Vehicle Tips: Keeping track of your oil changes

Keeping track of how often your vehicle receives an oil change can help prevent engine knocks and keep your vehicle operating optimally for longer. Typically, an oil change is recommended after every 5,000 miles, although more frequent changes are usually needed in extreme operating conditions. Knowing when to change your oil can be tricky, but here are 3 signs that can tell you it’s time.

Fresh motor oil

Black or gritty oil

Regularly popping the hood to check the color of your oil is the simplest way to determine its quality. Fresh oil is usually translucent and light brown, but it tends to get dark and thick as the miles roll by.

This is because the oil absorbs more and more contaminants from your engine over time, and not changing it can eventually damage your filters and gunk up the engine. Once your oil starts to turn black, have a vehicle maintenance service change it immediately. It also means that the oil filter the car currently  has is due for replacement. Installing one that is expensive is most often than not unnecessary. If yours is used only for daily commute and the occasional long travels and not for racing, then the ones on GrandPrixTimes review are more than enough and capable.

Noisy and jumpy engine

Old oil is often riddled with worn out metal chippings from your engine that result in a pinging noise under the hood. Contaminants can also cause friction build-ups in your engine that can make your engine jumpy and noisy.

Oil changes provide the proper lubrication required to keep your engine running smoothly and quietly while preventing untimely engine damage.

Low oil levels

An engine running on old oil tends to use up more of the lubricant to keep operating smoothly, leading to oil levels dropping faster than normal. If the dipstick shows extremely low oil levels, this should tell you that most of the lubricant has ended up in the filters, and an oil change is imminent.

If you need vehicle maintenance services, please contact our specialists at Roseville Automail today.