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Not all the regular car maintenance is complicated. There are a number of things that you can carry out yourself. Checking your vehicle’s oil level and topping it up is one of these straight forward maintenance tasks you can undertake yourself. More importantly, it will help you extend the life of your car’s engine.

Most of the cars will have warning light or a message to warn you if the oil gets too low but it would still be worth checking it every few months without relying on any warning lights.

Here are some quick steps to guide you through this process:

First of all, you need to make sure that the car has been turned off for at least 5-10 minutes. This will allow all the oil to settle back in the tank, and it will prevent any misreading.

Second of all, you ought to make sure that your vehicle is parked on a level surface. Again, this can lead to a misreading as well.

Remember, having too much oil in the engine can also be harmful.

Thirdly, open your car’s bonnet and locate the dipstick for the oil; ideally when there is sufficient daylight. The dipstick is a long stick that is designed to deep into the car’s engine to check the oil level. It usually has a brightly coloured handle, and it should be very easy to get to. If in doubt, refer to your car’s manual. When you locate it, pull the dipstick out of its tube and wipe the end clean with a cloth, rag or a towel. Re-insert the dipstick slowly into its tube and making sure that it goes all the way in. Now pull it back out and to see if the oil is between the lower and upper marks. Be careful not to turn it upside down to look at it, which could make the oil run upward and ruins your reading.

If the oil between the two marks, you’re good to go. If it’s near the lower mark or below it, you need top up your oil. Keep adding the oil in small quantities so that you are not overfilling it.

This 5-minute job will help you keep your engine healthy.

Please keep in mind that most car maintenance tasks are not as easy as this, and unless you know what you are doing, you may cause yourself and your car some serious damage. For your car servicing in Reading, Bracknell, Ascot, Maidenhead, London and the surrounding areas, please call NVS on 01344 429 149 (50 Mile Radius of Ascot), 01189 783 977 (50 Mile Radius of Reading) or get in touch with our HQ on 0870 850 6651 for the other areas. Alternatively Book Online Here.