Keeping Your Ford Explorer Road Ready: A Service Schedule With a Team You Can Trust

Finding a reputable Ford service center near Covington is crucial to keeping your Explorer running at its best every mile ahead. While McCluskey Chevrolet is renowned for our exceptional Chevy service, don’t let our marque mislead you. We’re also proud to be a trusted Ford service center, giving you a front-row seat to our state-of-the-art facility where our factory-trained and certified technicians can handle all your Explorer’s needs.

Whether tackling your daily commute or planning a road trip beyond the state line, staying on top of your Explorer’s recommended service schedule ensures your SUV is safe, reliable, and performing optimally. Fortunately, you don’t have to tackle the job alone. Here’s what you need to know about your Explorer’s service schedule and the partnership that awaits when you trust us with your SUV.

Monthly Maintenance: Check-Ins You Can Tackle at Home

The first step in getting the most from your Explorer starts with being mindful about preventative maintenance. While this seems daunting, these monthly checks can help you identify potential issues before they become costly repairs. More importantly, they’re easy to do at home and don’t require any special equipment or expertise.

• Engine Oil: Your Explorer likely has an oil life monitoring system that alerts you when it’s time for an oil change. It’s essential to check this system and monitor the percentage regularly. Ford also recommends popping the hood and checking the oil level and condition, especially if you notice any performance issues.
• Lights: Checking the interior lights in your Explorer is straightforward, but how often do you check the exterior lights? Ford encourages Explorer owners to check the headlights, brake lights, and turn signals monthly.
• Tires: Your Explorer’s tire pressure monitoring system will alert you to low tire pressure. However, it doesn’t detect damage, uneven wear, or overinflated tires. Because of this, Ford recommends inspecting the tires each month to ensure they are safe, appropriately inflated, and damage-free.

• Windshield and Wipers: The Explorer’s maintenance schedule recommends checking the windshield, wipers, and washer fluid monthly. Depending on the season, you may need to replenish the fluid more frequently or replace the wiper blades sooner to accommodate Covington’s ever-changing conditions.

Multi-Point Inspections: The Foundation of Preventive Maintenance

Every routine service at McCluskey Chevrolet includes a multi-point inspection. This complimentary service is the foundation of preventative maintenance. Why? It lets our certified technicians inspect your Explorer’s major components, noting areas that need immediate or future attention. Think of a multi-point inspection like your annual check-up with your family doctor.

Our certified technicians follow Ford’s recommended multi-point inspection guidelines for your Explorer. This guideline covers a wide range of critical components, from the tires and wheels to the windshield, safety systems, suspension, and engine. Our technicians will inspect the drive belts and hoses for cracks or wear, test the battery’s voltage and clean the terminals, inspect the engine air filter, and examine every brake system component. We’ll test the horn, check the lights and turn signals, and inspect the tires, measuring the tread depth, pressure, and alignment.

This assessment is extensive, but the benefits extend far beyond our service bay. Our technicians document everything, providing a clear, concise report of your Explorer’s condition. This information helps you plan for future service needs, whether you’ll need to save for new tires or prepare for a brake tune-up.

Oil Changes: Understanding Your Explorer’s Ideal Schedule

Have you ever heard, “Change the oil every three months or 3,000 miles?” The guideline caused quick lubes to flourish years ago, but it’s no longer applicable in the current automotive landscape. The industry’s ongoing advancements mean engines are more efficient and oil is higher quality and longer-lasting. So, what does this mean for your Explorer?

Ford breaks down your Explorer’s ideal oil change schedule into three categories based on your driving style and the conditions. The harder your Explorer works on the road, the more TLC it needs. Here’s a closer look at those intervals and how we can help you determine your SUV’s best oil change schedule.

Normal Conditions: Every 7,500 to 10,000 Miles 

Do you rely on your Explorer to manage your weekday commute on the highway? Covington’s varied landscape offers plenty of hills and valleys, but nothing too extreme. Ford considers these normal conditions, with no extended time idling the engine or towing a trailer.

Moderate Conditions: Every 5,000 to 7,000 Miles

Between the local landscape and the Explorer’s impressive capability, pushing the Explorer to its limits is easy. The Explorer won’t flinch, competently handling itself as it ascends or descends mountain roads or pulls modest-sized loads. Ford knows the SUV can handle itself, but considers these moderate driving conditions, especially with extended idling and regions where temperatures are excessively hot or cold.

Extreme Conditions: Every 3,000 to 5,000 Miles 

What if you constantly push your Explorer to its limits? Do you frequently haul heavy loads or navigate extreme conditions, idling the engine for long periods and forcing it to work harder and longer in extreme heat or freezing temperatures? While the Explorer can handle these demands, it means more frequent oil changes to ensure its engine has everything it needs to run optimally and efficiently.

All-in-One Service 

Whether your Explorer needs an oil change every 5,000 or 10,000 miles, our team will handle the job and ensure your SUV is ready for the road. Moreover, we save you valuable time and treat your Explorer to the best by following Ford’s guidelines to conduct a multi-point inspection with every oil change. You’ll receive feedback on your Explorer’s major components, from the engine’s cooling and exhaust systems to the brakes, battery, tires, and fluids.

Tire rotations are also part of every routine oil change, maximizing the value of this routine service when you put your Explorer in our trusted hands. Rotating the tires is crucial to extending their longevity, with our technicians following Ford’s recommended rotation guideline for your SUV as they inspect each tire, examine the tread depth, look for wear or damage, and check the pressure.

Long-Term Maintenance: Your Explorer’s Future on the Road

Whether you put your hard-earned money to work on the used lot or couldn’t resist the allure of a new Ford, your Explorer is an investment worth protecting. Beyond monthly check-ins from your garage or routine services with our certified technicians, your Explorer’s maintenance needs extend long-term and protect its future on the road.

Ford’s recommended long-term maintenance intervals are mostly mileage-based, but what does this mean for you? The Federal Highway Administration reports that Americans drive over 13,400 miles annually. You can use this estimate as a guideline, recognizing that your annual mileage may be lower or higher as you navigate Covington and the surrounding areas.

• Every 20,000 Miles: Ford recommends changing the cabin air filter. This filter is crucial because it improves the air quality inside the vehicle, filtering debris and pollutants to keep the cabin air safe and clean.

• Every 30,000 Miles: Your Explorer will likely need a new engine air filter. Just as the cabin air filter provides clean air, the engine air filter keeps pollutants, such as dust, dirt, and other debris, from entering the engine.

• Every Three Years: Based on the miles Americans drive annually, your Explorer will likely need new brake fluid every three years or approximately every 40,000 miles. This service ensures that your brake’s hydraulic system has the necessary fluid to stop your SUV when you use the brake pedal.

• Every 100,000 Miles: This milestone is celebratory and includes treating your Explorer to new spark plugs. Our technicians will also inspect the drive belts, conducting a comprehensive inspection and alerting you to any areas that need immediate attention.

• Every 150,000 Miles: Your Explorer is built to last, and the 150,000-mile milestone prompts a few more services to prepare it for its next chapter on the road. This interval includes changing the automatic transmission fluid and replacing the drive belts.

• At 200,000 Miles: Once the odometer rolls over to 200,000 miles, you can stop and take a picture to celebrate. Then, it’s time to bring your SUV in for its 200,000-mile service that includes changing vital fluids, like the engine coolant.

Schedule Service for Your Ford Explorer Today

Your Explorer is built for the long haul, and with the proper care, it can exceed expectations by running efficiently and reliably for hundreds of thousands of miles. Of course, finding a team you can trust with your Explorer’s service is crucial to its longevity. We’re proud to be that team and welcome you to our state-of-the-art, full-service automotive center.

We’re proud to serve Explorer drivers throughout Covington and the surrounding areas. Turn to us for all your routine service and maintenance needs, whether it’s time for an oil change or your 100,000-mile inspection. Your Explorer deserves the best, and so do you.