I know this is probably a silly question, but when i took my car to the quick Lube place, I told them i wanted a standard oil change. they pulled up our records from my phonenumber and I confirmed my name ( actually DHs since he usually takes care of this) and the make of the car.
It was pouring when i walked back over to pick it up. there was also a long line at the check out. I paid and left to pick up the kids, so about 10 minutes later i look at the paper work and it is all wrong, not the right customers name/address, not the right liscence plate, not the right color of the car but the same make, I don't know if the odometer reading was correct but i would assume it matched the other person car not mine. I did check to see if the digital reading for the oil was still at 20% which it was.
I went back and explained it. he asked if the sticker was on the car, I never looked, he sent someone out to check ( or maybe put one on???) I also said the digital reading was showing 20%, he said it was something i rest myself, (maybe like a trip odometer?)
The mechanic that went out to check(?) the sticker, when i joked so did this car go through tthe line and have the oil changed or not, he sort of gave me this weird smile and said he was the one that changed it. The rest of the guys seemed very nice, this guy sort of rubbed me wrong.
So I'll go trhough all of this when hubby gets home but i'm wondering, is there a way I can check to see if the oil in my car has actually been changed?
It's a chain place and we have used them before, I doubt that anyone deliberately was trying to pull a fast one on me, but they were also very busy and seemed like they were having alot of issues with their system and I had to tell them 3 times that it wasn't just that the name was worng but that the car and liscense etc were all wrong too. and i'm still not entirely sure they understood me.
So i hope it's ok to ask this, I don't know much about cars.
ok, i think i can handle this, gold not black, got it. thank you!!!
Yup, open the hood, pull out the dipstick and if it's a goldish-colored liquid instead of black, it's been changed.
Easy. Wipe off the dipstick. Dip it. If its golden, it's new oil. If its dark brown or black its old.
So hubby only read your title, but this was his suggestion:
1) You have to get under the vehicle before and after the change. You can use some white out and put a mark on the drain plug and the cannister. Before, it'll be a straightline. After, it won't be. It'll be slightly off. This way you know he at least took the plug out.
2) mark the oil filter the same way, making sure you mark the filter and where it's connected to the car.
3) The oil will be more amber colored, so check the dipstick.
4) Hubby says it's normal that you have to reset the oil thing yourself.
So there you go...a man's perspective on ensuring you actually get an oil change.
My suggestion, ask hubby to check and see if he thinks it was changed. LOL!
The answer you needed you got. The new oil will be golden or amber like light colored honey. For the filter, if its looks new it is new. I usually ask to see the new filter and take and scratch the paint.
Good luck to you and yours.
I know only the Honda dealer resets my oil life. No one else knows how to do it, I have to pull out the flipping book to figure out how to do it. Neither that or the slip mean a thing, it is the color of the oil. Trust me, even a blind man can tell the difference.
hmmm.. i would assume that they jsut gave u the wrong paper work.. and im not sure about your car but with my car u have to manually reset the oil light after u change the oil.. on a few occasions my fiance has changed the oil and then forgot to reset the light and for a few days i still had the thing coming up on the screen saying oil life 10%
.. i dont think theres really a way to know without crawling under the car.. when the change the oil they change the filter at least my fiance and the mechanic we go to if he cant do it does.. if your husband has some car knowledge he can check to see if theres a new filter on it .. if not ur oil never got changed
LeeLee is right about how to check if the oil was changed. Also your car's computer or guage that lets you know what is going on may need to be reset. I know in our truck we have to reset the mileage gauge that determines how many more miles before the next oil change. We only do it if the mechanic has forgotten to do it after the oil has been change.
So get under the hood and check. Old oil is black new oil is golden colored like amber or honey.
My husband stands right there at the window to make SURE those guys change the oil and if they say they are going to change the filter he asks them to give him the old filter.
Why?
Because he knew some guys that used to work at a local Jiffy Lube who would say that they changed things and they hadn't. They would lie on paperwork and they would take cash and never ring it up.
L.
to reset the oil life monitor, push the tripometer button 2 times.
odometer -> tripometer -> oil life
While its on 'oil life', push the button one more time, holding it down. The oil life will blink 2 times and reset itself. If the oil is old, it will not change.
You do have to reset the digital reader for the oil yourself. It is real easy to tell if your oil is dirty.
You should be able to tell by the color of the oil. New oil should be kind of an amber color - you can barely see it on the dipstick. Old oil is black.
another way to know is before you take it in again get a paint marker and draw a line on the oil filter and date it also that is always a good indicator as well as checking to make sure the oil is gold not black afterwards.
