If you're searching for “how to know if engine oil is bad,” below are the most important symptoms:
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- Oil discoloration
- Low oil level
- Sludgy oil
- Strange noises
- Decrease fuel efficiency
- Warning lights
- Engine overheating
- Reduction in power
Engine oil is one of the most important fluids you have to keep up with. It is responsible for maintaining the engine lubrication and preventing internal friction that might lead to overheating.
Overtime of using engine oil is expected to deteriorate, and as this happens, it becomes less efficient in protecting the engine from overheating. Therefore, you need to understand when to change it as it goes bad.
This article provides detailed guidance to help answer the question, “How do we know if engine oil is bad?” It also highlights some tips and tricks to help you extend the lifetime of your motor oil.
Why is it important to keep up with engine oil quantity and quality?
Before we dive into the details about how to know if your engine oil is bad, you must understand why, in the first place, you have to maintain the engine oil quality and quantity.
The motor oil is responsible for lubricating the engine's internal components. These components are made of metal, and as they interact with each other, they can cause friction that leads to overheating. Introducing oil prevents this type of friction and the engine from overheating, which might lead to self-destruction.
The right amount of oil ensures your vehicle does not risk overheating from the limited and lack of lubrication. However, that's not the only thing you must keep up with because, over time, this oil loses some of its characteristics and might not be good in protecting the engine because it's not suitable.
That's why it's your responsibility as a car owner to understand how often you should check on the car oil and when it goes bad so you can replace it before it's recommended in your vehicle owner's manual because of the external factors that might require that.
How do we know if engine oil is bad?
While your vehicle owner's manual should provide information about how often you should change the motor oil and how often it goes bad, in some instances, you might deal with some deterioration before that due date.
That's why you have to keep up with the engine oil and make sure that you identify and detect situations where the motor oil goes bad. This way, you can solve the problem before it gets more complicated and out of hand, and you might need to pay thousands of dollars to fix the damaged engine.
The following list provides the most common symptoms indicating that your engine oil is bad to help answer the question, “How do you know if engine oil is bad?”
1- Oil discoloration
The first and easiest thing that you might want to check is the motor oil discoloration. Typically, the motor oil should have a golden appearance, and if it goes bad, it becomes more contaminated with some foreign objects. It might have a darker color, indicating that it's reaching the end of its lifetime.
Obviously, without seeing the fresh motor oil, you won't be able to tell whether your current motor oil is in good shape. That's why you might want to look at some online photos or videos that could help you identify the difference between a good oil and a bad oil.
2- Low oil level
A bad motor oil might be associated with a low oil level, depending on how old your oil is. This is because some of the oil might have leaked outside the weak seals around the engine. This is not a good situation because it might indicate that you are already starting to deal with some problems.
That's why if you inspect the oil using the dipstick and realize it's below the minimum mark, you must top it off. You have to check on the oil quantity to confirm that it's not something associated with the quality because if that's the case, you'll have to change the entire oil.
3- Sludgy oil
The oil should not be sludgy and flowing smoothly, indicating that it's healthy and fresh to lubricate the engine. As a good solder, it collects debris and contaminants around the engine, leading to some sludgy substance. That's why if you feel that the oil is not having the right consistency, you will need to change it.
4- Strange noises
The more you leave the bad oil in your engine, the more you'll start noticing some major symptoms. For example, the engine might start making weird noises, indicating it's complaining about bad oil.
For example, the engine might start making some ticking or potentially rattling noises or sometimes knocking noises that might be related to bad engine oil. Keep in mind that all these noises might be linked to something else. Your mechanic has to confirm what's the real cause.
5- Decrease fuel efficiency
When your engine does not receive the right lubrication, it starts to impact its efficiency, and you'll see that it might be consuming more fuel than it should appear. This is because the engine thinks all this stress is happening. After all, it's not receiving the right amount of energy needed from the fuel.
One way to confirm that is by monitoring how many times you need to go to the gas station and whether it's more than before. Remember that fuel overconsumption is not always linked to bad oil and could be another problem your vehicle is dealing with.
6- Warning lights
When the oil is going very bad, and it starts translating into more major problems, you might notice some warning lights on the dashboard. For example, if the bad oil leads to low oil pressure, you'll see a warning light complaining about that on the dashboard.
Similarly, you might see a general check engine light illuminating the dashboard, indicating potentially some engine issues or other related problems that your engine might suffer from when it's not receiving the right lubrication.
7- Engine overheating
Engine overheating is a common symptom indicating that your engine oil is bad. That's why when anyone asks how to know if engine oil is bad, the things to look for are any potential temperature changes that are not normal or any high readings on the temperature gauge on the dashboard.
8- Reduction in power
Finally, once your engine oil is really bad, you'll notice that the engine cannot produce the required energy. This is because the engine is overstressed, potentially consuming more fuel than it should without producing what is expected from the engine.
Again, reduced power is another potential general symptom that might be linked to anything else. Therefore, you cannot see immediately that your engine is suffering from just low engine oil or bad oil, and it's translated into reduced power because it could be another major issue.
How do you extend the lifetime of your engine oil?
Since motor oil is an important fluid in your car and dealing with bad engine oil is not a good thing, I don't want experts to share with you some recommendations about preventing bad engine oil and also extending the lifetime of your motor oil:
- Keep up with regular maintenance and follow recommendations in your vehicle owner's manual
- Do not underestimate the oil change requirement
- Use the right type of motor oil as recommended by your manual
- Clean the engine as needed
- Never underestimate the issue with minor leaks
- Check the oil level regularly
How to know if engine oil is bad: Final Thoughts
Your vehicle motor oil is a significant fluid, and when it goes bad, it leads to all sorts of problems, including engine overheating that might lead to self-destruction. Therefore, it is critical for you as a driver to understand how to know if engine oil is bad.
This article highlighted the most important symptoms of bad motor oil, including discoloration, consistency changes, oil level reduction, and others. If you notice any of these symptoms, you must address the problem immediately and replace the motor oil before things get out of hand.
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