When driving a vehicle, there are many parts and consumables that need to be replaced. The most representative example is engine oil. These days, some cars display the engine oil replacement cycle on the display or allow you to check it through an app, but there are many that do not display the engine oil replacement cycle. If you do not know or miss the engine oil replacement cycle, your vehicle’s performance may deteriorate or safety problems may occur.
1. What is engine oil?
2. Engine oil replacement cycle
3. Engine oil self-diagnosis method
3-1. Engine oil color by vehicle
3-2. How to identify engine oil leaks/colors of oil leaks
3-3. Reasons for engine oil leaks
Engine oil replacement cost
Where to replace engine oil inexpensively
1. What is engine oil?
Engine oil acts as a lubricant that helps the car run smoothly, prevents rust, and cleans the inside of the engine.
You can think of it as the same principle as applying oil when riding a bicycle, making each part frictionless and smooth.
In human terms, it is like an engine that helps pump blood to the heart and removes waste from every nook and cranny.
2. Engine oil replacement cycle
Because the exact level of engine oil varies depending on the car’s driving information, it is difficult to replace it with a set value, and there is also a slight difference depending on the type of engine oil: mineral oil or synthetic oil.
It is recommended to purchase mineral oil and synthetic oil with the engine oil specifications appropriate for your vehicle. Synthetic oil is more expensive than mineral oil.
On average, the diesel engine oil change interval is longer than the gasoline engine oil change interval, 7,000km for mineral oil and 10,000km for synthetic oil.
Diesel engine oil change cycle: Every 20,000 km or 12 months
Gasoline engine oil change cycle: Every 10,000 km or 12 months
Through this, the diesel and gasoline engine oil change cycle is the same at 12 months, but diesel vehicles drive more mileage. However, this is the case for recently released cars. For older cars, it is recommended to have them inspected once every 7,000 km.
In the case of old or used cars, it may be inconvenient to inspect them every time, but you can measure the engine oil replacement cycle through the engine oil self-diagnosis method below.
Removing engine oil using a dipstick
However, there is a way to know the exact engine oil replacement cycle. Open the engine room and check the remaining oil level using the engine oil gauge (dipstick).
3. Engine oil self-diagnosis method
There is a method of self-diagnosing engine oil by directly checking it with the naked eye. I will explain through the picture below.
3-1. Engine oil color by vehicle
Engine oil color per vehicle 1
This is a color chart for visually identifying engine oil for gasoline, diesel, automatic gear shift vehicles, and manual transmission vehicles. Please note that since electric vehicles do not have engine oil, you do not need to be curious about electric vehicle engine oil.
3-2. How to identify engine oil leaks/colors of oil leaks
There are cases where oil leaks occur even when the engine oil has been changed or seems to be in good condition. In this case, you need to know how to identify the problem at a glance first.
Self-diagnosis method for engine oil leakage by color
3-3. Reasons for engine oil leaks
Engine oil is a liquid (oil) put inside the engine and helps the engine run smoothly. There are various causes of engine oil leakage, but the most common causes include gasket hardening and damage.
A gasket is a mechanical sealing device installed between the oil pan at the bottom of the vehicle and the engine to prevent water leaks. The gasket hardens due to changes in heat and temperature, and after hardening, it separates and cracks due to shock, thermal expansion, and contraction. Oil leaks through this gap and causes oil leakage.
In addition, engine oil leaks may occur due to deterioration of the oil seal, which is a stopper to prevent engine oil leakage, or poor coupling of the oil filter, which filters foreign substances in the oil.
If engine oil leaks, traces may be found at the bottom of the engine. The following is the suspected leakage zone according to the color of the leaked engine oil.
Red: If traces of dark red oil are found on the radiator, lower part of the transmission, or at the back of the engine, transmission oil leakage is suspected.
Green: If traces of water leakage are found around the water pump or the radiator at the bottom of the car, and there is a sweet smell, a coolant leak is suspected.
Black: Suspicion of engine oil leak appearing in the most common lower part.
Dark brown: If the color is similar to the color of the transmission oil at the bottom of the engine, there is a power steering oil leak (recently released cars do not need separate oil as they are equipped with electric power steering.)
Yellow: If traces of oil leak similar to the color of cooking oil are seen inside the vehicle wheel, suspect brake oil leak.
Engine oil replacement cost
If you have read this article, you are probably curious about the most important cost of replacing engine oil. It varies depending on the vehicle, but the approximate labor cost is 20,000 won.
There is a reason to look into labor costs before engine oil prices. We can choose engine oil for around 20,000 won per liter, but we must first know the additional cost of opening the car body and inspecting it. In the case of engine oil, you can easily find it through Coupang, and I will leave a link below where you can find engine oil.
Compare engine oil prices
It is the most expensive engine oil labor cost for Hyundai, Kia, Chevrolet, Renault, and Ssangyong cars, with Chevrolet having the highest average price.
For reference, labor is pure labor cost, not including engine oil replacement cost. If you choose engine oil and 1 liter of engine oil costs 5 liters of 10,000 won, 50,000 won and the average labor cost of 20,000 won are added up to 7. 10,000 won is charged.
The price is based on a genuine oil filter and a genuine air cleaner. There is also a way to change engine oil cheaply, so please see the link below for tips on how to change engine oil cheaply.
Hyundai Motor Company: Genesis GV70 2.5 Gasoline – KRW 35,000
Kia Motors: Stinger 3.3 Turbo – 33,600 won
Chevrolet: Malibu Diesel: 85,300 won
Renault: QM5 (Diesel) – 27,000 won
Ssangyong Motor
Rexton G4 2019 / Sports Khan (after 2019) – KRW 29,100
Rexton G4 / Rexton Sports – 29,100 won
Turismo 2.0 / 2.2 (no model year) – KRW 29,100
Where to replace engine oil inexpensively
As mentioned above, engine oil replacement costs vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and vehicle. Of course, if there is a repair shop that the subscriber frequently visits, you can know the approximate price, but if you need to exchange it urgently or do not have a repair shop that you visit frequently, you need to know the approximate price.
Through the Korea Automobile Maintenance Labor Service, you can see the type of work/model/difficulty at a glance and the pure cost of the work, not including parts.
If you can see at a glance the labor prices of engine oil, transmission oil, etc., including domestic car maintenance labor, imported car maintenance labor, and tire replacement labor through the labor nara that I am introducing, you can replace it that much cheaper.
Go to Engine Oil Labor Center
So far, we have learned in detail about how to change engine oil, when to change engine oil, and causes of water leaks by engine oil color.