Then should I be calling the dealership?
My oil isn't even as dark as ginger ale after over 2000mi.

 

I've changed the oil and filter every 3 months or 5000 miles, which ever comes first, in our 2001 Escape and it has over 105000 miles on it. Still runs as tight as when it was new

 

Of course you are, your using synthetic.

 

7,500 miles on semi-synthetic 5W-20 is going to be interesting, considering most UOAs show that the 5W-20 is on its way out at around 4k-5k miles depending on how you drive it.

 

Yes, but after it DOES turn dark, all of your oil changes forevermore will turn black in the first few hundred miles.

Its not like transmission fluid, color is not a diagnostic of worn out oil!

 

Yes, my cars oil was nice and clean for the first 5000 miles or so. I changed it, at 10,000 change it was darker...at 15,000 change it was black.

 

Speaking of oil.. for people living in the warm weather states. Would changing from 5-20 to 5-30 in the summer time hurt anything?

 

Here is a good read on oil change intervals

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2945

Personally, I don't think I know anyone who grenaded their motor because they didn't change the oil. A friend put on half a million kilometers (320,000miles) on his old Nissan. He would change to oil every 7-8 months or so. The motor still ran strong and passed e-tests while the body rotted away.

Oil turning black does not indicate that its bad. It will pick up excess carbon and change color within hours of the oil change.

 

How's that? I pay twice as much for synthetic but change it one third as often? Synthetic is vastly superior to conventional oil. There's no argument. Grab any car with 100k miles, no matter the make, that has had 3,000 mile changes with conventional oil and pull the valve cover off or pull the oil pan. You will find a build-up of varnish and sludge without question. Do the same with a 200k mile car that used synthetic and it will be clean as a whistle. I know from first-hand experience.

 

No one has answered the question asked on the previous page...what changed in the engine from 2006 to 2007 to make the oil change intervals go up? I doubt the tolerances got better from last year to this and I havent heard of any super oil breakthrough on the news. I wil still change mine every 5k...I run synthetic. I dont trust Ford much these days anyway.

 

I am fairly certain nothing changed with either the oil or the engine tolerances or material. The only thing that changed is the oil change interval to keep the powertrain warranty. I don't know however, if Ford will make that change retroactive to previous model years.

 

5W-20 is not conventional oil. It's at the least a semi-synthetic, synthetic blend, or Group III synthetic.

 

And it is still a RECOMMENDED oil change. If they make it a REQUIREMENT to keep the warranty, then they get to caugh up the oil and oil changes for us by the MFWA.

 

About 2 years ago I went 20K miles without an oil change on my Explorer. I have 158K on it now, still runs strong (kknocking on wood) atm

 

Just to clarify:
It has been 2000 mi. since my last oil change.(It only has 4000mi. on it though.)
It is true that as an engine gets older it tends to pick up more deposits which can turn the oil black.
My last car was 30 years old when I sold it and the oil would turn fairly dark after about 1000mi. (not black).

 

You guys are WAY too concerned about the color of the oil! Shoot, some brands are already dark right out of the bottle!

 

That's the formula I've used on every car I've ever owned.
275000 miles on my '88 Ranger 4-banger and it still runs like a champ.
150000 on my '69 Stang's 302 and it was still running great when I sold it.
180000 on my '71 Pinto no problems

Personal experience says to me that Ford knows what they're talking about when they recommend oil change intervals.

Of course the Oil Companies want you to change more often. They're in business to make money.

 

I do on average 6000 miles a year on my daily driver.
I'm tempted to follow a 1 year / 6k oil change interval...

 

So if you owned a car you didn't use much you'd change the oil every three months? My two cents...that's WAY too often.
That's actually pretty close to what I do. My two cents...you'd be fine.

I've got several vehicles that are get used under 1000 miles a year - my formula is 4000 miles (our daily drivers) or annual (my collectibles).

 

Me too.
I like to do Spring and Fall. About twice a year is plenty.