the harm in skipping an oil change

oil is the cheapest maintenance your engine gets and the one most often put off. it is also the one where putting it off costs the most, because the damage is quiet until it is expensive.

what the oil is doing

it keeps metal from touching metal. every moving part inside the engine rides on a thin film of oil, thousands of times a minute.

it carries heat away from the parts the coolant cannot reach, holds dirt and combustion by-products in suspension so the filter can catch them, and protects the inside of the engine from rust and acid.

what happens when it is overdue

oil does not run out so much as wear out. heat breaks it down, the additives get used up, and it fills with fine grit and fuel residue.

• it stops protecting. thin, broken-down oil lets parts wear faster, especially on a cold start, before it has circulated.
• it turns to sludge. old oil thickens and leaves deposits that block the narrow passages oil has to reach, starving the parts at the end of them.
• the engine runs hotter, and heat is what breaks oil down further, so it feeds itself.
• fuel economy drops a little, because a dirty engine works harder.

none of this shows on the dashboard until it is well along. the oil pressure light means the engine is already short of oil, not that a change is due.

the expensive end of it

turbochargers, timing chains and variable valve timing all depend on clean oil at the right pressure. a worn timing chain, a seized turbo or sludge through the whole engine are repairs counted in thousands, and all of them can start with oil changes that were skipped to save an hour.

how often

follow the interval in your owner's manual, and use the shorter "severe service" one if it fits how you drive. short trips in a Canadian winter, towing, dusty gravel roads and long stretches of idling all count, and plenty of drivers around Elgin County do most of those.

many newer vehicles show a reminder based on how the car has actually been driven. trust it, and do not stretch past it.

what we do

book in and we will change the oil and the filter with what your vehicle's manufacturer specifies, and tell you plainly about anything we noticed while it was up. if something can wait, we will say so.

book a service appointment or call us.