Time for service! Oil change needed!

I received a postcard from my local Ford dealer this week saying it was time for scheduled maintenance and I needed an oil change!

I actually laughed out loud when I read it.

Yeah when I took delivery of mine it had the standard oil change vinyl sticker on the top left of the windshield! LOL

jmueller065 said:

Yeah when I took delivery of mine it had the standard oil change vinyl sticker on the top left of the windshield! LOL

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:shock: Did you find where they put the oil?

I had the same kind of postcard sent to me a few weeks after I purchased mine. Nothing like Automated marketing to make you feel important.

The FFE would need some kind of service like inspection, tire rotation, fluids topping off?

brijen21 said:

The FFE would need some kind of service like inspection, tire rotation, fluids topping off?

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It's still a car with moving parts and the FFE is really an electric car based off of a gas car. Ford didn't design it from the ground up like some other models out there. So there will be maintenance like anything. Obviously not as much as a ICE, but to think you can just drive it for 3+ years without doing anything is a bit absurd. Then again there are people who never get oil changes either until their car doesn't work anymore.

pjam3 said:

It's still a car with moving parts and the FFE is really an electric car based off of a gas car. Ford didn't design it from the ground up like some other models out there. So there will be maintenance like anything. Obviously not as much as a ICE, but to think you can just drive it for 3+ years without doing anything is a bit absurd. Then again there are people who never get oil changes either until their car doesn't work anymore.

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It's not that absurd, the majority of the things that require maintenance on an ICE are simply not there in the FFE.

So, other than trivial and "obvious" maintenance for any car (checking fluids, replacing tires, replacing wipers, and having an inspection done every now and then) there is literally "no maintenance".

Besides, have you read the manual? The only "non-obvious" item that has a scheduled maintenance interval is the battery coolant, which is good for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The (normal) brakes should good for the lifetime of the car (as they are hardly ever used).

The only scheduled maintenance is 10,000 miles where they rotate the tires.

I took my 2013 FFE in for annual service a couple of weeks ago. The service writer included an oil change on the work order.

But they rotated the tires, gave it the required annual PA safety inspection, did the 3 recalls, gave me a loaner, and charged me $15. So I have no complaint.

I'd like to get a Model X when my lease is up. It bothers me that Tesla charges $600 for each annual service and thousands for service plans. Ford says the FFE needs little maintenence and the dealer charged me $15 for annual service. Tesla seems awfully aggressive with reaching for the customer's wallet. The car is expensive and maybe I can rationalize the price tag, but I wish service costs were reasonable. Of course it's normal for premium make dealers to charge a lot for service and repairs.

I think $15 is a reasonable fee. The dealer actually gave me a "first maintenance on us" card. Now I know the value of it. There are quite a few things one is suppose to check regardless of drive-train, body hinges, suspension, etc. I've never had an issue with any of these until recently on my '99 Ford Explorer where, after 110,000 miles, one of the wheel bearings was loose. But still makes me wonder....does the dealer actually check everything in the "27 point inspection"; or just the things that could make them money?

cta4762 said:

I'd like to get a Model X when my lease is up. It bothers me that Tesla charges $600 for each annual service and thousands for service plans. Ford says the FFE needs little maintenence and the dealer charged me $15 for annual service. Tesla seems awfully aggressive with reaching for the customer's wallet. The car is expensive and maybe I can rationalize the price tag, but I wish service costs were reasonable. Of course it's normal for premium make dealers to charge a lot for service and repairs.

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Their website says that the $600/year service plan (or $1900/4 years, or any other more expensive plan that covers more miles) for the Model S is inclusive of the actual annual service work. So once the service pal is paid for, there is no extra charge for the annual service. Seems to also include if the owner/driver screws something up and would normally be considered "out of warranty" for any other car. Still waaay more than what it takes to maintain a FFE, though (at least so far!). They should just up the MSRP by $1900 and declare that all service/repair is included. I don't think a Tesla fan would balk at another $1900 on an already lofty retail price.

I too just got my notice for 10,000 mile service. Silly. Think of all the jobs in jeopardy because nobody "owns" the responsibility of knowing their customers, what they buy, and what they need. The employees have a job, a paycheck, and not a care in the world about doing their job, 'properly'.

Save the postage, envelope, printing, solicitation, time, and use the saved funds to improve things that need to be improved, FORD!

I have my first 10K service coming up for 2014 FFE. What is the typical cost of this service people have incurred? I don't want to pay to Dealer for unnecessary overcharges.

Any data points will be appreciated.

Thanks.

focussed said:

I have my first 10K service coming up for 2014 FFE. What is the typical cost of this service people have incurred? I don't want to pay to Dealer for unnecessary overcharges.

Any data points will be appreciated.

Thanks.

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$0. All that needs to be done is tire rotation. Discount Tire will rotate tires for free. The other inspection items should be done by the dealer any time you bring the car in for warranty work.

Paid $17 and walked out of the dealership service department smiling, in a washed car. For tire rotation, basic checkup and a wash, it is worth it!

I typically buy tires at Costco so didn't want to go to a local tire store for a free rotation but not eventually buy tires from the same place.

I say play dumb, go in for the oil change and see what happens.

Main thing is to check all fluid levels under the hood (coolant and brake are the big ones). Sure, windshield washer fluid, although a dash warning light tells you if its low. Air conditioning refrigerant fluid level should be maintenance free for a few years.

Then look for leaks under the vehicle, as it could leak coolant and transmission oil fluid (gears and differential transmission there).
Also, half-shafts must be inspected to see if they aren't oozing grease and/or cracked, brakes checked, wheels, tires, all checked over.

Wheel alignment might be needed once in a while of course, like any other gasoline engined car.

The dashboard warning lights should be able to detect and tell you when problems happen in the electric guts, so no maintenance there, just wait for problems to occur if they do.