What Happens If You Don’t Change Your Oil?

Not changing your oil is one of the most common service foibles people in Los Angeles and Huntington Park commit. While going a little over the suggested mileage may not immediately hurt your car if you do it once every so often, it’s still never a recommended practice to avoid oil changes at service intervals that align with your vehicle’s maintenance plan, which you can likely find in the owner’s manual. Why? Read on for details on what happens if you don’t change your oil. Give us a call at 213-536-4785 for questions anytime in the meantime. You can also reach us online.

What Does Engine Oil Do in a Car?

Engine oil, otherwise known as motor oil, lube, or sometimes simply “oil”, is a lubricative fluid that helps protect key parts of your vehicle’s engine against friction that naturally occurs due to the combustion process that drives your car. Here are some key things that oil does:

• Motor oil with dispersants is designed to clean sludge from the engine.
• The main role of motor oil is to reduce wear and tear on moving parts due to friction.
• Detergents in motor oil help clean varnish from the engine as well.
• When changed regularly, motor oil can help neutralize acids that form from fuels, improve piston ring seals, and cool the engine by moving heat away

Think of not changing your oil in context of providing the opposite of the above benefits. If you wait long enough, you could do serious, irreversible damage to your engine. Don’t wait. Schedule an oil change online now.

How Often Should I Change My Vehicle’s Oil?

Generally, oil changes used to be recommended every 3,500 miles. If you drive an older vehicle and use synthetic oil or are simply extra-catious, this may still be a best-practice for you. That being said, in the majority of newer Nissan vehicles, you will not need an oil change until you’ve reached about 5,000-7,500 miles after your last one.

How Do I Change the Oil Myself?

DIY oil changes are pretty easy to do if you have the know-how about the process and experience completing prior oil changes. Here’s what to do to change your car’s oil yourself in South Gate:

1. First, securely raise your car to get underneath it with jack stands or ramps.
2. Find the oil drain plug on the bottom of your oil pan. It should be under the engine. 
3. Next, put an oil basin right underneath the drain plug, unscrew the plug and allow all of the old oil to drain out completely. We recommend waiting around 15 minutes. 
4. Find your oil filter, and remove it with an oil filter wrench. Some extra oil may drain out when you remove the filter, so make sure you keep the basin underneath to catch it!
5. Rub some oil around the rubber seal of your new oil filter – this ensures your filter is watertight and is an essential step. 
6. Put the newoil filter in place, then tighten it by hand. Do not over tighten.
7. Remove your oil cap and pour in the required amount of new oil, which you can find in your owner’s manual if you’re unsure. Then, replace the oil cap.
8. Check your oil level by looking at the dipstick or your vehicle’s digital oil level guage. If it looks good, you’ve successfully changed your oil!

When you follow the above steps, changing your own oil shouldn’t take too long. Still, our trained Nissan experts will likely be able to change your oil faster. 

Turn to Nissan of Downtown L.A. for Oil Change Service and More

Ready for a quick, easy, affordable oil change near Bell Gardens in Los Angeles? %%id_name%% is here to help! Did you know that we offer express service for oil changes? So, while you can schedule service, you can also simply drive up to our service center in most cases without an appointment. Plus, you can take advantage of our service specials for extra savings.