Oil is the like a blood supply which flows through your engine, so check that your car’s oil levels are between the maximum and the minimum on your dipstick in order to avoid causing potentially irreparable damage - Engine Failure!!!. This should ideally be checked weekly.
Running low on motor oil can cause a lot more damage to your car than you might think. Having a low level of oil in your car will mean that the engine is being worn far quicker than it should be and can lead to you having to fork out on expensive repairs to get it back on the road again. In extreme cases it can ruin your engine completely, resulting in a need for a new engine!
As car owners it's one of the most important things we're supposed to do - look after the engine and top up the oil regularly - but it's also one of the most neglected aspects of car ownership. You should not leave it to be done once a year at your annual car service. Research shows that one in three cars has too little oil to run effectively, and many people wait until they see that little red light blinking at them on the dashboard, warning them that it's been too long since they paid their oil levels attention. In many cases, if you see the warning light come on then the damage has already been done and rather than preventative action, it becomes a case of damage limitation.
How Often Should you Check your Oil?
You should perform several checks as part of your weekly routine. Checking your oil levels and topping up when necessary should be near the top of that list. If you notice any oil on the floor when you’ve been parked up, or any other problems that you think might be related to oil levels, check it then too.
How Long will it Take you?
It shouldn't take you any more than 10 minutes to check your engine oil levels and top up if required. 10 minutes of your time every week is priceless in comparison to a new engine!
What Kind of Oil Should you be Using?
There are lots of different types of oil and they are used for different purposes. Before you go out to buy it, refer to your owner's manual and make sure that you know what you should be looking for. The thickness of motor oil is referred to as the viscosity and is shown on the container as an SAE rating. The quality is shown with an ACEA or API classification.
Under the API system - the top grade for petrol engines is labelled 'SJ'. 'CH' is the equal standard for engines that run on diesel but 'CF' is the most common.
Under the ACEA system - 'A' is for petrol engines, 'B' is for diesel engines and a roman numeral tells you the grade - 3 being the highest and 1 the lowest.
If you're still not sure ask a professional at your local independent garage for advice before purchasing oil as using the wrong oil type can significantly damage your cars performance and can lead to more severe problems.
