Has your change oil come on recently? You may be asking yourself ” how long can you go without an oil change after the light comes on. ” While oil changes are one of the most important forms of maintenance that you can do on our car can it wait a while?
Why change your oil?
The reason why you change your oil is to prolong the life of your engine. If you didn’t change out your oil regularly your engine would eventually stop working. New oil helps lubricate the internals of your engine.
You have metal moving at high speeds on the inside of your engine. The engine oil helps prevent friction which can ruin your engine. Engine oil can also disperse heat. With a cooler-running engine, your car could last longer.
When you don’t change your oil things can go bad. The oil doesn’t lubricate the moving parts as well. Plus if you have sludge in your oil your engine will be working harder than it needs to. This will greatly decrease the life of your engine.
Changing out your oil will assure you that you will get the most out of your car.
Oil Change or Service Engine Soon Light
The oil change light is a timed light that reminds you that you are due for an oil change. Some lights will activate based on your mileage. Others might activate based on how many months have passed.
The change oil light is more of a guideline than an absolute thing. It is just there to remind you that you should get an oil change soon. Anyone can reset one of these lights. By simply Googling your car and typing “oil life reset” you can usually get instructions on how to reset the light.
Bear in mind that you shouldn’t reset your oil life count if you aren’t getting an oil change. You may forget that you reset it and it won’t come back on for 3 months or more. It’s best to just let your mechanic or shop reset the light.
How long can you go without an oil change after the light comes on?
How long can you go without an oil change after the light comes on? You could probably drive your car for thousands of miles after the light comes on. Although we wouldn’t recommend it. As stated before old oil doesn’t lubricate your engine as well.
A better question would be how long should* you go without an oil change after the light comes on. Probably on 1,000 miles. While it’s likely that nothing will happen if you wait 1,000 or even 5,000 miles without getting an oil change.
On the other hand, you are lessening the life of your engine which could cost you in the long run. Think about this, would you rather pay $30 for an oil change now or $4,000 for an engine replacement.
In conclusion, you should get an oil change as quickly as you can after the light comes on. Your car and your wallet will thank you.