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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Oil changes are just

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Speaker 1: one of the many minor hassles of car ownership, but

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Speaker 1: they're crucial to keeping your car in good shape. Furthermore,

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Speaker 1: if your car carries a warranty, not changing your oil

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Speaker 1: on time and with the proper products could avoid that warranty. However,

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Speaker 1: experts now say that the standard oil change interval of

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Speaker 1: every three months, or every three thousand miles that's about

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Speaker 1: five thousand kilometers is old news, and that most cars

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Speaker 1: can travel quite a bit farther before needing their oil replaced.

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Speaker 1: If you're changing your oil more frequently than necessary, it

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Speaker 1: won't help your car. It doesn't harm it either, But

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Speaker 1: you're wasting money, time, and resources. After all, throwing away

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Speaker 1: oil that's still usable puts a strain on the environment.

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Speaker 1: There are four main recommended intervals for oil changes, based

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Speaker 1: on factors specific to you and your car. Number one,

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Speaker 1: Under some circumstances, experts recommend changing your oil every one

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Speaker 1: thousand miles that's six KOs, or every six months. Now,

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Speaker 1: I know, I know. If some experts say that three

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Speaker 1: thousand miles is too often, why would those same experts

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Speaker 1: recommend intervals of every one thousand miles. It all depends

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Speaker 1: on your driving habits. If you're driving routine consists mostly

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Speaker 1: of trips that are ten miles or less, you should

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Speaker 1: consider changing your oil more often than every three thousand

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Speaker 1: miles for two reasons. If you aren't making long trips

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Speaker 1: at high steady speeds like you would on a highway,

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Speaker 1: then your engine isn't getting hot enough to boil off

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Speaker 1: condensation that can accumulate in the system that can cause

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Speaker 1: oil to break down faster. Most of the wear and

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Speaker 1: tear on your engine occurs when you're starting your car,

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Speaker 1: and if you aren't driving very far, most of your

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Speaker 1: driving is of the type that's very hard on your engine.

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Speaker 1: More frequent oil changes will help minimize that damage. In short,

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Speaker 1: if you drive your car infrequently, as in much less

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Speaker 1: than the mileage of your recommended service interval, you should

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Speaker 1: still change your oil twice a year, since the oil

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Speaker 1: degrades over time. In r all number two, that old

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Speaker 1: standard three thousand miles or five thousand kilometers or every

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Speaker 1: three months. Some car experts suggest that the three thousand

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Speaker 1: mile interval is really for the benefit of the shops

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Speaker 1: that change the oil, since the more frequently you come in,

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Speaker 1: the more money they make. Still, if you have an

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Speaker 1: older model car that recommends this interval, you're probably better

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Speaker 1: off adhering to it. Meanwhile, most modern car owners manuals

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Speaker 1: actually recommend longer intervals, every five thousand miles that's about

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Speaker 1: eight thousand to twelve thousand kilometers. However, some manufacturers recommend

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Speaker 1: you also take your driving style and habits into account.

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Speaker 1: For instance, if your car is fairly new and you

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Speaker 1: usually drive twenty minutes or more and achieve fairly steady

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Speaker 1: speeds as opposed to stop and go traffic the entire drive,

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Speaker 1: you are a prime candidate for less frequent oil changes. However,

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Speaker 1: if your car is older, it's best to stick with

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Speaker 1: the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule. In some cases, experts recommend

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Speaker 1: going as long as ten thousand to fifteen thousand miles

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Speaker 1: that's sixteen thousand to twenty four thousand kilometers, or every

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Speaker 1: six months. That's in cases where your cars manufacturer recommend

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Speaker 1: synthetic oil, or if you decide to make the switch.

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Speaker 1: Though synthetic oil is much more expensive than regular oil,

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Speaker 1: it has more benefits. It's better for the environment and

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Speaker 1: can perform better than regular oil. That's because synthetic oil

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Speaker 1: doesn't break down like regular oil. Synthetic oil can also

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Speaker 1: withstand more extreme temperatures. It won't break down in a

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Speaker 1: hot engine or during hot weather. In winter, synthetic oil

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Speaker 1: can resist the effects of cold, which means it will

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Speaker 1: start flowing as soon as you start your car. Opinions differ, though,

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Speaker 1: about whether upgrading is worth it. While some experts suggest

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Speaker 1: doing it in most circumstances, Consumer Reports says that generally

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Speaker 1: you shouldn't switch to synthetic if your car doesn't need it.

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Speaker 1: If you frequently tow heavy loads, synthetic oil can help

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Speaker 1: ease the extra strain on your engine. If you own

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Speaker 1: a model known to be prone to sludge issues, that is,

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Speaker 1: when your engine gets clogged with the residue of degraded oil.

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Speaker 1: Synthetic can help alleviate those problems and prolong the life

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Speaker 1: of your engine. It's best to keep track of the

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Speaker 1: miles you drive between oil changes, though some cars make

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Speaker 1: this easier with a dashboard indicator that tells you it's

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Speaker 1: time to head to the shop as part of what's

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Speaker 1: called an oil life monitoring system. These systems track your mileage,

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Speaker 1: and also use data from your driving that's analyzed by

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Speaker 1: your car's computer to determine when your car and use

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Speaker 1: an oil change. When the light illuminates, it's best to

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Speaker 1: get the oil changed as soon as possible, but it's

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Speaker 1: not necessarily urgent if your car has an oil life

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Speaker 1: monitoring system. Note that this light is different than your

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Speaker 1: oil pressure light, which illuminates on your dash If your

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Speaker 1: car's oil isn't flowing properly due to low level, failing

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Speaker 1: oil pump, a leak in the system, or some other issue,

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Speaker 1: check your owner's manual to learn the difference between the

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Speaker 1: two dash lights. Because if the oil pressure light comes on,

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Speaker 1: you need to stop driving as soon as possible to

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Speaker 1: avoid engine damage. Get in the habit of checking your

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Speaker 1: oil at least once a month to ensure your car

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Speaker 1: is not leaking or burning oil. If the level is

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Speaker 1: low at oil, a good oil should be a transparent

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Speaker 1: brown black color. If the oil is murky or pake

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Speaker 1: it might be time for a change, and if it's milky,

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Speaker 1: your engine maybe leaking coolant. However, if your car has

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Speaker 1: one of the aforementioned oil monitoring systems, you might not

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Speaker 1: have a dipstick to check the oil with the moral

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Speaker 1: of the story here is that if you don't know

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Speaker 1: how often to change your oil or how to check

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Speaker 1: it between oil changes, consult your owner's manual. These habits

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Speaker 1: will help ensure the longevity of your engine. Today's episode

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Speaker 1: was written by Shery's three Wit and produced by Tyler Clang.

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Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works.

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Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other high performing topics,

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Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And

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Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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Speaker 1: favorite shows.