my first oil change is free and i was wanting to get it done early, and I'm just wondering if i do my own oil change would that void the warranty or as long as i keep receipts then I'm good?

also i know they check other things, like bolts to make sure all is tight, etc etc.. would i have to keep track of those things somehow as well?

my biggest issue is not having time to sit at the dealer for 2 hours for an oil change when i can do it myself i guess

 

Nope, changing your own oil does not void the warranty unless you do something wrong and it causes damage, same with any other maintenance you do yourself on your car.

 

Drop the car off before you go to work, have a coworker pick you up and take you to work, then take you back to the dealership at the end of the day.

 

if only it was that easy, and my work wasn't 15 miles away and i wasn't working nights lol

 

Keep receipts showing Motorcraft oil filter and for the oil you buy (I stick with the owners manual recommended Motorcraft semi-synth 5w-20)

 

Laws were passed many years ago protecting the consumer on this subject. If a manufacturer requires that you use their parts/services to maintain a waranty, then they must provide the parts and services for free. As long as you use parts/fluids that meet or exceed the manufacturers requirements, your good to go.

As others have stated, keep your receipts. I have a large envelope I use to write the mileage and date for any service I performed (I change my own oil, rotate the tires every 6K), and I date the reciepts too and store them in this envelope.

I keep getting email reminders from the dealership I bought my Mustang from, stating I'm past due for service. They most likely think I only have the normal mileage on the car; I'm way past that with 24K at this point! I've called and talked with the service rep; he "claims" to have noted this in their service records, but I still get the emails. No worries. I keep the coupons though, as if I get the free time to use their oil change services, I'd go for it. One of these days I'll have the sync thing set up where I can have the car send the dealership a maintenance scan of the car.

UPDATE: I have logged into the Ford.com site and have updated my service records into the maintenance section. Now the service department knows what service I have done.

You can't really beat a Motorcraft oil filter, other than perhaps a WIX filter. Wallymart has them. The Motorcraft semi synthetic is good too, if you change your oil every 4K with it. I go full synthetic, and up to 7K with that. Even with the larger oil pan and Ford's recommendation that it allows up to 10K between oil changes, I don't push full synthetic past 7K. Changing full synthetic earlier than 6K is wasting your money; switch back to semi if you do that.

 

My dealer (and most dealers I thought) offer a free courtesy car to use while yours is being serviced. My service department is also open all day Saturday, which isn't as common I know. Neither of these options may help your scheduling conflicts however, so no real problem doing it yourself as far as warranty goes.

 

My wife drives a BMW, and gets a free breakfast while she waits in the morning. They have a cook that prepares omlets, eggs, what have you. Of course she thinks this is great; I keep reminding her that she's paying for that with what she paid for the car.

Most dealerships are within walking distance to a Denny's or other food shop. An oil change is quick. Set it up for a Saturday. I myself enjoy crawling under the car and doing it myself though. As my gut gets a little bigger each year, an additional push on the hydralic jack is required though....

 

like everyone said KEEP your receipts..

also register your VIN on the ford owner website.. http://www.flmowner.com/servlet/Cont.../Page/HomePage

there you can log all the maintenance you perform & it shows up right in the system at any dealer just like the maintenance performed by a dealer

 

Your dealer is pretty generous. I've lived in about 15 towns in 6 states and never had a dealer offer a courtesy car when I had my car in for service. It's been like pulling teeth to get one when they screwed up and as a result had my car for weeks.

 

The privilege is often reserved for people that do the service at the same dealer they bought it. I had a '99 Silverado that I started taking to a different Chevy dealer closer to work, and they would usually let me get one at the lowest priority, if they had one and no regular customer needed it that day. It was against their policy but I was pretty regular there after a while so the service guy would let me get away with it to keep my business.

 

I've always done all my maintenance since I was a kid with my dad. His OCD was taught to me hahah. I just can't trust anyone to do anything to my car unless it's warranty work. Its always taken me 3 hours to do a 114-145 point inspection,...don't know how a shop mechanic can do it so fast when I'm a f-16 and AGE mechanic. I believe I actually look at everything that's supposed to be checked and take my time. They don't have the much time based on the workload.

What I do is scan my receipts for all my maintenance items through my neat desk and it stores it automatically on my hard drive of my pc under the designated car. There have been times manufacturers wanted proof you have done regular service intervals to your vehicle for warranty work.

I'm sweating it having a dealer install my roush sc next week, but was able to get the service manager to let me meet the tech and be on the floor watching the install for the two days. Had no choice based on the roush powertrain warranty restrictions. Bastards. Lol

 

I thought it was 5w50? It's $5.00 in Sears on sale. Castrol

 

This recommendation is only for the Boss engines I believe. The 3.7 V6 and 5.0 GT's all use 5w-20. Has to do with the TiVCT; works off of oil pressure, and any higher viscosity can alter the valve timing. It's been discussed here. Boy, don't I know that!