Oil Change Service

Engine oil is the lifeblood of your engine. It lubricates metal parts that spin thousands of times per minute, carries away heat, suspends microscopic particles of wear metal and combustion byproducts, and seals the tiny gap between piston rings and cylinder walls. Without clean oil, an engine destroys itself in minutes. Think of oil like the blood in your body — it has to be clean and it has to keep flowing.

Follow the manufacturer's oil life monitor or maintenance schedule. Most modern vehicles have an oil life monitor system that calculates remaining oil life based on engine RPM, temperature, load, and miles driven. When it says change — change it. If the vehicle does not have an oil life monitor, follow the manufacturer's interval. For most modern vehicles running full synthetic oil, that is somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 miles depending on driving conditions. Severe conditions — lots of short trips, dusty roads, towing, extreme heat — shorten the interval. When in doubt, change it sooner rather than later. Oil is cheap. Engines are not.

Warm the engine to operating temperature first. Warm oil flows faster and carries more contaminants out with it. Raise the vehicle safely on a lift or jack stands. Position a drain pan under the oil pan drain plug. Remove the drain plug with the correct socket — typically 13mm, 15mm, or 17mm depending on the vehicle. Let the oil drain completely for at least five minutes. While the oil drains, remove the old oil filter. On most modern vehicles the filter is a cartridge type that sits in a housing on the engine — you remove a cap, pull out the old element, and install a new one with a new O-ring. Spin-on filters thread directly onto the engine block. Lightly oil the gasket on a new spin-on filter with fresh oil before installing. Hand-tighten only — do not use a wrench to tighten a spin-on filter or you will never get it off next time.

Reinstall the drain plug with a new crush washer if specified. Torque the drain plug to the manufacturer's specification — typically 25 to 35 foot-pounds for most vehicles, but always check. An overtightened drain plug strips the threads in the aluminum oil pan. A stripped oil pan means replacing the entire pan or installing a thread repair kit. An undertightened plug leaks and can back out completely, dumping all the oil on the road while driving. Both are expensive mistakes that are completely preventable.

Fill the engine with the correct type and amount of oil specified by the manufacturer. The oil type is printed on the oil cap — 0W-20, 5W-30, and similar designations. The capacity is in the service information, typically 4 to 8 quarts depending on the engine. Start the engine and let it idle for 30 seconds. Check for leaks at the drain plug and filter. Shut off the engine, wait two minutes for the oil to drain back to the pan, then check the dipstick. The level should be at or near the full mark. Add if needed — but do not overfill. Too much oil causes foaming and can damage seals.

After every oil change, reset the oil life monitor to 100 percent. The procedure varies by manufacturer — some reset through the instrument cluster buttons, some through the infotainment screen, some require a scan tool. If you do not reset it, the vehicle will tell the customer to change the oil again immediately, which makes you look careless. Always verify the reset completed before pulling the vehicle out of the bay.