How to Check Your Car Oil

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How To Check Your Car Oil

Oil is the lifeblood of your car's engine. Oil keeps engine parts lubricated and running smoothly. Without the proper level of oil in the engine, your vehicle will stop running and serious damage will occur. Checking the oil is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your vehicle. Luckily, it is also one of the easiest things you can do. How often should you check your oil? We recommend you check you oil every other time you fill-up with gas or at least once a month. Here's what you'll need: Motor Oil Paper Towels Funnel 1. Park your vehicle on a flat level surface. Turn off the ignition and wait a few minutes for the oil to settle in the engine, and engine to cool.
2. Open the hood. Locate the oil dipstick. The oil dipstick is a long, metal stick that goes into the engine. The top of the oil dipstick can be hook shaped or shaped like a loop and can be yellow, red or orange. Be careful not to mistake the transmission dipstick for the oil dipstick) Check your owner's manual if you are not sure. Put your fingers around the hook or loop and pull the dipstick all the way out. 3. Using a paper towel, wipe the oil off the dipstick and put it back into the engine, pushing it in as far as it will go.
4. Pull the dipstick out and look for the word FULL near the bottom of the stick. Some dipsticks will not have the word FULL so, you will want the oil to be in between the two lines etched into the dipstick. This is the normal range. (see A at right.) If you need to add oil, brand does not matter, the weight of the oil does. Some cars have the "weight" of oil printed on the oil filler cap. If the oil weight is not on the filler cap or you are not sure, check your owner's manual.

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