Nov 18, 2020
Changing the oil in your car is a quick and painless procedure when performed by a professional. Oil is vital to your car’s wellbeing and ensuring your car has good, clean oil will improve performance and extend the life of the engine. Despite this, some people delay replacing their oil until there’s a visible problem - but why?
Many drivers will rely on their mileage to gauge when their oil needs to be replaced but other factors need to be considered as well such as quality of the oil being used, the age of your car and your driving style.
As we mentioned, having fresh, clean oil will optimise your car’s performance by keeping everything healthy. Over time, fluid will break down and this will result in difficulty performing its duties, and once this begins you will experience one of the below warning signs
Engine light on dashboard
One of the most obvious signs that there’s an issue will come from the car itself by a light illuminating on the dashboard. The change oil light will flash up when there’s not enough oil in the system, which requires you to check the dipstick to see what’s going on. In some cases, the check engine light will flash and this is a warning telling you that things have gotten so bad there could be a risk of damage.
Engine noises
As we have mentioned, oil keeps your car healthy and this is because it provides a protective layer between engine parts, avoiding metal to metal brushing and keeping the engine quiet. If your oil isn’t doing the job as it should, then you will hear engine noises and knocking which signify the engine is struggling with the lack of lubrication.
Smell of oil
Have you noticed the smell of oil inside the car’s cabin? This is telling you there’s an oil leak somewhere. If you can smell gas or exhaust fumes, this is telling you your car is overheating. Either way, this needs attention immediately!
Excessive mileage
If you use your car for the daily commute, you will cover a lot of miles within a short space of time. With this, you should consider whether or not you need to schedule an oil change sooner than you usually would. Every car is different but most should have an oil change every 3,000 miles or three months. Newer cars can get away with a change every 6,000 miles or 6 months.
Check your owners manual for the specific timeframe on oil change guidelines.
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