If you depend on the “change oil” alert sign on your dashboard to tell you when it’s time to pay a visit to the mechanic, you might be setting your car up to break down. For the automobile layman, the importance of changing a car’s oil might not be so apparent.
Oil is highly essential for your car’s performance. It acts as lubrication between moving metal parts, protecting the engine and other parts from frictional damage. By preventing metal-to-metal friction, it helps reduce wear and tear on your engine parts and keeps the engine temperature at a safe level for optimum performance. If that wasn’t enough, the lubrication system also has a detergent action that helps cleans moving parts as it flows through them.
As you can see, your car’s oil is considered the “lifeblood” of your automobile. With the advancements in the industry, much has changed and improved in our everyday cars and these improvements become nil when you don’t keep track of your oil change.
So what exactly happens when you don’t keep track of your oil change schedule? Let’s find out.
What Happens When You Don’t Change the Oil for a Long Time?
Given the importance of engine oil, failure to change it can be detrimental. The quality of the oil will begin to deteriorate, and as a result, your engine will begin to overheat, and its efficiency will suffer. As a result, your engine’s working lifespan decreases.
If worse comes to worst, your car will be in need of a complete engine overhaul, which could set you back anywhere from USD 3000 to USD 12000. The cost varies on the engine make, model, and engine type.
Fortunately, there’s one easy way to prevent this from happening: proactively having your car maintained and engine oil changed. Although most cars nowadays are equipped with dashboard indicators, they aren’t very reliable. Even in high-end brands, the indicator may not flash in time to prevent significant damage to your engine.
What’s the Best Thing to Do?
Don’t wait for the dashboard light to turn on. Have your car regularly serviced by your trusted mechanic at either the recommended time or mileage intervals. Also, it won’t hurt to peek at your oil quantity and quality now and then. It’s quick, easy, and it allows you to gauge how far the oil has deteriorated or decreased.
Having this redundancy means your car won’t ever have to run on poor or low-level oil. If your oil looks good but isn’t at the recommended level, you can top it up using good quality oil that conforms with the manufacturer’s specification. Getting your periodic car checkups not only keeps your oil in top shape but also helps maintain other aspects of your car, like your air conditioning system and tire condition.
Conclusion
Driving around with insufficient or inadequate oil is not only an expensive mistake, but it’s also dangerous for you and other drivers on the road. Furthermore, not keeping track of your oil change means your car is a ticking time bomb on the road waiting to break down. The best way to keep your car in good working condition is to have it regularly serviced at a reliable garage by a mechanic you can trust.
Hoover Automotives offers one-stop services to car owners in Hoover, AL. Whether you’re in need of brake maintenance, tire repair, or an oil change, stop by and our mechanics will be happy to help!