Oil Change in Kansas City, MO

A lot of newer cars, SUVs and pickups have smaller engines than the vehicles they replaced, with a turbocharger to make up the power. They are a good design, and they change what the oil is being asked to do.

The turbo runs very hot. It is spun by exhaust gas and its shaft runs on a thin film of engine oil. That oil is exposed to far more heat than oil in an engine without a turbo, which ages it faster.

Fuel can reach the oil. Many of these engines inject fuel directly into the cylinders, and small amounts can find their way past the piston rings into the oil, thinning it, especially on short trips where the engine never fully warms.

Many of them use a little oil. Some consumption between changes is considered normal for many modern engines, and a smaller engine holds less oil to begin with, so the same loss is a larger share of the total.

Use the specification the manufacturer lists, which for many turbocharged engines includes a particular oil standard as well as a viscosity. Oil that meets the right grade but not the right standard may not give the protection the engine was designed around.

Check the level between changes. Once a month is a reasonable habit. Pull the dipstick with the engine off and the vehicle level, and top up if it is near the low mark. A turbo starved of oil is an expensive part to replace.

Do not stretch the interval on a turbo engine that does mostly short trips or towing. The interval on the sticker assumes conditions that may not be yours.

The store can look at fluids, belts, tires and lights at the same visit. Anything that is due goes on scheduled maintenance, and a warning light or rough running is engine repair, both here. The national oil change page covers what the service includes.

Osage Beach and Springfield also change oil in Missouri.

The Kansas City store opens at 7:00 AM and is managed by Richard Kerber.

See the national oil change page for all 33 locations.