Oil change
An oil change is the simplest job on an engine and the one where most can go wrong — not in the workmanship but in the choice of oil. Every manufacturer specifies an approval, and it is not a suggestion: an oil with too much ash will clog a diesel particulate filter, one that is too thin will not hold a film under load.
What it covers
- Oil to the manufacturer's approval, not merely the right viscosity
- Oil filter and a new sealing ring on the drain plug
- Draining with the engine warm so the sludge comes out with it
- Resetting the service indicator and recording it in the service book
When it is due
- The manufacturer's interval by mileage or time has been reached
- Lots of short trips, towing or city traffic — then rather sooner
- Oil on the dipstick is thin or smells of fuel
Worth knowing
Ask to see the approval, not just the viscosity. "5W-30" only says how thick the oil is when cold and when hot — which additives it carries, and whether it suits your engine's exhaust system, is in the approval printed alongside. A workshop that can name both has the right oil on the shelf.
Find a workshopOther services
- Servicing and inspection
- Brake service
- Tyres and wheels
- Air conditioning service
- Timing belt
- Timing chain
- Clutch
- Transmission service
- Fault diagnosis
- Electric and hybrid service
- Battery and starter
- Exhaust and emissions system
- Wheel alignment
- Bodywork and accident damage
- Paintwork
- Glass and windscreens
- Periodic roadworthiness test