How to Change Your Engine Oil & Filter

About 45 minutesModerate11 steps

Last updated August 24, 2026· How we research and review

An oil change is the most valuable DIY job on the car: about 45 minutes of work, and you know the right oil and filter actually went in. Shops charge $60–100 for what costs $30–50 in parts. The job is simple but the order matters — and you will be working under the car, so the safety steps are not optional.

Used engine oil is a carcinogen — wear nitrile gloves and wash up afterward. Never trust a jack alone to hold the car: ramps or properly seated jack stands are the only safe way underneath. If the drain plug will not loosen without rounding, stop and let a shop finish — stripped oil-pan threads cost far more than a service.

What you'll need

Correct oil (owner's manual — usually 4–6 quarts)
New oil filter (matched by year/make/model)
Drain pan (8-quart minimum) and a funnel
Socket or box wrench for the drain plug, plus an oil filter wrench
New drain-plug washer (often included with the filter)
Ramps, or a jack and jack stands (never a jack alone)
Nitrile gloves, rags, and cardboard (drips are guaranteed)

The steps

Tap through one step at a time — built for one-handed use at the roadside — or switch to all 11 steps to read ahead or print.

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Step 1: Set the car on ramps or stands
Drive the front wheels slowly onto ramps, or jack the front at the frame rails and set jack stands under the factory lift points. Chock the rear wheels and set the parking brake. Give the car a firm shove before you slide under — it should not move at all.
Never work under a car held by a jack alone. Jacks are for lifting, stands are for holding — a hydraulic failure drops the car in a second.
Step 2: Warm the engine, then find the plug
Run the engine for 2 minutes, then shut it off. Warm oil drains faster and carries more contaminants out — hot oil burns skin, so 2 minutes is enough. Slide underneath and find the oil pan: a flat metal reservoir at the bottom of the engine with a single bolt, the drain plug, on its rear or side. Position the catch pan offset toward where the stream will arc — it shoots out sideways at first, then drops straight down.
Exhaust parts sit inches from the oil pan and stay hot long after shutdown. Warm oil runs 100°F+ — wear gloves and keep your face out from under the stream. Never run the engine in a closed garage: exhaust carbon monoxide is odorless and can overcome you in an enclosed space without warning.
Step 3: Crack the plug and pull it away fast
Loosen the plug counterclockwise with the wrench until it turns freely, then spin it out the last few turns by hand, keeping inward pressure until the threads release. Pull the plug away fast with the stream. Everyone drops it in the pan eventually — it rinses off.
Step 4: Let it drain down to a drip
Give it 5–10 minutes to drain to an occasional drip. While it drains, open the oil filler cap up top — venting lets the oil flow out faster and more completely.
Step 5: Reinstall the plug with a new washer
Wipe the plug and the pan's sealing face, fit a new crush washer, and thread the plug in by hand until it seats — cross-threading here is an expensive mistake. Snug it with the wrench plus about a quarter turn: crushed, not muscled. Overtightening strips the pan's threads.
Step 6: Spin the old filter off
Move the catch pan under the filter — about a cup of oil comes out with it. Loosen it with the filter wrench, then spin it off by hand and tip it open-end-up into the pan. Check that the old rubber gasket came off with the filter: a gasket stuck to the engine leaks under pressure once the new filter stacks on top of it.
Step 7: Lube the new gasket
Wipe the filter mounting face clean. Dip a fingertip in fresh oil and film it over the new filter's rubber gasket so it seats without binding. If the filter mounts upright, pre-fill it about two-thirds with fresh oil so the engine builds oil pressure faster on the first start; skip pre-filling if it mounts sideways — it just spills.
Step 8: Hand-tighten the new filter
Spin the new filter on by hand until the gasket touches the mounting face, then tighten three-quarters of a turn more. Hand-tight only, no wrench — a wrench crushes the gasket and makes the filter nearly impossible to remove next time.
Step 9: Refill through the filler neck
Set the funnel in the filler neck on the valve cover and pour in about a quart under the specified capacity — check your manual, but most four-cylinders take 4–5 quarts and most V6/V8 engines 5–6. Starting low is deliberate: you cannot easily remove overfill, but you can always add.
Step 10: Start it, check for leaks, top to MAX
Start the engine and let it run 30 seconds — the oil-pressure light should go out within a few seconds. Watch underneath for drips at the plug and filter, then shut off, wait 2 minutes for the oil to settle, and read the dipstick. Top off to MAX in small additions.
Step 11: Reset the oil-life monitor
Reset the oil-life monitor or maintenance reminder per your manual — on most cars it does not reset itself, and it will nag you at the wrong interval forever. Note the date and mileage on a windshield sticker or in your phone.