mikejapp Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 The warning on the left side of the display saying "change engine oil soon" came on last week sometime. I have usually taken my modern cars to a oil change place near my work, but I thought this Ford hybrid is different with the Atkinson engine so I wondered of the guys at the little oil change place have the training. I've also read here about the engine shields sometimes don't get replaced correctly. So Wednesday I drove further to the local Ford dealer. Well, they did good on the job but I was there for over 2 hours! They do a vehicle inspection too. The rep who checked me in said about 1 hour, to which I thought geez that's a lot. But the waiting room got more boring and boring and when 1 hour went to two hours I'm second guessing my decision to go do the dealer. I had to call my work since I was there on lunch break and explain to my supervisor AND use some of my vacation hours to compensate for the "long lunch". So where do you get your FFH oil changed? Is the hybrid engine really that different since every type engine still has a oil pan and a plug? Do you go to the "speedy oil" place, the Ford dealer (with appointment, drop off, or loan car?), or do you do it yourself? I do it myself on my older cars but have not wanted to on my modern cars. Their inspection also said the 12v battery was low and near needing replacement. I did buy this FFH used so I'm looking aroud for that too. BTW, the dealer here had 10 of the 2012 Fusions on the lot and of those 10 only 2 were hybrids, one white and one gray. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogo88 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Mike, Ford has a special all the time. It's called the "Works". It's an oil change, tire rotation and multipoint inspection for $29.99. Most dealers participate. I can't buy the oil and filter plus the time to rotate the tires for that amt. Considering the recommended chage is once a year or 10,000 miles, it's a pretty good deal. For more info go to the Ford web site and search for it or just Google it. As far as 2 hours. Yeah, I guess I'm there for about that amt of time. But like you I want it done right and have some recourse if it's not. The local garage may do it quicker and maybe cheaper, but if there is a problem, not sure what recourse you would have. Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_h Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 My dealer's waiting room has a TV monitor of the oil change area, so those that are there to get that done can have the warm fuzzy that their car is being done or at least someone's car is being done... and if not they have more ammo to go back to the service advisor and ask why they brought their car in for a quick service but notice that it's sitting in the lot while the oil change racks are empty. But to the actual question on this thread - I always change my own oil at home, it's just as easy as on a car made 50 years ago except for remembering to reset the oil monitor (for which the hardest part is the remembering). There are several threads on this board with some tips on how to do it, I think one thread here somewhere may have pictures too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) The warning on the left side of the display saying "change engine oil soon" came on last week sometime. I have usually taken my modern cars to a oil change place near my work, but I thought this Ford hybrid is different with the Atkinson engine so I wondered of the guys at the little oil change place have the training. I've also read here about the engine shields sometimes don't get replaced correctly. So Wednesday I drove further to the local Ford dealer. Well, they did good on the job but I was there for over 2 hours! They do a vehicle inspection too. The rep who checked me in said about 1 hour, to which I thought geez that's a lot. But the waiting room got more boring and boring and when 1 hour went to two hours I'm second guessing my decision to go do the dealer. I had to call my work since I was there on lunch break and explain to my supervisor AND use some of my vacation hours to compensate for the "long lunch". So where do you get your FFH oil changed? Is the hybrid engine really that different since every type engine still has a oil pan and a plug? Do you go to the "speedy oil" place, the Ford dealer (with appointment, drop off, or loan car?), or do you do it yourself? I do it myself on my older cars but have not wanted to on my modern cars. Their inspection also said the 12v battery was low and near needing replacement. I did buy this FFH used so I'm looking aroud for that too. BTW, the dealer here had 10 of the 2012 Fusions on the lot and of those 10 only 2 were hybrids, one white and one gray. Hi Mike. :D One question? How many miles on your Fusion? Used or not, if you are still within the 3 year/36,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty, the battery would be replaced under Warranty, no charge. And there is no difference in procedures concerning how to perform oil changes between conventional and Hybrid engines. As far as where to have your oil changes and other service performed...I have mine done at my Ford Dealer using "The Works" coupon mentioned by Dan above. While the Dealer does take a little longer than the quickie places, in my experience the wait is worth it as the "quickie" places are not as careful or efficient in their work. We get what we pay for. Good luck. :beerchug: Edited July 28, 2012 by bbf2530 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejapp Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Thanks guys, I appreciate your time and knowledge. My FFH now has 25,500 miles. I'll check with the dealer on the battery although I wonder why he didn't say it at the time since he knew the cars mileage and age. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Your 2010 FFH may be out of warranty time wise. Mine has just about 25,000 miles but is 3 1/2 years old. An OASIS report, run by your service advisor, will give you the in-service date. You might ask them to run a warranty history as part of the report, since you bought it used. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfruth Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Last year I got the "works" at Quicklane, they said my 12 volt battery was marginal and needed to be replaced (was standing right there when the teck ran the battery test, sure enough the needle on the load tester only swung half way indicating a marginal battery on a traditional gas car with a starter motor) but since no problems and the eye on the battery was green I declined - went back just a few days ago for the works again, no mention of possible battery trouble this time (yes same battery) so the moral of the story is I don't know ... http://www.quicklane.com/everydayservices/services 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolder Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I doubt the Ford tester was rigged but Auto-Zone might test it for free. This is a tough call in hybrids. Starting is a rigorous test in non-hybrids so a failing battery begins to give little hints sometimes during starting. Also internal cell connection failures are immediately obvious. Connection failures may not show up in either terminal voltage or specific gravity tests. The FFH 12 vdc charging system with the DC to DC converter may look at the internal resistance of the 12 vdc battery when charging and detect anomalies that an alternator system would not. Maybe that's an attempt to watch the 12 vdc battery more closely. The consequences of the system detecting a major 12 vdc battery problem is the pull over now and your disabled at the road side. A non-hybrid will continue to run on the alternator until you shut it down and then you are done. The FFH had a lot of faulty LVBs in it's early deliveries, probably from sitting for months. My sight ball was red for a week after delivery and turned green. It then alternated between green and blank for a while including one discharge where I left the car in accessory mode overnight and it was completely dead. It recovered but the voltage occasionally was down to 12.2 when it shouldn't have been. I replaced it on my nickel as a precaution a year ago with the OEM Ford battery. That one has stayed in the green all the time and the voltage has never been below about 12.5 vdc. I'm using the old one in my den for emergency power for a computer and TV. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 The load tester is a much more accurate test than the hydrometer window. The hydrometer only reflects the status of one of the six cells, so it can still show green even if a different cell is bad (if you have one bad cell the battery needs to be replaced). The load test reflects the status of the whole battery. Now granted, it's not designed to be a full starting battery (not as many CCA) and without knowing the actual reading I can't be sure, but usually the if the needle is down that far (like 6 volts), the battery is bad. They might not have tested the battery again on you second visit. I would get the battery tested again somewhere else and if it still tests bad you should probably replace it to prevent being stranded. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CometFlash Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I had The Works done today. One of the things on the sheet says a battery test was done and that's it OK. I didn't ask them to do it, guess it's part of that package. At any rate, I'd expect it to be fine seeing as it's a 2011 with only 20k on it so far. They had a 2012 FFH in the showroom while I waited, it's literally identical to what I have now. And there was some info on the '13 as well, but I just cannot under any circumstance justify spending way more to upgrade for no appreciable reason other than to have a newer-looking car with a few new gadgets & bit better battery/bit better MPG for 3 years, before they hit the first refresh in 2016. PS The '13 Limited F-150 looks sooooooo nice for anyone needing a new pickup. Just remember, it's all-new in 2015 so keep that in mind. PPS Ford recently renamed one of their development/research centers and hired 60 more people to work exclusively on vehicle electrification/hybrids/batteries. Sounds good for future hybrid/electric owners. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonoreTn Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) I doubt the Ford tester was rigged but Auto-Zone might test it for free. This is a tough call in hybrids. Starting is a rigorous test in non-hybrids so a failing battery begins to give little hints sometimes during starting. Also internal cell connection failures are immediately obvious. Connection failures may not show up in either terminal voltage or specific gravity tests. The FFH 12 vdc charging system with the DC to DC converter may look at the internal resistance of the 12 vdc battery when charging and detect anomalies that an alternator system would not. Maybe that's an attempt to watch the 12 vdc battery more closely. The consequences of the system detecting a major 12 vdc battery problem is the pull over now and your disabled at the road side. A non-hybrid will continue to run on the alternator until you shut it down and then you are done. The FFH had a lot of faulty LVBs in it's early deliveries, probably from sitting for months. My sight ball was red for a week after delivery and turned green. It then alternated between green and blank for a while including one discharge where I left the car in accessory mode overnight and it was completely dead. It recovered but the voltage occasionally was down to 12.2 when it shouldn't have been. I replaced it on my nickel as a precaution a year ago with the OEM Ford battery. That one has stayed in the green all the time and the voltage has never been below about 12.5 vdc. I'm using the old one in my den for emergency power for a computer and TV. The 12.2 reading doesn't mean much if the battery is charged. You can buy a 100 amp load tester at Harbor Freight for $20 on sale ($29 when it's not). If the battery drops below about 10 volts with the 100 amps applied (just for about 3 seconds to save the meter), your battery is approaching a weak state. If it drops down to 6 or something, for sure you need a new one. Your critical electronics and fuel pump will stop working at about 8 volts. The FFH battery doesn't get the usual test that we give them in cars, everytime you start a conventional car, your car starter pulls in the 60-200 amp range (depending on outside temps), so you get feedback every start with a conventional engine. So a failed 12 v battery can sneak up on you in a FFH since it doesn't start the engine. I am at 63,000 miles and the original battery is still good. Edited September 30, 2012 by VonoreTn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eco-Limo Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I am a retired mechanic and do my own oil & filter changes on both my MKZ Hybrid and my Prius. Both are very easy. The MKZ has a straight forward filter and drain plug removal. The only issue I have with Ford is their exorbitant price for a drain plug gasket! I use aftermarket ones instead. Other than that I use a genuine filter plus synthetic oil every 10,000 kilometers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sublimobile Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I don't think the fusion drain plug has a gasket. Strange. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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