How To: DIY Oil Change | Albany, NY

Jul 13, 2023

Destination Nissan wants to help you up your DIY skills and help keep a couple of extra buck in your wallet so you can use it toward your summer fun! If you know your way around your vehicle and you don’t need any helpful tips for changing your vehicle’s oil, then this week’s blog might not be for you, but if you’re a newbie to the mechanical world and just want to save a little bit of money then you’ve come to the right place!

This week we did the hard work for you and we put step-by-step instructions for you but we suggest having your owner’s manual handy for specific information made for your vehicle. If you have any questions feel free to give our service center a call and we will do our best to help you through all of your questions. If you don’t think that you’re up for changing your oil, no problem! Our professionals will get your vehicle in tip-top in no time and if you check out service special page, you could even save big on your oil change. So check out our steps below or schedule your service appointment now!

Steps:

Make sure you have the proper tools: Different wrenches work best for different cars the best to choose from are Filter Pliers, Band Wrench, Strap Wrench, Cap Wrench, or Expandable Cap Wrench.
Pull the plug – Unscrew the plug and quickly pull it out and away from the oil stream. Clean the drain plug and install a new gasket (if required).
Remove the oil filter: Screw off the old oil filter and make sure the rubber gasket comes with it! If not peel it from the engine yourself.
Add fresh oil: Refill the engine by using a funnel (it’s super messy if you don’t)
Recycle the old oil: put your old oil into a large jug and bring it to a recycling center. Run your engine for a few minutes until the dashboard oil light goes out. Wait a few minutes. Then check the dipstick and add oil if needed.

Some tips from the experts:

If the engine is cold, start it and let it run for five minutes to warm the oil. If it’s hot, wait at least 30 minutes to avoid getting burned.
Always use jack stands. Never work under a car that’s supported by a jack only.
Always hand-tighten the filter. Never use a filter wrench.
Use new oil to coat the oil filter gasket before spinning it on.
If you follow these steps you should be done changing your oil in about 20 minutes if you experience an issue or your check engine light doesn’t go off bring your vehicle to a professional for a diagnosis.