Home of the 12 minute oil change

Your engine oil has many different important functions such as lubricating moving parts, transferring heat away from the engine, pulling dirt and deposits away from the engine and to the filter and sealing and coating engine and combustion parts. There are lots of additives in your oil that help keep your engine operating efficiently. These additives will break down over time due to heat and wear. When this happens your oil cannot do its job protecting the engine as it was intended to. Also your engines oil filter will become clogged overtime as it does its job trapping contaminates. When this happens dirty oil will travel through the engine unfiltered. Deposits can build quickly and damages can occur to internal parts. The only way to prevent these things from happening is having your engine oil and filter changed on a regular basis.

Not at all. Hot oil becomes thinner and drains much quicker when it is hot versus cold. Think of it like your breakfast syrup, the hotter the syrup the quicker it drains from the engine. A hot engine will get all the oil out quicker and get you on your way.

There are many great options for oils available in the market. Synthetic and Synthetic Blends are a great choice. There are also oils designed for vehicles over 120,000km that help prevent oil leaks and oil burn off. Your vehicle manufacture will specify the type of oil you should use for your vehicle. This oil generally meets an industry standard. Some vehicles may require a fully synthetic or synthetic blend, while others may require the use of special engine oils. Our technicians will show you the options your vehicle requires.

There are typically two lights that are associated with your oil. The most common light would remind you to change your oil. Most of these lights are set up on a timer or evaluate driving conditions for the vehicle. This does not indicate the actual quality of the oil in the vehicle and only serves as a reminder to change the oil. These reminders will be reset during the oil change process by a TAKE 5 technician. The second light would come on (service engine soon or check engine) could be related to a lack of oil pressure of abundance of pressure. This is generally a mechanical failure. You should stop driving the vehicle and have it inspected as soon as possible to avoid major damages.

Viscosity is the oil's resistance to flow at a given temperature. This tells you how well the oil will flow through the engine at different parts of operation to increase protection and fuel economy. The first number is the cold rating. It’s paired with a “W” which stands for winter. This number will dictate how well the oil will start in cold temperatures. Generally a 0w or 5w. The lower the number the easier the flow. The second number will dictate how well the oil flows at normal operating temperatures. This number is generally a 20 or 30 number. Your vehicles manufacture will tell you what viscosity is best used for your vehicle. A TAKE 5 technician will be able to identify the viscosity right for your vehicle and show you what are the best options to go with.

This number varies greatly on many different situations. Your vehicles manufacture will list out mileage intervals based on your driving conditions. Typically this is listed as severe versus normal. While most would consider themselves a normal driver, severe driving includes; stop and go driving, driving over 90kph, driving in dusty, hot, cold or rainy conditions, excessive idling and driving for periods of 10 minutes or less. The quality of the oil, oil filter, and maintenance habits will also dictate how long you can go. As a best practice, TAKE 5 will suggest 3 months or 5,000 kilometers. However, it is suggested to look at your manufactures specifications and determine what interval is right for you.