Oil Change Basics: Your Vehicle’s Liquid Gold

Why is a routine oil change essential? Oil is the liquid gold your vehicle needs to run its best and most efficiently. However, many drivers don’t think twice about the oil and what it does behind the scenes. Why would you? It’s easy to climb in the driver’s seat, start the ignition, and set off for your destination without a second thought. You expect the engine to perform optimally and rely on your vehicle’s technologies, monitoring systems, and features to alert you to any trouble, like the oil life indicator or an alert on the digital driver dashboard. When you see these alerts, you know it’s time for an oil change, but what does that service involve, and why is it critical to your vehicle’s longevity?

Why Oil Changes Matter: A Service You Shouldn’t Skip

Your vehicle’s engine relies on many moving parts, like pistons and valves, to generate enough energy to propel your vehicle. As these parts move, they create heat or friction, which can be detrimental to your engine and cause it to overheat. Moreover, the constant movement of those parts leads to excessive wear and tear, reducing the life of your engine and limiting its ability to run efficiently and optimally.

Oil solves these issues by lubricating, cleaning, and cooling the engine’s many moving components. As a lubricant, the oil allows the parts to seamlessly work together, enhancing the engine’s efficiency and improving your vehicle’s gas mileage. In turn, you save money on fuel because your engine isn’t working harder than necessary to run optimally.

As the oil lubricates, it also mitigates excessive heat or friction caused by the parts working together. The oil cools the engine components and actively prevents the engine from overheating by ensuring the conditions are ideal. Simultaneously, the oil picks up dirt and debris that can damage the engine and lead to corrosion. Over time, the accumulated debris turns the oil into sludge, which is less effective. Because of this, routine oil changes are essential to ensuring your engine has the high-quality oil necessary to perform its best mile after mile.

What Happens During an Oil Change?

Oil changes are considered routine maintenance and can be tackled from the comfort of your garage or the convenience of our service center. The process is straightforward, with our technicians offering additional services during every routine oil change to ensure your vehicle has everything it needs. We’ll discuss those services below, but first, let’s cover what a typical oil change involves.

The Basics: Out With the Old and In With the New Oil

Changing the oil in your vehicle isn’t a difficult task. Essentially, you’re replacing the old oil with new oil and adding a new filter based on the manufacturer’s recommendations outlined in the vehicle’s owner’s manual. Whether you tackle an oil change at home or rely on our technicians to handle the job, the process is the same and starts with getting the correct type of oil and filter for your vehicle.

Once you know the type of oil and how much you need, it’s time to lift the vehicle using a jack. This position makes accessing the oil pan and filter easier as you place an oil receptacle below the reservoir to catch the old oil as it drains. After the oil drains, remove the old oil filter, replace the drain plug, and lightly coat the new filter and its rubber gasket with oil before replacing it. With the filter and plug tightened by hand, it’s time to lower your vehicle and open the hood to add new oil to the reservoir.

With the reservoir filled with new oil, the final steps are essential to a successful oil change. It’s critical to check the oil level after running the engine for a few seconds, which allows the oil to circulate. Using the dipstick, you can confirm the oil level is correct. Finally, check for leaks under your vehicle after letting the engine idle for a few minutes.

Why Trust Our Team with Your Next Oil Change?

Oil changes are straightforward enough that many customers tackle the service at home in their garage. We are happy to support our DIY customers, with our parts department offering genuine OEM oil filters for your vehicle. However, there are several other perks to trusting our technicians with every routine oil change.

While oil changes are simple, the process takes time as you determine the correct type of oil and filter your vehicle needs, purchase the items, and gather the tools needed to handle the job. Alternatively, our state-of-the-art service center has the latest tools and technologies, genuine OEM parts, and a team of talented technicians ready to handle anything your vehicle needs. Because of this, routine oil changes are incredibly efficient and include several additional services that guarantee you get more for your time and money. Plus, when you get your oil changed with us, you won’t have to worry about properly disposing of the old oil; we take care of it for you.

Every routine oil change includes a multi-point inspection and tire rotation. Rotating the tires is essential to extending their longevity because it promotes even tread wear. This service also gives our technicians the chance to inspect each tire for signs of damage or potential hazards. This assessment is part of our multi-point inspection, where our technicians evaluate your vehicle’s major components to determine their condition and report their findings.

Treat Your Vehicle to the Very Best

Your vehicle is an investment, regardless of how much you paid or whether you bought it new or used. Routine oil changes are essential to maintaining and protecting that investment by giving your vehicle the high-quality oil it needs to keep the engine lubricated, cleaned, and cooled. When you trust a team like ours with this routine service, you and your vehicle are guaranteed top-notch service that sets you up for success on the road every mile ahead.

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