboost. It is a nice little car. He has around 32K miles on it now and drives is very easy. The manual doesn't call for an ATF change until 150K miles. I uses Mercon LV. What are the general thoughts on this? I normally do a drain/fill of ATF on my other vehicles every 30-50K miles. I had thought about doing the same to his, but there is no dipstick. I've never messed with the ATF of a transmission that doesn't have a dipstick and the last thing I want to do is mess up his new vehicle, so I would probably just have the dealer to do it.

Anyway, thoughts?
 
I do the first around 50-60k. If its not to bad or any issues have come up then do again at 100k. If the fluid is dark/burnt then every 30l and if it looks decent then every 50k.

So I would hold off unless there are issues with that transmission.
 
60k is a good interval.

The good news is that your transmission seems to have a drain plug, so it shouldn't be too bad of a job. Use a top-tier synthetic ATF like Castrol Full Synthetic ATF. It is licensed Mercon LV carrying official approval from Ford.

After the warranty expires, you can also use Maxlife ATF. It is a quality synthetic fluid, but it is not licensed. Valvoline's Maxlife line is primarily intended for high-mileage cars.
 
It does, but I'm not sure about the procedure to make sure it is at the correct level given there is no dipstick.
 
Get a measuring bucket, measure how much fluid you drain, and simply refill with the same amount. You can get a measuring bucket at any hardware store
smile.gif
 
Amsoil has excellent LV fluids both licensed (OE line) and non licensed (Signature Series). I'm using the Signature Series in my Toyota and it's buttery smooth after it was Jerky with the OE fluid prior.
 
Last edited:
For the interval, it seems like 150k is Ford's standard for normal usage but the owner's manual likely has an interval for 'severe' service. I'd guess it's 30k or 50k. No harm in doing a drain-and-fill at either interval. You could go longer too.... At 32k, just do a single drain-and-fill and repeat every 30k miles.

When you do drain it, the LV will be very dark. It's fine and normal.
 
It's easy to change. Drain the fluid from the pipe plug under the trans, but make sure you drain it into a container that you can measure the amount of fluid you drained out. Use pipe joint tape on the plug and re-connect. Up top there is a breather plug that needs to be puled out. This is where you fill the trans. Pour new fluid through this opening, and be sure to pour in the same amount that drained out. In my 2017 Fusion it was 3.5 qts. I will do this every 30K.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by SirTanon
50-60k for the first interval, then go 30k intervals after that. This is doubly important if that Escape has the 6F35 trans.



I'd do the opposite...30K for the initial change then every 50-60K after that.....I like to get the wear-in debris out early. I've found that subsequent changes have less debris than the initial one.

For my 2016 Escape....I drained the AT fluid cold, measured it and refilled with the exact amount that came out....I think it was 4.25 quarts. I used Castrol Full Syn low viscosity ATF which meets the Mercon LV standard....it shifts better than when new....

PS: The ATF refill port is near the battery...it's a bit hard to find....
 
I just use two identical translucent gallon (water or milk) containers. Drain cold, pour into one gallon container. Pour new fluid into the empty identical container to the same level as the drained ATF. Then pour new into the transmission.
 
After four or five D&F, I can see the fluid level getting off a bit more each time-- not a definite, but certainly a possibility as draining into a bucket & measuring back to quarts is far from an exact science.

My Chrysler has no fill dipstick either, but an aftermarket one is available. The fill procedure involves measuring fluid temp and adding fluid to the correct line on the dipstick (lines are temperature graduations). Is there an equivalent procedure / tool for these for transmissions, or must one guess at the amount of fluid removed each time?
 
Toyota is even worse with their stupid Straw in the drain plug which only allows you to measure the fluid between 104F - 113F and removing the plug below the straw causes a least 1 quart to drain out right away so right then you are already under-full until you wait for it to cool and do the silly over-fill until it comes out of the straw through the side fill bolt, then wait for it to heat up to 104F from 94F or lower and then put the plug back in. Oh and it has to absolutely be done on level ground.

Like really Toyota? Couldn't give us a dipstick? At least Chrysler gives you a hole to stick a dipstick in to measure against a scan tool.
 
Last edited:
The Escape should have a check plug on the side of the transmission - access it from behind the driver's side wheel. When the fluid is up to full temperature, remove the plug. If fluid drains out, it's overfilled, so let it go until it's a trickle. If nothing comes out, add 1/4 quart, check for trickle, repeat until it does.
 
I have a 2017 Explorer that has the same 6F35 transmission as yours which uses the Mercon LV. I did a drain & fill of the factory ATF at 12,000 and it was black. and another on 10,000 miles later and it was very dark grey. I think these Ford transmissions without a pan to cool the fluid are tougher on the ATF. Other members who have Ford transmissions with the usual ATF oil pan say the Mercon LV stays red for a lot more miles of use. For $20 an ATF change and it being so easy to change the fluid in the 6F35 it's a no brainer for long transmission life as we try to keep our new vehicles for 200,000 miles. As others have said drain the ATF "cold" into a measured bucket and refill with the same amount of "cold" fluid and you should be ok.

Whimsey
 
Last edited:
Ford has stated, and I even saw a technical report/document about this, that the color of their LV fluid is not indicative of any problem. They say it will lose it's red color in just a few thousand miles (if I recall, they said 6000) and there's nothing wrong.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

E
Mercon LV
Replies
13
Views
2K
RF Overlord
4
DEXRON V1 MERCON LV Multivehicle ATF
2
Replies
23
Views
964
tig1
1
Ford F150 transfer case fluid, school me.
Replies
16
Views
7K
SubieRubyRoo
A
Anyone else have a problem with Castrol Transmax Dex VI Mercon LV?
Replies
14
Views
946
kschachn
N
Honda DW-1 Alternative
2 3
Replies
48
Views
4K
ltslimjim
Back
Top