How to Check Your Oil

Series Summary

Major car tune-ups, or vehicle overhauls, are vital to the upkeep and maintenance of an automobile. A car is a complex machine made up of simple machines which have many different parts and processes that must be checked for breakage, leaks and wear. A mechanic does all of these tune-up checks when a car comes into the auto shop. However, many car owners learn how to check their cars for issues themselves to fix common problems without costly mechanic visits. A little automobile knowledge goes a long way in saving money, avoiding scams and keeping cars in top shape. In this free video series on automotive maintenance, learn from a certified master auto technician how to keep a vehicle running smoothly for a long period of time. He explains how to check oil, automatic transmission fluid, various engine belts, radiator hoses, windshield wiper fluid, brake fluid and power steering fluid. Learn how to add or change all these fluids as well. He then discusses cleaning and charging a car battery, examining for oil leaks on the valve cover gasket, checking tire air and tread depth and how to find a good mechanic or shop.

Video Transcript

"I'm Dave Erb, from Dave's Ultimate Automotive, in Austin, Texas, and we're talking about checking your oil, and like many fluids in your car, it's one of the most important in your car. It needs to be checked periodically, and what you're looking for, is to make sure it's not low, or extremely dirty. Everybody should have an interval, in which they change, their oil. The most common is three months, three thousand miles. This fluid check is done with the engine off. You want to go ahead and identify the dip stick, usually in the front part of the engine compartment. In newer cars, it might even have something on the hood, or a decal, to identify where each indicator is, to check each fluid. Usually, it's a bright color. This one is yellow. What you want to do, is go ahead and pull the stick out. You don't want to look at it right off the bat. You may want to look at the color. Go ahead and wipe it clean, so you get a good reading. Make sure the vehicle is on level ground. You want to stick it back in the tube, all the way down, until it's completely flush in the tube. Pull it out. Keep it right side down, so it doesn't flow up the stick, and you're looking for an indicator mark, usually a set of cross hatches between two holes. That's pretty common. A minimum and a maximum, you just want to make sure you're somewhere in the middle of that grid, and you'll be fine. You want to make sure it's not extremely dirty. This is nice clean oil. Black oil would indicate that you need to have it changed. Once again, three months, three thousand miles, for most intervals, and I'd recommend checking it, at least every thousand miles or so."