Oil Change Albany NY
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For a great oil change, Albany NY drivers rely on dealerships like the experts here at DePaula Chevrolet for the absolute best service. Unlike many quick oil change shops, we offer a thorough, quality, full service oil change to keep your vehicle running smooth for maximum reliability.
You can’t take risks when it comes to your vehicle’s maintenance, and an oil change should be at the top of your priority list. It’s the most regular task on your vehicle’s maintenance list, but it’s also the most important.
But we’re not just saying that to make you a believer. Below we’ll answer all of the questions you’ll ever have about oil changes. We want you to understand everything that goes into the process so that you can be confident that you’re making the right decisions regarding your vehicle’s regular maintenance.
Why Regular Oil Changes are Important
Gasoline powers your car’s complex, modern engine. Oil makes sure that the countless individual parts within your car’s engine are lubricated so they can do their job as efficiently as possible and provide your car with maximum power and efficiency.
Oil also helps redistribute heat away from your engine’s combustion chamber, where fuel is burned to keep the engine going. On top of that, oil keeps your engine clean from carbon deposits, varnishes, and even absorbs small amounts of water, test, and other elements.
When oil is fresh, it’s able to work its magic so your engine can run at its absolute best.
What Happens if I Don’t Change My Oil Regularly?
Now that you know why oil changes are important, you’re problem wondering what will happen if you don’t change your oil regularly. And while we don’t advise that you try this at home, plenty of people have already experimented on your behalf in the past and we know all of the negatives of ignoring your car’s need for an oil change.
If you neglect changing your oil long enough, some serious issues will begin to pop up.
One of those is the lack of lubrication. Over time, engine oil gets colder and thicker, making that job more difficult.
It will also make the oil’s job of cleaning up deposits that could harm your engine much more difficult, and can lead to deposits that were once safely collected to seep out of the oil and into key components of your engine.
Eventually, without any lubrication from the oil, the friction created by engine parts will create enough heat to actually weld the metal parts together. Once this happens, your engine is likely to fail catastrophically.
How Often Should I Get an Oil Change?
This is one of the most common questions that actually comes with an easy answer, and yet it still remains one of the most misunderstood and confusing parts of car maintenance.
This is mainly due to misinformation being spread by a million different sources–including quick lube shops for an oil change in Troy NY–leaving everyday consumers like yourself wondering who’s right.
Well, we’ll tell you who’s right: your owner’s manual.
The time and mileage in between oil changes varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some still recommend 3,000 miles (though that’s very low for most modern vehicles), and some recommend 5,000 miles, 7,500, 10,000, or more for some luxury car makers.
So if you’ve been told a specific number that all cars must abide by, you’ve been told a lie.
As your car ages, it will burn more oil, but if you own a car made in the last 5-7 years, it’s more than likely you’ve got a system built in that let’s you know what percentage of oil is remaining. GM vehicles, such as Chevrolet models, have had this technology standard since 2004, but it’s not what you might think.
These monitoring systems can’t actually tell you when your vehicle is low on oil or if there’s something wrong with the oil. All the system does is predict how much oil you’ve used based on engine revolutions.
It’s not a perfect system, as it can’t take many unique types of driving into account. GM’s system, however, can take outside temperature and city vs. highway driving. It’s able to adapt to provide you with the best estimate of your current oil level.
In the end, whether you base your visits on a built-in monitoring system or your owner’s manual, be sure to have the oil change Albany specialists at DePaula Chevrolet check your vehicle to ensure it’s not efficiently using oil so you can rely on those figures.
Regular Oil Change vs. Synthetic Oil Change
You’ve probably heard, through word of mouth or while talking to a service technician, about synthetic oil and the benefits compared to regular/conventional oil.
But what is synthetic oil, and what makes it special?
Synthetic oil is an artificially created oil from various chemical compounds. Some types of synthetic oil may start out using petroleum or other raw components, but is synthesized using other chemicals to provide better performance when compared to crude-oil based products.
Many car makes now used and recommend synthetic oil, as its main purpose is to be more efficient, allowing consumers to drive more in between each oil change. It’s also able to perform better on cold starts and puts less wear on engine components overall.
List of Other Synthetic Oil Benefits
- Is able to more efficiently withstand extreme temperatures than regular engine oil.
- Can greatly reduce engine wear because of its overall efficiency.
- May provide performance boost for certain vehicles.
- Able to perform better in hot and cold weather for consistent year-round performance.
What Type of Oil Does My Car Take?
Every car is different, so choosing an oil based on a random recommendation is not the best way to choose the type of oil or brand to use in your specific vehicle.
The best way to determine this is to once again consult your owner’s manual. Every manufacturer uses a different oil, so you need to be absolutely certain that you’re using the type and brand that is recommended.
For instance, ACDelco dexos1’s Full-Synthetic Oil was specifically created for GM vehicles, and is what DePaula Chevrolet and other dealers that provide oil changes in Lathem NY and surrounding areas use when servicing Chevrolet vehicles.
What if I choose to, or unknowingly, use a non-recommended type/brand of oil?
If you choose to ignore the manufacturer’s recommend and instead use a different type or brand of oil, you run the risk of voiding your warranty.
This is because manufacturer’s recommend specific oil based on its ability to perform at its absolute best, and using anything else could impact performance or cause engine problems. When that happens on a car under warranty, your warranty claim could be denied.
Final Word on Oil Changes
Whether you’ve just purchased a new car, or want to ensure you start properly maintaining your current vehicle, make sure you know everything about its oil and recommend oil change schedule.
If you’re unsure exactly what type of oil or how often you should get an oil change, first and foremost consult your vehicle’s owner’s manual. If the information in the manual is not satisfactory, get in touch with the manufacturer directly or call up your local dealership.
After reading through the information on this page, we’re sure you think about oil changes completely different. What seems like a simple process is actually quite complicated.
But as a consumer, all you have to is make sure you’re informed and let trusted service providers, such as DePaula Chevrolet, with your next oil change in Albany, NY.