1 – Park your vehicle on a level surface, turn the engine off and pop the hood. If you are not on a level surface the oil may accumulate to one side of the oil pan and make your dipstick reading inaccurate.
2 – Open the hood and locate your engine oil dipstick. (Some new vehicles like BMWs may not have an oil dipstick, generally there is a procedure to check your oil level on these vehicles through controls on the dashboard, consult your owners manual for more info).
3 – Remove your dipstick and wipe it with a clean, lint free cloth, then reinsert the dipstick fully and remove it. The oil level will not be visible on the bottom of the dipstick, it should be within a cross hatched area. If it is, great, you are all done. If it is below this line, it is time to add some oil to your vehicle.
4 – Locate and remove the engine oil filler cap. Many oil caps also list the type of oil required for your vehicle, it will say something along the lines of 5w30 which indicates the weight of oil your vehicle requires. If it is not listed, your owners manual or a quick google search should give you more insight into the proper oil for your engine.
5 – Using a funnel, slowly add oil to your engine, checking the dipstick after each addition to make sure you don’t overfill the engine. Some dipsticks will be marked to show you approximately how much oil needs to be added but a good rule of thumb would be to start with around a 1/4 of a quart of less if it is just slightly below the minimum line and then check. If it is near the bottom of the dipstick or worse, not even registering on the dipstick, adding an entire quart is probably a good start!
6 – After the level is between the minimum and maximum marks you can reinstall the dipstick and oil cap. When closing the hood of the vehicle it is always a good idea to pull up on the hood after closing it to verify it is closed!
Stop by Everest Automotive Repair, your “go to” car mechanic shop, today to get your oil change in Newark DE.
