Oil change and tire rotation.

186,993 miles.

I tried a new shop today - Midas in Farmington. Overall experience was actually quite good - they took longer than expected but were open with me that they were doing a full inspection of the vehicle and did point out some items to watch and repair for the future. He didn't want to rotate the tires, but ended up doing it no charge when I asked.

Tires were 7/32 in the front and 6/32 in the rear (after rotation).

Front brake pads were 7mm, rear 8mm. These are original and never been changed!

Battery measured 574 CCA so it's still ok.

Items flagged for future repair:

- replace right front axle half shaft - boot is torn and leaking grease (photo 1 below)

- replace outer tie rod ends - boots are torn (photos 2 and 3 below)

- replace front lower control arm - bushings are torn/cracked

They suggested the engine air filter needed to be replaced, but I don't think that's correct, it should be good until 200k miles. Link to previous filter change here - Changed Air Filters.

They also repaired the front right tire which had been flat after a nail. I attempted to plug it with a pull through kit but it was still leaking and needed to be topped off every few days. They said they would patch it from the inside which is the best way to do it.

Total price out the door was $45 for the tire and $40 for the oil change, total with tax $93.26. Given this experience, I plan to return to this shop for future service.

Here is a link to the service report: 

https://www.repairshopsolutions.com/midas-farmington/r/Rzn11VHTnaY

Added brake fluid.

184,315.9 total miles.

The low brake fluid warning was coming on again, added 12oz STP DOT3 brake fluid from a fresh bottle.

Oil change.

177090 miles.

We had the oil and filter changed at Unionville Auto Repair. Carquest Synthetic 5W-20 oil. The price was very reasonable, $67.08 total including all parts and tax. Definitely would return to these guys in the future. We did NOT rotate the tires as I usually do at the yearly oil change because they thought the front tread looked better than the back.

Changed Air Filters.

174,484 total miles.

Air filter day over here! I changed all three air filters, total for all three was $45.90 from Amazon:

ECOGARD XC25571 - Rear Air Filter (FP51)

Motorcraft FP66 - Cabin Air Filter 

Motorcraft FA1772 - Engine Air Filter

The manual specifies the engine air filter to be replaced every 30k miles and the rear every 20k. The cabin air filter is the most involved and difficult to change, and there is no schedule specified in the manual. Might as well do them at the same time so how about every 25-30k. That would make the next scheduled change around 200k.

When accessing the cabin filter, the little plastic pins will break off if you try to pry them out from the top; instead come from the bottom with a flathead screw driver to push them up and out.

Tire Rotation.

169,957 miles.

Tires rotated and balanced at America's Tire on Hamilton at Bascom. Their parking lot is crazy small but these guys do a great job with service.

Oil change.

169197.5 miles.

Second time changing the oil myself. Did it in the driveway and managed to keep everything fairly clean. Good times.

The drain plug is 5/8" (or 16mm) and the oil filter comes off easily with the 76 / 14 oil filter socket. I bought the 5 quart jug but only used 4 quarts of Castrol 5W-20 full synthetic "high mileage", along with the Wix 57203 filter insert. Total cost about $55.

To reset the oil life indicator:

1. Press and release the SETUP control to display "OIL LIFE = XXX% HOLD RESET = NEW"

2. Press and hold the RESET control for 2 seconds and release. Oil life is set to 100% and "OIL LIFE SET TO 100%" is displayed.

3. While "OIL LIFE SET TO 100%" is displayed, if a lower oil life start value is desired, press and release the RESET control to reduce the start value. Each press of the RESET control reduces the value by 10%.

Note: Oil life start value of 100% equals 10,000 miles or 12 months. For example, setting the oil life start value to 60% sets the oil life start value to 6,000 miles or 219 days.

Oil Change.

163,138 miles.

For the first time since owning this vehicle, I changed my own oil. It cost less than the Ford dealer and was faster too! The drain plug (5/8" or 16mm) was on there super tight, but after I got that loose and bought the proper oil filter wrench it was very straightforward. The oil filter wrench I'm using says 76 / 14, which I think means 14 flats and 76mm across. The oil filter was impossible to remove without this special "socket", but very easy once I had it.

5 quarts Castrol 5W-20 synthetic "high mileage", Wix oil filter cartridge number 57203, total cost around $55.

Added brake fluid.

163,030 total miles.

Added 12oz Prestone DOT 3 synthetic brake fluid from a fresh bottle. This time I just poured in the whole thing since it's just going to leak out eventually. $5.24 at O'Reilly.

New Tires.

 161,323 miles.

America's Tire on Hamilton at Bascom.

I previously had the Michelin Latitude Tour tires, which served us very well. They were rated for 65k miles, but I got 75k out of them (installed at 85,822 miles, 8 years ago). I would have gone Michelin again this time, except that I am not driving as much as I did previously and am probably averaging only 5k miles per year, instead of 10k. 

So this time I went with a less expensive tire, the Phantom A/P 235/70 R16 for $108/ea (compared to $183/ea for Michelin). I also got the add-on certificates to cover the tires if anything should go wrong with them. Total out the door was $618.21. America's Tire has always treated us well over the years, and has plugged tires on three of our vehicles for no charge, even when the tires were not purchased from them.

So far the tires look great and have performed as expected. We averaged 30 MPG on the first road trip with the new tires (up to Tahoe and back). I didn't notice any difference in the ride and handling compared to the previous tires. 

Added brake fluid.

158,708 total miles.

Added 11oz Prestone AS400 DOT 3 Synthetic Brake Fluid, $2.70 at Amazon. 

It's been about 9 months since the last low brake fluid alert. I accidentally "over filled" the reserve tank but there is an overflow hose if it causes any issues. Next time I will probably just dump the whole bottle in and not worry about exceeding the MAX level. At this point I believe there is a crack somewhere in the plastic brake fluid reservoir, but replacing that is certainly going to cost more than adding a $3 bottle of fluid once a year.

Oil change.

158,192 miles. Capitol Expressway Ford in San Jose.

Oddly this was only about 4k miles since the last oil change, around one year ago. Since covid hit we just aren't driving that much.

I still haven't replaced the tires (now eight years and 73k miles on the Michelin Latitude Tour tires P235/70R16, rated for 65k miles!), so I again skipped the tire rotation and just did the oil change. They noted the tires need replacement (1-2/32" of tread) and quoted $1371.16 for replacement.

Total cost for the oil and filter change was $91.44! Yikes! And that was after a coupon for $10 off. Looks like I might start doing my own oil changes. I have been going to Capitol Ford for years because they rotate the tires and change the oil, which I want done together. But I may buy the next set of tires at America's Tire and could easily go to them for rotations.

Passed smog check.

156,875 total miles.

Passed the bi-annual smog check for CA registration at Campbell Star Smog Check. Smog check and certificate was $98.20 and annual registration was $153.

Added brake fluid.

155,204 miles.

Added 11oz from a fresh can of Castrol DOT 4 brake fluid. $10.89 on Amazon. Wow! This same can was half that previously...

It really only needed about 8oz but I added a bit more since I just toss the rest of the can. There may be a slight crack in the plastic reservoir. I have tried tightening various bits around the fluid tank, but the leak remains. I'm ok just letting it be for now.

Oil change.

154,686 miles. Capitol Expressway Ford in San Jose.

I skipped the tire rotation this time since I'm nearly due for new tires. It's been seven years and 69k miles since getting the Michelin Latitude Tour tires (P235/70R16, rated for 65k miles!). I'm glad to see I've gotten my money's worth!

They noted the tires need replacement (3/32" of tread) and also noted the 12V battery terminals were corroded and recommended battery service. Front brake pads are at 7mm, rear at 8mm.

They also recommended replacing the eCVT fluid, something that is not mentioned in the owners manual and I had assumed it was not intended to be changed. Capitol Ford quoted $300 for the transmission fluid change, but some some quick searches online shows that it's not that difficult and can be done fairly quickly, so I may give it a go myself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poLYgfVRcJs

Total cost for the oil and filter change was $64.32, which I think was based on a recent coupon they emailed out (I didn't have it but he offered it).

New Front Wiper Blades.

154,028 total miles.

Both front wiper blades are 20" and as with the rear, I went with the Michelin brand, as I have used before. They were $15 each, $30 total.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYSDHFA/

Changed Cabin Air Filter.

153,400 total miles.

I have bemoaned the difficulty in changing the cabin air filter previously but I suppose I should be grateful the engineers at Ford figured out a way to kluge it in at all. It is certainly better to have a cabin air filter than not. Last time I let the guys at Capitol Ford change it for me, probably to the tune of $75, but this time I went for it myself. It's not so bad once you get the hang of it.

For only $7 with free Prime shipping I ordered the POTAUTO MAP 4008P (CF10548) Cabin Air Filter from Amazon. It looks exactly like the Ford brand filter and includes excellent installation instructions.

Top is the old filter, after 1.5 years and 23k miles.

New Rear Wiper and Rear Window Struts.

153,129 total miles.

The rear window got a little love today, I replaced the rear wiper and the glass lift struts. Both purchased from Amazon.com. $25 for the struts and $12 for the wiper blade.

The wiper is 12" and I went with the Michelin brand, as I have used before.
https://www.amazon.com/Michelin-9512-Windshield-Wiper-Blade/dp/B00COE3Z8E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=EJX8MR13TBPV

I replaced both window lift struts with ECCPP. The fit was perfect and installation was very easy. The window can now lift itself up and will hold at the highest point. No more head whacks!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076FQ44QY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Added brake fluid.

151,061 miles.

Added 10oz from a fresh can of Castrol DOT 4 brake fluid. $4.05 on Amazon.

As I've noted previously, the Escape is needing around 1oz of brake fluid every 1000 miles. Last time I cleaned off the master cylinder and brake fluid reservoir and they're fairly dirty again now. There might be a slight crack in the plastic reservoir, but the rate of loss hasn't changed much in the past years.

Oil change and tire rotation, new fuel filter, new rear air filter.

145,939 miles. Capitol Expressway Ford in San Jose.

Capitol Ford has raised their prices SIGNIFICANTLY for "the works" service (oil change, inspection, and tire rotation). It used to be $45-50 but now $110! Yikes! Fortunately the service advisor honored the price they had advertised in their latest service email ($70) and took $40 off.

They decided the fuel filter needed to be replaced to the tune of $138. The service schedule calls for this to be replaced at 100k miles, but I don't think it was ever done. So we went ahead with it. I prefer to let the trained techs deal with the fuel system.

They also quoted me $98.75 to change the rear AC air filter (FP51) which only costs $20 and takes me less time to change than typing this sentence. Ha. I did it myself after getting home.

The brake pads were all at 8mm, and the tires are in the middle of their life at 4-5/32nds.

Total cost for the service was $210.23.

Passed smog check.

143,362 total miles.

As expected, the vehicle passed the bi-annual smog check for CA registration.