Oil Change Service
Oil Change Service at Don Herring Auto Group
You can keep your vehicle in prime condition with regular service. One of the most important maintenance tasks is regular oil changes. If you live in or near Dallas, Irving, or Plano, bring your vehicle to one of our Don Herring Auto Group locations for oil change service.
Oil is one of the most important components to the function of your vehicle and is key to extending its life. Oil cleans, lubricates, and helps seal your engine. It also helps to disperse heat and keeps your engine’s moving parts operating well. When parts move against each other, they generate heat due to friction, but even with the lubricative properties of oil, there are still tiny fragments of metal, dirt, and dust that build up in your engine. Oil moves those fragments away so that they build up less. Because of this process, oil needs to be changed so that it flows freely and is cleaner, which helps prolong the life of your engine.
Time Constraints
If you are worried about your schedule and the time it takes to get an oil change, know that an oil and filter change only takes about an hour. Our technicians will drain the old dirty oil from your engine and will replace the filter so that the oil will stay cleaner longer as the filter does its part to filter out the particles found in your oil.
Is there a Difference Between Types of Oil?
There are several types of oil that can be used in vehicles. Our recommendation is to check your owner’s manual for the type of oil to use in your vehicle because there are some differences.
- If you drive an older vehicle or a vehicle with over 75,000 miles, you’ll want to use high-mileage motor oil, which contains some additional anti-wear additives to prolong the life of your engine. High-mileage motor oil is available in conventional, synthetic blend, or full synthetic oil formulas.
- Conventional oil is refined from crude oil with several additives.
- Synthetic oil is made from several man-made ingredients with several additives. These are more environmentally friendly than conventional motor oils. Full-synthetic oils protect your engine better than conventional oils because of the uniform molecular structure and the purity of these man-made ingredients.
How Often Should I Change My Oil?
Within your vehicle’s owner’s manual, there are recommended time frames the manufacturer suggests, but if your vehicle was made in the last 10 -15 years the usual recommendation is about every 5,000-7,500 miles, though some models have even higher intervals. For more current models, the manufacturers will often recommend using a synthetic blend or a full-synthetic oil. In older vehicles, the recommendation is usually about every 3,000 miles.
Oil Change Service FAQ
For our friends around Irving, Plano, or Ft. Worth, Don Herring Auto Group knows you want to take care of your car, truck, SUV, or minivan, and an oil change is one of the most important things you can do for your vehicle. We know you may have additional questions, so the following are some common questions people ask about an oil change.
It is one of the most important things your vehicle needs. The reasons your vehicle needs oil are the following:
- Lubrication: Oil is used as a lubricant to reduce the friction between moving parts so that the wear and tear is less.
- Temperature Assistance: When your vehicle is running, there is a tremendous amount of heat generated by your engine. In fact, it generates enough heat to destroy itself every time you drive. When oil reduces friction, it also reduces heat by circulating throughout the engine.
- Cleaning: When oil lubricates moving parts, it also picks up dirt, tiny metal particles, and other contaminants that build up in your engine. The oil then carries all the debris away to the oil filter, where they are trapped so clean oil can circulate throughout your engine.
- Other functions include fuel efficiency, emission reduction, and hydraulic functions.
Remember, one of the functions of oil is to collect and trap particles that can damage your engine. When it does this, it eventually gets dirtier and dirtier to the point where the oil filter can no longer do its part to trap the contaminants. The oil gets grimier and thicker, so it circulates more slowly and lubricates less effectively. Eventually, it can cause your engine to lock up, and it will cease to function at all.
As the name of the service suggests, you are literally changing your existing oil. The technician drains all the oil from your engine by disengaging the oil plug in the oil pan to allow the old stuff to drain out. The plug is replaced and the old dirty filter is removed, and a new one is installed. The technician will fill up your oil reservoir to its required level.
If the old filter is not replaced, it cannot filter the new oil. If the filter can no longer trap the particles, the oil becomes dirty very quickly, and it can no longer do what it is supposed to do. So, with an oil change, a new filter should always be a part of the service.
Absolutely, but you need to have enough time, knowledge of the procedure and the proper tools to complete the oil change. Additionally, you will need to dispose of the old oil and old filter properly according to EPA standards. Oil is very toxic to people, animals, and the environment. If oil is disposed of properly, it can often be recycled into new oil or used towards some other purpose in the petroleum industry.
If you need an oil change, you can contact our Service Department at Don Herring Auto Group and set up an appointment for an oil and filter change service so that you can keep your vehicle running smoothly with fewer repairs.