How to Check Your Oil

Checking your engine oil is an essential task in car maintenance. Without the proper level of oil, your engine is put under unwanted stress and can become damaged severly. It is highly recommended to check your oil twice a month.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 Quart of Motor Oil
• Paper Towels
• Rags

1. Park the car on a level surface.

2. To get the most accurate reading you want to check your oil when the engine is cold.

3. Pull the hood release lever under the dashboard.

4. 
    

   Walk around the front of the car, reach under the hood, find the latch and squeeze it. As you squeeze the latch, open the hood.

5. 
    

   Find the dipstick. This is a long piece of metal sticking out of the engine with a loop at one end, usually located near the center of the engine. Many times it will be labeled with the word "Oil" or brightly colored.

6. Pull on the loop and draw the dipstick all the way out.

7. 
    

   Wipe the oil off the dipstick with a paper towel or shop rag.

8. 
    

   Replace the clean dipstick, making sure to push it all the way in, then pull it back out and hold it horizontally in front of you.

9. 
    

   Look at the pointy end of the dipstick. If the oil on the dipstick is below the line marked "full," add a small amount of oil. Many dipsticks simply have 2 lines with a cross hatch design in between. The oil level should be halfway between these 2 lines.

10. 
     

    Add the oil by unscrewing the oil filler cap, which is about 3 inches in diameter and located on the very top of the engine. It will usually be marked with the words "Engine Oil".

11. Check the oil level with the dipstick after adding oil. Add more if necessary. It's easier to add more oil several times, then to take oil out.

12. Put the oil filler cap back on and secure it tightly.

Tips & Warnings

• Your owner's manual will tell you what type of motor oil your engine requires. Many cars and trucks use either 5w30 or 10w30
• It is not recommended to mix different brands of oil. Each company puts different chemicals and additives in their oil. Some oils will react negatively with other oils causing them to brake down and reduce their life and effectiveness.
• Always keep 2 quarts of oil in your car.
• The oil lubricating system is a closed system: The oil does not get used up or go anywhere. If it's consistently low, there may be an oil leak. Leaks always get worse, and losing all the engine oil will require expensive repairs and/or replacing the engine.

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[sneilsen]

on 1/20/2010 Nice Job! 5* and recommended.

[tnkudzu]

on 11/1/2009 Not entirely correct. Had fuss with spouse, who thought engine should be "warm," while I had always thought "cold." I cited this Web site but he brandished his owner's manual which said "warm." I further checked the Consumer Reports Web site which confirmed that some automakers recommend the engine be "warm." So, it's wisest to check your own car's manual. The research for this article didn't go quite far enough, sorry to see.

[wileycyote]

on 7/27/2009 If you are checking your oil while the engine is cold & has been sitting up long enough for all the oil to drain into the oil pan, it is not necessary to wipe off the dipstick, in fact, you really don't want to. Simply pull out the dipstick & look at it, this is the true reading of your oil level, & this is the best time to check the oil. Then replace the dipstick & go on. In fact, if you wipe off the dipstick & re-instert it, then pull it out again, your reading will not be accurate, because you smear oil in the tube as you 1st removed the dipstick. Why would anybody want to unnecessarily complicate things?

[spartanic]

on 4/30/2009 Nice article. If anyone is interested in oil pump info check out the following link:http://www.garage411.com/OilPump

[hotrodgranny]

on 3/17/2009 Can we get this article corrected? Ideally you should check the oil after the engine has been off over night. That's when most of the oil will be in the pan, so you'll get the most accurate reading. This is especially important if you use synthetic oil, because it clings better and takes longer to drain down. You definitely don't want to overfill an engine with oil.Transmissions on the other hand need to be warmed up before checking. Thanks to Good and Better and the Traveler for correcting the misinformation. Excellent example of why it's a good idea to read the comments before acting upon an instruction.Changing a headlight isn't even simple any more.