Conventional Oil Change

Follow the interval in your owner's manual — it's the one figure written for your specific engine. As a rough guide, most vehicles on full synthetic go 8,000 to 12,000 km, and conventional oil is usually closer to 5,000 to 8,000 km. Short trips, stop-and-go traffic, towing, and Toronto winters all count as severe service and pull the interval shorter.

Between 45 minutes and an hour for most vehicles. Book ahead and that's your slot; if you're walking in it depends on what's already in the bays, so call first and we'll tell you honestly what the day looks like.

Yes, on request. We don't keep genuine parts on the shelf, so they have to be special ordered — tell us when you book and allow time for them to come in. If you'd rather not wait, what we stock carries the approval your manufacturer specifies, which is the requirement the manual is actually setting.

The oil change covers the oil, the filter, your tire pressures, and the maintenance reminder. A multi-point inspection is a separate service, and it's the one that catches a worn belt, a leaking seal, or brakes near their limit while they're still small problems. Ask for it when you book and we'll do it while the car is already on the hoist, which saves you a second visit.

Yes. Oil degrades with time as well as distance — it absorbs moisture and fuel dilution that never burn off on short trips. If you don't reach the mileage figure, change it once a year.

Old oil thickens, turns acidic, and loses the additives that keep contaminants in suspension. The residue bakes into sludge that blocks narrow oil passages, which starves the parts at the end of them — timing chain tensioners, turbochargers, and camshafts are usually first. At that point you're looking at engine repairs that cost many times what the oil changes would have.

Oil doesn't get used up, it wears out. Heat and combustion break the additive package down, and the filter eventually stops catching what's circulating. Changing the oil and filter together restores the protection the engine was designed around.

A blend of base oil and additives that does four jobs at once: it lubricates the moving parts, carries heat away from them, keeps combustion by-products in suspension so the filter can catch them, and protects metal from corrosion. Its grade — 5W-30, 0W-20, and so on — describes how it flows cold and hot.

Use whatever your manufacturer specifies. Most vehicles built in the last decade require full synthetic, and putting conventional in one of those engines is a genuine way to cause damage. If you're not sure, tell us the year, make, and model and we'll look it up.

Yes — the exact viscosity and specification your vehicle calls for, not a one-size-fits-all bulk oil, with a quality filter to match. We set your tire pressures and reset the maintenance reminder before you leave.