06
February, 2020
How Often Should You Change Your Engine Oil?
Historically, manufacturers tended to recommend that you change your engine oil every three months or 3,000 miles. But manufacturers have improved the quality of car oils and now say that vehicles can travel a fair bit further than this before requiring an oil change.
Tailoring Oil Changes to Your Driving
Replacing engine oil more often than you need to wastes money, resources and time. Also, disposing of good oil puts unnecessary strain on the environment.
Generally, most manufacturers now recommend that you change your engine oil between every 5,000 and 7,000 miles. However, your oil change frequency should depend on factors specific to your vehicle and driving habits.
If any of the following conditions apply to your driving, you need to change your engine oil more regularly, closer to the lower end of the recommended 5,000-7,000-mile service recommendations.
- Frequent trips in normal temperatures under five miles or freezing temperatures under ten miles. During these journeys, the oil won’t get hot enough to boil off moisture condensation.
- Frequent trips with lots of stop-starts in hot temperatures.
- Frequent trips in dusty or muddy conditions or on roads with salt, sand or gravel spread across the surface.
- Frequent, lengthy trips below 50 mph.
- Frequent trips towing trailers/caravans or carrying heavy loads on a roof rack.
You should also look out for these signs that you need to replace your engine oil.
Follow our simple step-by-step instructions on how to replace your engine oil here.
Change Your Oil Filter
It doesn’t make any difference how meticulous you are about changing your oil if you don’t change your oil filter. Even the best engine oils collect contaminants and lose viscosity over time. It’s the oil filter that stops these particles from entering – and damaging – your engine.
Read our blog post on why and when you should change your engine oil and oil filter at the same time here.
Self-Service Your Engine Oil
Even if you don’t change your engine oil frequently, the best thing you can do is self-service your oil often to visually check its condition.
Good-quality oil should be a clear black/brown colour. If it’s opaque or murky, it’s due for a change. If it’s milky white, it’s likely that you have an engine coolant leak. In this instance, not only do you need to replace your engine oil, but you also need to fix the engine coolant leak.
Search your number plate in our car lookup tool to find a huge range of engine oils before you self-service your car.
All DIY car service parts are manufactured by trusted, high-quality brands. Here are just a few of the brands that we stock.
About DIY Car Service Parts
Whether you’re changing your own car parts or saving costs by providing them to your local garage, DIY Car Service Parts is the ultimate site for easily identifying the vehicle parts that you need.
DIY Car Service Parts isn’t just about accessing car parts from the best brands at the lowest prices. With over 35 years’ experience in the automotive industry, we are experts in the car parts field. Our specialist team is on hand to answer any of your queries and offer valuable advice so that you can understand more about the ways that your car works and get savvy under the bonnet.
