Ford Service Book

This article is for you who own a Ford or are considering buying one. The service itself is rarely what annoys. It's the documentation: who has registered what, where it is and whether you can find it on the day the warranty or the sale price depends on it.

How often does a Ford need service?

A Ford follows the manufacturer's own instructions. Typically, the car is recalled after driving kilometers, somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 km, and the first inspection must usually be done no later than one year after the car was registered. If you drive a few kilometers a year, it is the annual interval that applies.

What is actually done during an inspection varies more at Ford than at many other brands, because the model range is wide and the individual variants each have their own service plan. It is worth getting confirmation on your particular model and year, rather than assuming a general range.

You can choose your workshop, so you decide where your Ford is serviced. Pay attention to which spare parts and oil are used: with some manufacturers, the warranty is void if original or OE-approved parts have not been used.

How service is registered today

Previously, the registration was a stamp in the paper service book. Ford has moved away from this, and with good reason: a service book that was at home or lost left gaps in the history that could not be closed afterwards. You still get an invoice after each inspection, but few people keep them for twenty years, and a pile of invoices rarely provides an overview.

Today, the workshops register online, and this applies to both Ford's own workshops and the independent workshops.

Ford's own digital service book

Ford introduced its own digital service book, the Digital Service Record, in 2013. The record was centrally located with the manufacturer, but for many years it was only for the workshops' own use: as the owner, you could not see it yourself. Instead, you were given a printout to take home after the inspection, and then it was your job to save the paper.

It was not until 2022 that an online service book was released, where a Ford owner can see the history of his car for himself. This is an improvement, but the intervening years are still in many cars: printouts that have been lost, and inspections at workshops that never made it into the manufacturer's system. A Ford with an incomplete history is not unusual, and it is rarely the owner's fault.

Is it a requirement to use Ford's own service book?

No. Many garages and car owners have got this impression, but it is not Ford's own system that is the requirement.

The requirement is the documentation. If you end up in a warranty case, you must be able to show that the service intervals have been complied with and that the work has been carried out according to the regulations with approved parts and oil. Where that documentation is located is not the decisive factor. That you can find it is.

Why your Ford service history matters

A warranty case is the obvious occasion, but not the only one. If the car is to be sold, a coherent history is what moves the price, because it gives the buyer the assurance that the car is maintained. The odometer reading is stored with each registration, so a history with dates and mileage is also the best protection against tampering with the odometer.

History also has a practical value in the workshop. If you know what has been changed and when, troubleshooting becomes shorter and the right parts can be found the first time. This is especially true on a model where the service plan varies from variant to variant.

If the history is scattered or has gaps

This is common at Ford, and it is usually a consequence of the years when the history was with the workshop instead of with the owner. Some can be in Ford's own system, some with an independent workshop, and some can be stored as paper printouts in a folder or be lost.

In the Digital Service Book, your Ford can be searched for on the number plate. The lookup covers registrations from the manufacturers' own service books, including Fords, and from the workshops that are connected. If there is service that is not included, previous inspections from old printouts or invoices can be entered, so that the history accumulates on the car instead of being stored in three systems and one folder.

When your Ford changes hands

Add the car to your own account while you have it. Your own car's history is free for you as the owner, and the service that is carried out in the future is collected on the car. Then you will have the documentation on the day the car is to be replaced. If you are considering a used Ford that you do not own yet, you can buy a service certificate on the number plate before the purchase.