How often do i need to change oil filter

Oil is used to ensure smooth lubrication of your car’s engine, and the oil filter will play a vital role in ensuring your car can do this. Oil filters are designed to protect your engine from potential damage by removing contaminants such as dirt or metallic particles, that can accumulate in the motor oil due to engine wear.

If you want to extend the lifespan and effectiveness of your filter, you should use a synthetic motor oil which is more refined and distilled than regular oil, as it’s less likely to clog the filter.

How often should you replace oil filters?

Depending on who you ask, you will get a wide variety of answers to your simple question. Car manufacturers suggest changing oil filters every other time you have your oil changed. Most parts and oil manufacturers will tell you to replace oil filters with every oil change, which should be around 3,000 miles or 3 months, whatever comes first.

Changing your oil filter at the recommended intervals can help:

• Reduce engine wear and tear – as we mentioned, contaminations will build up in your filter and by changing your oil filter, this will help protect your engine from potential damage.
• Reduce maintenance costs – by changing your oil and oil filter at the same time, you reduce overall maintenance costs.
• Avoid soiling new oil – If you leave the old filter and only change the oil, the clean oil needs to go through the dirty filter. As soon as you start the engine, your clean engine will become soiled.

Signs you may need to change your oil filter earlier than recommended:

• Service engine light is on.
• Driving in severe conditions – stop and start traffic, towing heavy loads, or extreme weather.

How much does it cost to change an oil filter?

Oil filter replacements can cost anywhere between £30 - £90, it will all depend on the type of oil your car requires, labour costs etc. If you need to replace your oil filter, we can provide quotes from local, reputable mechanics in your area.

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The purpose of the oil filter is to screen out combustion contaminants, dirt and carbon deposits from the engine oil that lubricates your engine’s internal components. The oil filter stops the debris and contaminants prior to passing through the filter and traps them inside so they don’t find their way into the engine, which could cause excessive internal engine wear, tear and damage.

Why does my oil filter need regular replacement?

Over time, the oil filter gradually becomes more clogged as it traps billions of contaminant particles and carbon dust. A clogged oil filter reduces the amount of clean oil passing through the oil filter, necessitating its replacement.

How do you know when your oil filter needs to be replaced?

The oil filter is a permanently-sealed metal unit so it isn’t possible for you to perform a visual inspection to determine when it needs to be replaced. There is no instrument, gauge or warning light that comes on to remind you that it is time to change your oil filter; you will not even notice the impact a clogged or dirty oil filter has on your engine. The impact of a clogged or dirty filter could include all or some of the following:

• Lack of engine lubrication
• Premature engine wear and tear
• Internal engine damage
• Loss of oil pressure

Even though your engine may be experiencing these issues internally, you may not realize it until it is too late and your engine has been damaged.

How often to change the oil filter? One of the most asked questions, and one of the first to come up in the mind of a newbie car owner. Well, there are many opinions on that matter. However, you should take into account that many of the opinions you hear are formed from personal experiences, and if they are not coming from a licensed professional or the manual of your vehicle, you might as well neglect them.

How often to change oil filter of a car

Each car manufacturer presents information about how often to change oil filters and what oil should be used in their motors. If you don’t have the manual of your car, you can easily find this information on the maker’s website or a forum of other owners. Once you have found it, you should stick to it. You can opt for better quality filters and oils and make the gap between changes a bit bigger, however, it is best advised to stick with the calculations of numerous engineers that spent hours, days even years to design the model and it’s motor and are far more knowledgeable about it than anyone else. Better quality oils (with the same metrics 5w30, 10w40 etc.) will increase the lifetime of an oil filter but pay attention to the official information provided by the manufacturer.

Usually, the mileage you can get from an oil filter is roughly 5 to 8 thousand miles. Some might recommend changing the oil filter every 10,000 miles, but that is a bit too long for most cars. Not so long ago, oil filters and oils were to be changed every 3,000 miles. However, technology has advanced in this direction as well as in any other, and now we don’t have to go through the hassle that often. Newer models have integrated systems to tell you when an oil filter change should be scheduled. Check with the manual of your vehicle to see if such a system is incorporated in the specific model you are driving. There should be a light for it on the dashboard.

Every vehicle has a signaling lamp for the oil, but keep in mind that in most cases it is built in to inform you if you lose oil pressure suddenly, in which case it’s best to stop immediately. So to give an answer to the question “How often to change oil filter?” we can simply say, every 5-8 thousand miles you should schedule an oil filter change and an oil change together.

Factors that can shorten the lifetime of your oil filter:

• Aggressive driving style;
• Extensive stop-and-go driving conditions (city);
• Harsh weather conditions;
• Driving under heavy loads;
• Towing;

Example: If the manufacturer of your vehicle says you should change your oil filter every 5-8 thousand miles, but you are constantly using it to tow or transport heavyweights, it would be best if you concentrate on the 5K mark, not the 8.

Oil filter and oil change

Oil filter and oil change should always be done simultaneously. We have mentioned how back in the day people were changing oil more frequently and that led to some penny pinchers skipping to change oil filter on every other visit for an oil change. This is not recommended! If you change only the oil of your motor, that fresh new lubricant will pass through the old filter and wash all the contaminants in it, getting them back into the engine. This poses some risks and could lead to expensive diagnostics and repairs. There are a lot of moving parts in your engine and the oil is what keeps them well lubricated and the friction limited. Where there is friction, there is heat. And where there is heat, there is wear and tear. It is a prime example of how neglecting simple and cheap maintenance like changing oil filter can lead to far more costly and time-consuming repairs.

Can you change the filter, but not the oil? This is also not recommended. It will just shorten the lifetime of that oil filter and you will end up changing it again soon. If the oil filter is being clogged up with debris it will force the engine to bypass it. This is an option that is integrated into most engines to prevent them from running without oil, which will quickly destroy them. However, if your filter is by-passed because it’s clogged all the contaminants from the oil are now rubbing against the moving parts in your motor, causing wear down and shortening the life of it.

Oil filter and oil change are logically connected. You can’t change the filter without draining most of the oil out, and then you have to top it up once you are done anyway, so why should you just buy an extra can of oil and completely replace it. On the other hand, changing only the oil will require you to remove the filter in order to drain the old oil out. Why wouldn’t you simply change it as well, you already got it out? Nowadays oil filters are not that expensive so you should always do your oil filter and oil change at the same time. It prolongs the time your vehicle is serving you and it will save you money in the long term.

Can I change oil without changing oil filter?

How many miles can an oil filter last?