Remember when you were a kid? Your Dad told you that the key to getting the most life out of your vehicle was to make sure you maintained it properly.

If you've just bought yourself a shiny new Toyota, it's time to take Dad's advice.

Oil is one of the most important parts of your car's engine. As you're using your car, the process of combustion creates acids and other chemicals that your engine wants nothing to do with. Your oil prevents engine rust and corrosion by neutralizing these chemicals.

The oil in your new Toyota does not, unfortunately, last forever. Normal lubrication causes you to use up your oil, and over time, small pieces of metal naturally wear off and particles end up in your oil. That makes your oil sludgy and no longer useful.

How to Check Your Oil

You should be checking your oil level every week to make sure there's enough in the engine to protect it adequately. (If your car is older and you've noticed a leak you should check it even more frequently than that.)
Check your oil when your engine is warm because cold temperatures change the viscosity of your oil and your reading will be off.

Park your car on a level surface, and make sure your engine is off. Your oil dipstick is usually located near your spark plugs. Clean off the dipstick with a rag or paper towel and put it back into your oil reservoir. Ensure the dipstick has gone down as far as it can go in the oil reservoir, and pull it back out again.

Hold the dipstick horizontally and check to make sure your oil reaches the marker that reads "full". (You'll either have a horizontal line labeled as such, or there will be two lines with a pattern joining them. If you have a patterned dipstick, your oil should be right in the middle of the patterned portion.)

If you've established that you don't have enough oil, you can top it up yourself easily. If you don't like getting your hands dirty, bring it in to your Peruzzi Toyota service department and we'll do it for you.

You'll need to change your oil every three months or 3000 miles, whichever comes sooner. This is something else we can do for you at Peruzzi Toyota, our Toyota dealers in Philadelphia, or you can do it yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, be sure you know the oil disposal bylaws in your region.