What Happens If You Don’t Change Your Oil?

Between work, errands, carpools, and everything else you need to get done in a week, life in Henrico can get pretty busy. It can be hard to make time for yourself, let alone for your car. When your car needs an oil change and spare time is scarce, you might be tempted to push the service back for a bit. What happens if you don’t change your oil? Left to sit unreplaced, motor oil begins to break down, which can affect its ability to lubricate the engine’s components. Without lubrication, friction occurs and starts to heat things up. If the engine gets too hot, it can incur serious wear and tear and its components can even warp. Our service center talks more about the importance of routine oil changes, below.

What Does Oil Do for the Engine?

In addition to keeping the engine’s moving parts lubricated, motor oil also plays these essential roles to keep you moving safely and efficiently in Glen Allen:

• As discussed, motor oil’s most important job is to act as a lubricant that prevents friction
• Some motor oils have dispersants, which aid in ridding the engine of sludge
• Motor oil also contains detergents, which prevent varnish from accumulating on the engine
• Motor oil neutralizes acid-forming fuels, and changing it regularly will also improve the piston ring seals
• Finally, motor oil keeps the engine temperature regulated by carrying heat away from it

What happens if you don’t change your oil is that it will become less effective at performing all of these vital functions.

When Do I Need to Change My Oil?

The days of changing your oil every 3,000 miles are long gone! Now, most car owners can extend their oil change frequency to every 7,500 – 10,000 miles. You can find an exact figure for your make and model listed in your owner’s manual. Additionally, keep in mind that certain driving habits can necessitate more frequent oil changes, like heavy-duty towing or high-mileage driving.

How to Change Your Oil at Home

To avoid finding out what happens if you don’t get your oil changed, maybe you’d like to learn how to change your oil yourself. It’s a somewhat simple process if you follow along with a detailed guide, but if you’re a novice when it comes to at-home maintenance, you should ask an experienced friend or family member to assist you.

Before you start, double-check that you have the right type of oil for your car. You can find this info in your owner’s manual. The steps below will give you a broad idea of what to expect from the oil change process:

1. Lift your car with jack stands or steel ramps.
2. Place an oil basin directly under the oil drain plug, which should be on the bottom of your oil pan, under the engine. With the oil basin in place, unscrew the drain and allow up to 15 minutes for the old oil to drain completely. Once drained, replace the drain plug.
3. Next, you need to remove the old oil filter. This should be done with an oil filter wrench. An extra bit of oil might drain out at this step, so you’ll want to keep the oil basin underneath just in case.
4. Get your new oil filter. Before seating it, you’ll need to rub a little bit of fresh oil on the rubber seal. This keeps the filter watertight.
5. Seat the new oil filter, tightening it by hand this time.
6. With the old oil drained and the new oil filter seated, you can now remove the oil cap (it should have an oil can symbol, or might just say “OIL”). Check your owner’s manual for the amount of oil needed for your car. Using a funnel, add in the specified amount of oil – it’s important that you don’t under or overfill it. Replace the oil cap when you’re done.
7. To make sure you added the proper amount of oil, check the oil dipstick. If it’s low, you can bring the level up one ounce at a time, checking the level in-between so you don’t overfill.
8. Once you get the right oil level reading, you’re all done!

Schedule Oil Service at Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Buick GMC Richmond

Are you overdue for an oil change? Don’t allow yourself to find out what happens if you don’t get your oil changed through firsthand experience. Schedule an appointment at our service center near Goochland! We offer rotating service coupons to make these essential services more affordable.