How do you know if your car’s engine oil needs changing?

Regular oil changes are a critical part of car maintenance to prevent damage and optimize performance. Oil is the ‘blood’ in your engine. It lubricates the moving parts and ensures they do not wear each other down or even weld together under the extreme pressure and heat inside the engine. It also helps to control the temperature of the engine, carrying away heat from the pistons and cooling the engine as it circulates around the oil system. It’s a fairly straight forward mechanical operation to change the oil or to stop oil leak and with your car owner’s documentation you should be able to save time and money by doing it yourself.

Take a look at the condition of the oil in the car by using the dipstick. If it’s dirty black or dark brown, feels gritty between the fingers or smells of burning it needs replacing. It can be a good idea to replace the oil if you’ve purchased a new second hand car, otherwise it’s worth checking every 3000 miles or 6 months or so. If the oil is colored light brown it’s probably okay. If unsure you can compare it to the color of new oil. If your oil pressure gauge keeps coming on you may have a leak or be burning oil. You can tell if you burning oil from the smoke coming out of the exhaust. It’s likely a seal will have perished somewhere inside the engine. Changing the oil won’t fix this problem but topping it up can keep you going until you can get to a garage. Because oil is SO critical to the running of your engine you should get this checked out as soon as possible. Low oil pressure can lead to critical and permanent engine damage and can cause serious harm to your wallet.

There’s plenty more to oil than meets the eye. Check out the Oil Pressure Gauge Guide blog for more information.