Oil Change Services
An oil change replaces your engine oil and filter. Our 5,000-mile interval service does that too, and it also rotates your tires and includes a digital vehicle inspection. It's the difference between changing a fluid and having a trained technician look your whole car over a few times a year.
Your owner's manual might say 10,000 miles between services. We recommend 5,000 for most cars. Oil breaks down with heat and use no matter what the label says, and regular visits are how a seeping gasket, a tired belt or an unevenly worn tire gets caught while it's still a small, inexpensive fix instead of a breakdown on the highway.
An oil change is not a 5,000-mile service
Most people book an "oil change" and that's exactly what they get: new oil, a new filter, and back on the road. There's nothing wrong with that, but the oil is only part of what keeps a car healthy. Our 5,000-mile interval service is built around the visit, not just the fluid.
An oil change
Replaces the fluid.
- Drain the old engine oil
- Install a new oil filter
- Refill with fresh oil
Our 5,000-mile interval service
Looks after the whole car.
- Engine oil and filter exchange
- Tire rotation, with tread depth measured and tire pressures set
- Digital vehicle inspection with notes and photos you can see
- A road test, plus a check of brakes, steering, suspension, fluids and lights
- Estimates for anything we find, safety items first, so you decide what gets done
Sometimes the best news from a 5,000-mile service is that everything looks good. Either way, you leave knowing exactly where your car stands, and small problems get caught while they're still small.
Urgent
We recommend you bring your car in immediately. This repair is critical to saving you money & your life.
Caution
We recommend watching this part carefully and scheduling a service date to prevent any future problems.
Routine
We recommend you keep this repair as recurring scheduled maintenance to keep your car healthy and running great.
How critical is my repair?
This ranking system's purpose is to equip you with the information you need to make an informed decision.
Warning: Delaying car repairs is never recommended as it can be costly and at times dangerous. If you are experiencing car trouble please bring it to your local repair shop.
Parts and services
Engine Oil and Filter Exchange
Engine oil does more than keep metal parts from rubbing together. It carries heat away from the hottest parts of the engine, holds dirt and combustion byproducts in suspension until the filter can catch them, and protects against corrosion. Heat and use break it down no matter which oil is in the engine, synthetic or conventional. It's the first step of our 5,000-mile interval service, the interval we recommend for most cars. With the right oil, some vehicles, mostly European models, can reasonably go to 7,500. We'll tell you which one fits yours, and we'll match the plan to how long you want to keep the car.
Symptoms:
- →It has been 5,000 miles or more since your last oil service
- →The oil on the dipstick looks dark, gritty or sludgy
- →The oil change reminder or oil life monitor is showing
- →It has been a year since your last service, even if you have not driven much
Tire Rotation
Front and rear tires wear differently. The front tires do most of the steering and, on most cars, most of the braking, so they wear faster and unevenly if they stay in one spot. Rotating them at every 5,000-mile service evens out that wear, helps the set last longer and keeps the car handling the way it should. While the wheels are being moved, we measure the tread depth on each tire, set the tire pressures and note anything unusual, like wear on one edge that points to an alignment or suspension problem.
Symptoms:
- →The front tires are noticeably more worn than the rears
- →Wear on the inside or outside edge of a tire
- →A vibration or hum at highway speed
- →It has been 5,000 miles or more since the last rotation
Digital Vehicle Inspection
Every 5,000-mile interval service at Sherwood Auto Repair includes a complimentary digital vehicle inspection. This is the part a quick oil change leaves out. Our technician road tests the car and checks the brakes, tires, steering and suspension, fluid levels and condition, lights and other major systems, then documents what they find with notes and photos you can see. We follow what we call the 300% rule: 100% of vehicles get an inspection, 100% of the findings get an estimate, and 100% of those estimates are presented to you, with safety items first. Sometimes the best news is that everything looks good. Either way, you get the full picture and you decide what gets done.
Symptoms:
- →You are not sure where your car stands on maintenance
- →You have a road trip coming up
- →You want a second set of eyes on a noise, leak or warning light
- →You just bought a used car and have no service history
Break-In Oil Service
A brand-new engine leaves fine debris in the oil from the manufacturing process and its first miles of use. We recommend an early break-in oil service somewhere between 1,000 and 3,000 miles to flush that out before it circulates through the rest of the engine. It isn't in most owner's manuals, and it's an inexpensive way to give an engine a clean start. The same goes for a replacement engine, which is why a follow-up oil service is usually part of the job when we install one.
Symptoms:
- →You just bought a new car
- →Your vehicle recently had its engine replaced
- →The odometer is between 1,000 and 3,000 miles on a new engine
- →The car has not had its first oil service yet
Low Oil Level
Many engines burn or leak a little oil between services, and the level can drop well below the full mark long before any warning light comes on. Low oil runs hotter, protects less and can starve parts like the valve train of lubrication, which is often heard as a ticking or fluttering noise when you accelerate. One customer told us her car's fluttering noise went away after she topped off the oil, which is exactly the kind of clue worth bringing in. If the oil pressure light comes on while you are driving, pull over and shut the engine off.
Symptoms:
- →The oil pressure warning light comes on
- →A ticking, tapping or fluttering noise when accelerating
- →The dipstick reads at or below the low mark
- →You find yourself adding oil between services
Oil Leaks
Gaskets and seals harden with heat over time and start to seep. The valve cover gasket is one of the most common culprits, and on many engines the spark plug tube seals are part of that same gasket. During one routine 5,000-mile service, our technician pulled the spark plugs and found the ignition coil on cylinder one coated in oil. Because the plugs were already out, the gasket was replaced in the same visit, before the leak caused a misfire. Catching a leak at a 5,000-mile service is far cheaper than waiting for a burning smell or a check engine light.
Symptoms:
- →Dark brown or black spots on the driveway
- →A burning oil smell after driving
- →Oil residue on the engine or on a spark plug
- →A misfire or rough idle along with oil loss
Let's get started.
Our approach is simple. We help you get the most out of your car by matching your goals and mileage to create a personalized plan.
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