Oil Change & Essential Maintenance

Getting your oil changed promptly and adequately is one of the simplest, yet most important, things you can do to keep your vehicle running smoothly. No matter how good your vehicle is, no matter how well you take care of it otherwise, and no matter what kind of oil you put in the engine, over time the oil breaks down and simply is not as efficient as it was at first. That is why you need to make sure you get an oil change regularly, based on your vehicle and what the manufacturer recommends.

Coming in for an oil change is not particularly fun or exciting, but neither is brushing your teeth or washing your hair. These are things you need to do, however, to keep things running smoothly because basic maintenance is simply a fact of life. If you ignore the need to change your oil, then the consequences can be disastrous, not to mention incredibly expensive. Do not wait or put it off—when you need an oil change, then come get it done.

Better yet, schedule other services at the same time, so you do not have to make multiple trips, and you can make sure you stay safely on the road. At Kings QuickLane, we offer many different types of maintenance and service that our expertly trained technicians can perform for you. Whether you want to schedule an appointment or simply cruise on by today, we can help you and make sure your vehicle keeps running beautifully.

What Does Motor Oil Do?

 

To put it simply: oil in your motor keeps the engine of your vehicle running smoothly and helps prevent overheating. There are a lot of moving parts inside a conventional engine, which most vehicles have. As these parts slide around and move, they naturally create a great deal of friction and heat, creating a high risk of overheating and damaging each other as they shift and move.

Motor oil in your engine coats all of these moving parts and lubricates them, allowing them to move easily and with very little friction. This helps keep heat levels down inside the engine and reduces the chance of those parts being damaged as they function normally. Without oil, your engine would get much too hot to safely operate and would essentially self-destruct by wearing itself down in a pretty short period of time.

Is an Oil Change Really That Important?

Yes, it absolutely is. Over time, engine oil naturally breaks down and amasses a lot of gunk just from the day-to-day operation of your vehicle. As this happens, the oil becomes less effective in reducing friction, and that gunk can coat your engine’s parts making them dirty and less efficient overall. There is nothing you can do about this—it is just the mechanics of a vehicle’s engine.

By changing your oil, we drain out that old oil that is dirty and not as good at keeping your engine lubricated and replace it with new oil that keeps on working. We can actually recycle this old motor oil, cleaning it out and using it again, which helps out the environment and keeps the oil from seeping into groundwater or soil. So even if you decide you want to climb under your car and perform an oil change yourself, you should bring your old oil to a service location to have it recycled rather than throwing it away.

How Often Do I Need My Oil Changed?

The short answer is that you should check the owner’s manual for your vehicle, which will indicate how often you need to get an oil change. There used to be a common rule about how many miles or months you should get an oil change, but that is simply not accurate anymore. You might still hear some people quote it, but that is really just a relic from another time.

Modern vehicles are designed to be much more efficient in how they perform than those in the past. Scientists have also designed and engineered motor-oil to work better than it did even a few decades ago. All of this means that you can typically drive a modern car with new oil for longer than you could before. That is why you should look in your owner’s manual to see when the manufacturer indicates you need to get your oil changed, after all, they know best.

Should I Choose Synthetic Oil?

This is a question we are asked a lot, and generally, the answer is yes. You may have heard of synthetic oil and heard that it is expensive, which is true. Synthetic oil typically starts off like other motor oil and is refined beyond the point of conventional oil—even manipulated at a molecular level to be much more efficient as a lubricant than conventional oil.

Some synthetic oil is created entirely in a lab, rather than pulled from the ground, and this process does make it pretty expensive compared to conventional oil. However, it runs far better than conventional oil and can actually keep your engine cleaner than other oil. The good news is that you can swap between conventional and synthetic oil without a problem—so if you do not want to pay for it every time, you can get synthetic oil every other time you get an oil change to keep your engine clean and cut down on costs. You can also choose a synthetic/conventional blend that is less expensive than synthetic but still better than conventional oil.

Do I Need an Appointment?

 

No, you do not. At Kings QuickLane we recommend scheduling an appointment if you know exactly when you will be available to come in, as this helps us get you in and out even faster. But an appointment is not required, so you can come by any time we are open. You can even check wait times on our website to see if we are a little backed up at the moment or if we can get you right in.

What about Other Services?

At Kings QuickLane, we provide a number of other types of maintenance and services for your vehicle beyond an oil change. You can change your oil yourself if you want, but by coming to us not only will the job get done faster and easier, but we can take care of other things for you while we are at it. Want a full lube job that makes sure other parts of your vehicle, like your steering system, are properly lubricated? We can do that for you.

We can make sure your brakes are in good condition, check your cooling system, and even adjust your suspension and alignment to make sure you are running smoothly. If you need your tires rotated or changed, we can do that while you come in for an oil change, and even work on your transmission and electrical system for you. You can get all of this work done at one stop here at Kings QuickLane, then get back behind the wheel and enjoy the rest of your day.

At Kings QuickLane We’ll Keep You on the Road

Taking care of your vehicle might not be glamorous, but it is important to get an oil change regularly to keep your car, truck, or SUV running right. At Kings QuickLane, we are here to help you with everything you need—from a quick oil change to checking your alignment and steering—and to make sure your vehicle is in the best shape possible. Schedule an appointment or come by today and we will keep you on the road!