As your Toyota dealer knows, there’s no excuse for skipping regular maintenance on your vehicle. Not only does it keep your car running smoothly, it also keeps you safe on the road. Changing your oil is the most common maintenance a vehicle needs. You can always bring your car, truck or SUV into your Toyota dealer and we will handle it for you, but did you know that it’s actually quite easy to do yourself?

The oil in your engine is there for a reason. It provides lubrication for all of the parts in the engine. Without it, the metal parts would grind together, destroying themselves in the process. Take it from your St Louis Toyota dealer–we’ve seen what happens when a car runs out of oil. Changing your oil, however, isn’t just about keeping enough oil in the vehicle. As your engine works, it produces byproducts from the combustion. The oil absorbs this, and in time it becomes less effective. This is why it’s important to change your oil regularly.

To change your oil, drive your vehicle around the block a few times and get the engine warm. This will heat up the oil and thin it, making it drain more easily. Park the car on a flat surface and set the parking brake. You don’t want the car moving while you are under it! Now get under the vehicle and locate the oil drain plug. Remove it, and drain the oil into a container. It will be hot, so please be careful. You may want to line the area with newspaper to soak up any drips. The oil will take a couple of minutes to drain, so be patient. Even then there will be some extra drips, so if you have the time, let it sit for an hour and fully drain.

Now that you’ve removed the oil, take a tiny bit and coat the washer on the drain plug. This will help it reseal. Reattach it, and get ready to add more oil. You’ll do this from above the car. Under the hood you’ll find the oil filler cap. Check with the manual you received from your Toyota dealer when you bought your new or used vehicle. It will tell you what type of oil you need and how much. Fill up, replace the cap, and your car will be ready. Your oil on the other hand, needs to be recycled. Just call up your local Missouri waste service provider, and they can point you in the right direction.

So there you have it–changing your oil is pretty easy, and you can do it yourself. You’ll save some money and gain some know-how all at the same time.