An essential step in the maintenance of your vehicle, an oil change extends the life of your engine. Here’s everything you need to know about changing the oil in your petrol or diesel car.
What is an oil change?
Changing a car’s oil is a maintenance operation that involves replacing the engine oil, oil filter and gasket. This ensures better engine lubrication.
Why change your car’s oil?
Your car’s engine is made up of various parts, which need to be well lubricated in order to function properly. Engine oil fulfills this lubricating role, but as the miles go by, it degrades. As a result, it no longer protects your engine effectively, which can lead to damage. By changing your car’s oil regularly, you: prevent engine damage caused by metal friction, extend engine life, prevent engine overheating and save fuel.
This video can explain it more:
What is the role of oil changes?
Oil protects your engine, prevents wear and tear, enhances power and helps reduce fuel consumption. Changing your engine oil is necessary for a number of reasons: Oil lubricates engine parts to prevent metallic friction, oil ensures perfect engine compression, oil evacuates impurities and deposits them in the oil filter and oil cools the engine
When should I change my oil?
You should change your car’s oil when the “oil pressure” light on your dashboard comes on. The frequency of oil changes depends on a number of factors: The year your vehicle was put on the road, the number of kilometers driven, engine type gasoline or diesel and type of driving.
How often should I change my oil? As a general rule, a gasoline car needs its oil changed every 10 to 15,000 km. Our advice for diesel cars is to change the oil every 7,000 km. Generally speaking, the older your car, the more frequent the service. The oil filter should be changed at every oil change and every 30,000 km at the latest.
For peace of mind, we recommend that you change your car’s oil at least once a year. It’s a good thing that oil changes are often included in your car’s manufacturer’s service, so make the most of it!
How do I change my oil?
Before starting the oil change, make sure the car is parked on a level surface to facilitate the draining of used oil and the subsequent filling of the tank. Here are the main steps in the oil change process: Let the used oil drain into the oil pan; Replace the drain plug gasket with a new one, if necessary; Remove the oil filter and replace it with a new one; Replace the drain plug when draining is complete;
Fill the tank with new oil using the funnel, taking care not to exceed the maximum volume indicated on the dipstick or in the vehicle service booklet.
