First Service Considerations

[MattMacMan]

You are very correct in that folks will complain and criticize a whole lot more than compliment on forums and social media, which is sad. I was a moderator on a forum for years and the other thing I couldn't stand was the "one and done" complainers. They'd bash the heck out of something and then never return to the forum to receive the advice of others with easy remedies.

Yeah, thats why I take their complaints with a grain of salt. Nothing is perfect, and those that say "I paid $XXXX for this vehicle and its new, it should be problem free etc etc" yeah, thats not realistic. And until they get a realistic mindset, theyll never be happy. I get cussed out at the dealership like the other service advisors do on a regular basis. People come in steaming mad, looking for a punching bag, when, I just try to hear them out, take notes for the technician, hook my computer up to diagnose/confirm said problem, and then (if applicable) turn in the ticket to FoMoCo or LiMoCo for warranty approval/denial. I don't make the vehicles, i dont make the decisions to approve or deny warranty work. My job is to figure out the problem, help the customer understand whats going on, let them know the progress thats being made while the technician fixes the problem. People suck lol.

 

[MORSNO]

Yeah, thats why I take their complaints with a grain of salt. Nothing is perfect, and those that say "I paid $XXXX for this vehicle and its new, it should be problem free etc etc" yeah, thats not realistic. And until they get a realistic mindset, theyll never be happy. I get cussed out at the dealership like the other service advisors do on a regular basis. People come in steaming mad, looking for a punching bag, when, I just try to hear them out, take notes for the technician, hook my computer up to diagnose/confirm said problem, and then (if applicable) turn in the ticket to FoMoCo or LiMoCo for warranty approval/denial. I don't make the vehicles, i dont make the decisions to approve or deny warranty work. My job is to figure out the problem, help the customer understand whats going on, let them know the progress thats being made while the technician fixes the problem. People suck lol.

Most service advisors that I've dealt with over the years are good people just trying to understand the problem(s) and submit the work order to the mechanic (now called technician) to remedy the issue. I met the service advisor at my small local dealer just a few weeks ago and also found him to be a good person doing a job to the best of his ability. And because I was cordial to him, he ensured my car went to a senior mechanic for its first servicing vs the 19-year-old oil monkey kid who is just learning the basics. I really wish dealers stayed away from oil monkey's and all technicians were factory trained technicians, but I guess it's all about costs now.

 

[MattMacMan]

Most service advisors that I've dealt with over the years are good people just trying to understand the problem(s) and submit the work order to the mechanic (now called technician) to remedy the issue. I met the service advisor at my small local dealer just a few weeks ago and also found him to be a good person doing a job to the best of his ability. And because I was cordial to him, he ensured my car went to a senior mechanic for its first servicing vs the 19-year-old oil monkey kid who is just learning the basics. I really wish dealers stayed away from oil monkey's and all technicians were factory trained technicians, but I guess it's all about costs now.

The "oil monkeys" are lube technicians and they work in the Quick Lane area of the Service Department. The Factory Trained Technicians work in the main area of the Service Dept. Quick Lane is responsible only for "Quick Maintenance" they dont mess with any other work. Quick Lane is for oil changes, tire rotations, filter changes, coolant flushes, brake jobs, etc. The rest is all left for the regular techs.

 

[Kevin_G]

Hey Matt ... thanks for all the info in this thread. I bookmark'd it for future reference. Really good stuff! I did my first oil change at just over 900 miles at my local Lincoln dealer about 2 months ago. Afterwards I checked the dipstick and it read almost exactly between the low and high indicators (holes). Have been monitoring the level since and at one point it got close to the fill hole. Topped it up to about the same level as I received it back from the dealer. Can you say if these are normal ... 1) Fill only to the halfway mark, and 2) burning this much oil. I have just under 3,000 miles on the car. Thanks again.

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[MattMacMan]

Hey Matt ... thanks for all the info in this thread. I bookmark'd it for future reference. Really good stuff! I did my first oil change at just over 900 miles at my local Lincoln dealer about 2 months ago. Afterwards I checked the dipstick and it read almost exactly between the low and high indicators (holes). Have been monitoring the level since and at one point it got close to the fill hole. Topped it up to about the same level as I received it back from the dealer. Can you say if these are normal ... 1) Fill only to the halfway mark, and 2) burning this much oil. I have just under 3,000 miles on the car. Thanks again.

Most dealerships fill using an automated machine. It usually fills low to be on the safe side of overfilling. ALWAYS check and top off your oil after every oil change, bonus points if you check it before you leave the dealership, make them top it off. Thats what you paid them to do. 99% of people never check their dipsticks. Some dealerships only fill halfway to increase profit margins. But almost none of the dealerships these days change oil the "old school" way, by manually pouring bottles. Its a machine, its far cleaner than manually pouring and missing. lol And like I mentioned earlier, its measured low to be safe from overfilling. Kids these days don't have the attention span to fill manually without making messes or overfilling either.

As for answering your question...no that is not normal to burn it. Even during break in. However, when vehicles are shipped from the factory, they come serviced at 50% across the board. For the same reasons mentioned above. They are supposed to be topped off during PDI (Pre-Delivery-Inspection) but probably not.