I was told by a friend that is a ford tech that the oil meter simply monitors the time your ignition is on,that it doesn't really monitor your oil. With that in mind the last time I changed my oil I went to reset the meter but it only reset 80% so I tried to reset it again and it dropped to 70%. Currenty the meter is reading 38% after 1200 miles. I am running full synthetic 5-20 and a Pure One filter. There is no way the oil in that motor is that depleted already. Has anyone else found inconsistencies like this.

 

You can reset it to 100% (or any 10% increment) any time you want. Just follow the instructions in the owner's manual. There's a procedure for 100% and then you can boink down to a lower level if desired.

I'm surprised your battery hasn't died from leaving the ignition on all that time.

But it does monitor mileage, not ignition ON time.

-- Chuck

 

Well thats the odd thing my ignition wasn't on at all. I finished changing the oil and then reset the oil monitor and it came up as 80%, then 70% on the next try. Since I run a premium filter and a full synthetic my change intervals are longer. Im changing the oil beyond when the monitor tells me to. Could that have something to do with it?

 

If you're setting the percent to something less than 100% it'll activate the dash light before 5000 miles goes by. Note there's a 180 day factor in there too I didn't notice until I posted this!

There's two different procedures in the owner's manual. I have the Optional Message Center (three buttons over the radio in the dashboard) as opposed to pressing a stem next to the display. There's slightly different procedures but either should allow setting to 100%.

These are both from a PDF copy of the '07 Owners Manual -- trust me, I ain't typing this stuff!

Optional (Three Button) Center Procedure:
Standard (Stem) Message Center procedure:If you hold the reset too long it'll boink down from 100% in 10% intervals. I fight this every oil change!

-- Chuck

 

Thanks, that it explains it. I also have the 3 button set up so I must have held it to long and it start subtracting.

 

The oil change interval (OCI) on the '07 is 5,000 miles but upped to 7,500 for 2008 and beyond. The 2008 owners manual indicates 5,000 for special service. AFIK, only the program was updated, no acutual changes to the engine that would warrant a longer OCI. I'm keeping my OCI at 5,000 for my '07 because I'm in Arizona and I tow frequently and with my extended 7/100K warranty I don't want to give Ford a reason to deny my warranty for ANY reason. I'm not always in a severe enviroment, but I do feel confident at 5K if the same vehicle 1 model year newer with no changes is good for 50% more miles.