Oil Changes

[bilton_d]

Hi

Recently emigrated to Asia/Philippines and I'm a little surprised with their service intervals @ 6 months/5000km
I have 2 fords out here:
Explorer Sport 3.5 twin Turbo 2016 23,000km
Everest Titanium 2.2 diesel 2016 28,000km

Both use 5w30 fully synthetic oils

With being used to UK service intervals the 6months/5000km seems a little too early, is it just the dealers trying to get more business or am I missing something?
The dealer network is terrible!!!! So probably just service the cars myself
I know the cars run hotter due to higher air temperatures, potentially more stop/start in Manila (but we aren't in Manila) significantly dustier so air filters will be changed more frequently or get washable filters

[HJG]

Harsher environment and probabaly lower quality fuel with higher sulphur, which increases the acidity of the oil, meaning you should change it more often.

[bilton_d]

I'm only filling will Shell VPower and VPower diesel but your probably right ..... it's just a shame synthetic oil is still expensive over here .... Ford Motorcraft is still £12.50 per litre from the dealers, cheaper alternatives are available online AcDelco, Zic etc

[trickywoo]

Personally I would be entirely comfortable doubling those intervals.

I have no idea about the sulphur issue but uk petrol used to be dreadful for it, causing all the nikasil issues that other markets didn’t seem to have. There was never any suggestion about reducing our intervals and it wasn’t oil causing the problems.

[RammyMP]

It’s the same in the USA, last time I went I had a Chevy Equinox and had to take it back as it was due an oil change, it had only done about 6,000 miles.

[Leveret]

HJG said:

Harsher environment and probabaly lower quality fuel with higher sulphur, which increases the acidity of the oil, meaning you should change it more often.

UK environment is much harsher. Temperature in Philippines only varies about 5degC from around 25C, so engines always nice and warm quickly. Just change it every 10,000 miles and you won't go far wrong.

[texaxile]

We (used to) spend a fair amount of time in Manila, it gets bloody hot due to the urban heat island effect, over 40 degrees C during the summer. We run a fortuner diesel and get it serviced every 6-8 months , it's not so much the mileage, it's the time spent stuck in traffic with A/C running and the stop-start for hours on end.
I make a point of putting it into Toyota Alabang every other year to change the coolant as well, and give it a good once over. Possibly slight overkill but it's not pleasant being stranded on the side of the road anywhere, let alone in Manila on a Friday afternoon in the middle of Summer.

If you're going to do the oil yourself, it might be cheaper to contact the main dealer and get a large drum of oil.

[stevieturbo]

Have you asked the dealers, or contacted the manufacturer etc yourself to see their justification for such low intervals ?

[powerstroke]

5000km ??no even in dusty conditions, poor fuel
I would say overkill , 10 k should be fine , Just check the levels regularly and the air filter..

[Tony1963]

I lived in Saudi in the 1990s. Temperatures 3°C to 55°C, horrendous humidity in September and October, nasty but very cheap fuel, and of course ever present sand in the air. From memory, service intervals were 15k kilometres/12 months, and no issues at all.

Edited by Tony1963 on Sunday 3rd January 11:16

[bilton_d]

Thanks for your replies

When i asked Ford about the service intervals i just got a default answer of standard practice in Asia

I'll just stick with an annual service, probably clean the air filter every 6 months

[texaxile]

bilton_d said:

Thanks for your replies

When i asked Ford about the service intervals i just got a default answer of standard practice in Asia

I'll just stick with an annual service, probably clean the air filter every 6 months

Don’t forget, if you have a subdivision “friendship” sticker or anything which needs an annual subscription on the outside of the screen (due to it being more visible in front of the tint if you have it) run a razor blade through it several times. The wife caught a guy trying to peel the sticker off in a car park, he just ran away when challenged. Also, if the roads are anything like the subdivisions in our area of cavite , keep an eye on the suspension as there are hundreds of sleeping policemen everywhere and potholes made worse by the flooding. We’ve had a busted spring before, along with tyres getting mullered over a period of time.

Edited by texaxile on Sunday 3rd January 15:52

[bilton_d]

Fortunately we are not in Manila, im currently up North waiting for our house build in Illocos Sur to start.
Thanks for the advice on any stickers