The Ultimate Guide To Getting Your Oil Changed
Regular oil changes are crucial to keeping your car running as optimally as it should. Not only does oil provide lubrication for all the mechanical bits of your vehicle, but it also prevents your engine from overheating.
Despite oil changes being such a common car maintenance issue, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the what, when and hows of getting your oil changed. With help from the experts at Valvoline Oil Change, we’ve created this informative guide to help you better understand how your engine works and why oil changes are so necessary.
If you’d rather skip the messy and time-consuming job of changing your own oil, why not let car maintenance experts handle it? Valvoline Oil Change offers stay-in-your-car, full-service oil changes in about 15 minutes. You don’t need an appointment and their car care experts will perform 18 additional vehicle security checks - completely free of charge!
Just make sure you grab one of our Valvoline Oil Change coupons for an extra $10 discount!
How often should I change my oil?
There are a lot of mixed messages on how often you should change your oil. Many experts agree that most cars would benefit from an oil change every 3,000 to 4,000 miles. If you drive in severe weather conditions, you might want to consider an oil change every 3,000 - 3,750 miles.
Every vehicle has different specifications and tolerances when it comes to having its oil changed. When in doubt, the best thing that you can do is check your owner’s manual.
Remember that you’ll also need to log your oil changes and keep your receipts. If you’re a Valvoline Oil Change client, they’ll actually keep track of your receipts for you!
Can I check my own oil?
You can and you should! It’s good practice to get into the habit of checking your oil periodically. If your car is new, once a month will do. If your car is old or could use some repairs, the risk of burning or leaking engine oil is greater, so you might want to check your oil weekly or more.
Checking your oil level is simple and requires no expertise. Just follow these steps:
- Park your car on a level surface and let the engine cool for at least 5 minutes.
- If you are extremely unfamiliar with where everything is under your hood, your owner’s manual should provide detailed instructions on how to find your dipstick.
- Once you’ve found the dipstick, remove it and wipe the oil off with a clean rag.
- Reinsert the dipstick and pull it back out again.
- Check the oil level at the bottom of the dipstick.
That’s all it takes! While checking your oil regularly is important, if you don’t feel quite up to the task, just let a professional handle it. The car maintenance experts at Valvoline Oil Change can check and change your oil for you in as little as 15 minutes.
What does the check oil light mean?
When the check oil light illuminates, it means that the oil pressure in your vehicle has dropped and you need to take immediate action. If you ignore this warning and continue to drive, you risk causing some serious damage to your vehicle.
The check oil light usually means that your oil is low, dirty or leaking but it might also mean that your oil pressure sensor or oil pump needs to be replaced. Unless you have the tools and the expertise to check the problem yourself, have an expert technician troubleshoot the problem for you.
Get your oil changed with confidence
Engine oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle and without it, you won’t get very far! Regularly checking and changing your vehicle's engine oil is a crucial part of car care maintenance.
We hope this guide has shown you the importance of getting your oil changed regularly and helped dispel some oil change myths.
If you’re thinking to yourself that it’s been quite a while since you’ve had an oil change, grab one of our Valvoline Oil Change promo codes and get started!
