!#8# Getting An Oil Change - How Often Should You Do It? | !8: Valvoline Transmission Fluid Compare

!±8± Getting An Oil Change - How Often Should You Do It?

Although the cost of changing the oil in your car's engine is a considerable fact, it is an important question to know how often you will change your engine's oil. The answer is not as easy as many people think. It is difficult because it depends on some factors that include the conditions in which you drive, how you actually handle the car, and whether you are driving mostly on the highway or in and around the city.

It is important for you to know why you need to change your engine's oil. Oil needs to change for several reasons. Firstly, oil will break down chemically over time and then it loses the lubrication properties. When oil breaks down it combines with blow-by gases form sludge. High detergent oils dissolve this sludge and hold it in suspension. If the oil is not changed often enough it could result in untimely engine failure due to accelerated wear and lead to damage.

There was a time not that long ago when the 3 month/3,000 mile rule was a good suggestion. If you're driving an older automobile, it may still be the way to go. But the vehicles that have been produced from 2002 onwards do not need their oil change often.

If your car is new then the oil and filter should be changed every year or every 7500 miles. For a turbo charged gasoline engine or a diesel engine, the oil need to change every six months or could change it every 3000 miles.

If you do a lot of highway driving then, you have to change your oil more frequently. So to be safe it is better to change your oil every six months or 3000 miles. Many newer vehicles now come has a sensor that indicates you when the viscosity of oil degrades. If you have such one just wait for indication.

Manually you can understand when you should change your engine's oil by rubbing the oil with your finger. Good oil feels slick and bad oil feels almost like water. You need to check regularly and how regularly depends on how much oil your car uses.

If you still have the warranty of your car then you should maintain the intervals of oil changing recommended by the manufacturer. If time exceeds, it may void this warranty! So, keep records and receipt for oil changes, if you are under a warranty!