If to do a simple oil change, you had to do all this:

Changing your own oil is one of the simplest and most approachable bits of maintenance that you can do for your vehicle -- unless of course, the manufacturer for some reason decides to make the process a pain in the ass.
Unfortunately, according to a report published Thursday by The Truth About Cars, Ford made the new Ranger's oil filter nearly impossible to get at without removing one of the car's wheels. If this seems like kind of a dumb thing to do, keep in mind that the 2.3 liter EcoBoost found in the Ranger is slightly different from the one found in other applications.
In particular, the Ranger's enlarged oil cooler means that there isn't room for the filter to live down by the oil pan anymore, and instead, it was relocated up and into the side of the engine block, protruding at a right angle. Getting it off involves removing the left front wheel and unfastening nine push clips to remove an access panel in the wheel well.
But things don't stop there. To get to the oil drain plug, there is another panel in the vehicle's underbody tray that has four fasteners that need to be removed. Granted, having to access a drain plug through an access panel in an underbody tray isn't all that weird on a modern vehicle, but when added to the rest of the rigamarole, it's just annoying.
Clearly, this kind of inconvenience isn't the end of the world but in a segment that's already getting pretty crowded very quickly, will it be enough of an annoyance on the off-road forums to push someone away from the Ranger and toward the Chevy Colorado or Toyota Tacoma?

I let someone else change my oil.

Sounds akin to changing one of the spark plugs on my sister's 1975 Chevy Monza with the V-8 back when. I'd consider a Ranger, but want to see what bugs/quirks it has first.

The cost savings do let someone else do it versus in my driveway is not enough anymore to make it worth it.

The only thing I've done on my truck myself is the brakes and the idler pulley.

Changing the oil filter on our Acadia is a pain in the butt. I usually drain the pan and have my wife reach in to do the filter. The filter is in the front close to the radiator and I can not fit my arm in there to twist it on or off.

I do my own oil changes and no, I would not buy that truck. Shame they didn't think that through better.

What does Ford think this is, a Bugatti Veyron or something? On exotic cars you expect poor maintenance access, but a Ford truck? Ridiculous. I wasn't going to buy one anyway, but this seals its fate.

I have to drop the skid plate in my bike every time I change the oil. Not a big deal.

Sure I would buy it. When I negotiated the deal, it would include free oil changes for as long as I owned the truck.
No free oil changes? No deal.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I have to drop the skid plate in my bike every time I change the oil. Not a big deal.

No, that isn't. Removing a wheel and several clips to get to the filter is.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
What does Ford think this is, a Bugatti Veyron or something? On exotic cars you expect poor maintenance access, but a Ford truck? Ridiculous. I wasn't going to buy one anyway, but this seals its fate.

I wonder if it's poor design, or an attempt to force people to their friendly Ford Service Center. . .

Either way, I won't buy one, but that is because they are so obscenely expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I have to drop the skid plate in my bike every time I change the oil. Not a big deal.

2 floor panels to access the oil pan, remove engine cover & intake hose to access the top-mounted cartridge filter; on my Mercedes. Along with a drain plug washer & 3 o-rings for the filter.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I have to drop the skid plate in my bike every time I change the oil. Not a big deal.

I had to unbolt and drop the exhaust on my Yamaha V-Star 1100 to change the filter. The first couple of times it was a pain in the ass. After that, no big deal.

Jim

I would never buy or advise anyone to buy a vehicle in the first year of production.
And if the rest of the engineering is as well thought out as their oil filter placement I'll pass on any other model year also.

Changing oil becomes more of an adventure when it involves more than two gallons of oil.

Removing a wheel to do an oil change is no big deal. I do that to make changing it easier/faster on my Accord v6

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Removing a wheel to do an oil change is no big deal.

Bologna. Automotive Engineering is apparently a dying art. Routine maintenance should not involve you having to stand on your head, while patting your tummy, while whistling a tune. That said, this is probably not a deal killer for many potential buyers given a huge segment of automotive consumers today have zero interest in anything having to do with the way their cars function and are serviced/maintained. So this becomes a dealer service department issue...and they'll deal with it via higher pricing for routine maintenance.

Make no mistake though, this is only one of a number of major failures IMO regarding the Ranger, a truck I've actively followed since Ford announced its return to the US market. I had high hopes a new Ranger might find its way into my garage, but that won't be the case.

This is not a new phenomenon with Ford.

My girlfriend purchased a 1978 Mustang Mach 1 with a V6 motor. To change the oil filter on that car, one would have to undo the exhaust manifolds and motor-mounts to be able to jack the motor high enough for the filter to clear the frame. After a short while, all of the mechanics in my area learned of this and would ask over the phone, "Does it have the V6?" And when I replied in the affirmative, they either announced that they don't service that car, or would just hang up on me. The local Ford dealership charged 4 times what they usually charged for a oil & filter change.

The only reason I purchased a 1999 Ford Ranger was because it's actually a Mazda.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
This is not a new phenomenon with Ford.

My girlfriend purchased a 1978 Mustang Mach 1 with a V6 motor. To change the oil filter on that car, one would have to undo the exhaust manifolds and motor-mounts to be able to jack the motor high enough for the filter to clear the frame. After a short while, all of the mechanics in my area learned of this and would ask over the phone, "Does it have the V6?" And when I replied in the affirmative, they either announced that they don't service that car, or would just hang up on me.

The F150 I drive daily requires the motor to be drained of fluids, and lifted 2 to 4 inches up in the engine bay to afford enough room beneath the motor to remove the oil pan to replace the gasket. So to replace a $12 oil pan gasket, something most anyone here could do in their garage on a Saturday, one must pay a service department upwards of $1k to do the work. Of course, had I bought the exact same truck but in 4x4, that truck includes a removable front cross member that allows complete access to the oil pan. I could change that oil pan gasket in 15 minutes.

Ford's engineers make me wonder at times if they got their degrees via some correspondence course.

quote:

Originally posted by smithnsig:
I let someone else change my oil.

And the someone else probably won't change your filter if it's a pain in the rump and in a spot you can't see. If they do attempt it, they'll likely break a few of the pos clips and won't replace them.