TotalEnergies advises what to do when there is a need to top up oil in an engine, and a driver does not know which product to choose or cannot just buy a proper one.
Typical situation: during holiday trips an oil warning light signals that it is necessary to refill motor oil. Don’t panic. It is only information - not a warning. Of course we mean the orange light or the usual message of the on-board computer, and not the red alarm signalling that there is no lubrication.
First it is required to park a car on a flat-lying ground at your earliest convenience (a car cannot be tilted), wait several minutes and check the oil level with a dipstick (if the car is equipped with such). If the indication is within standard, take it easy. However, if the oil level comes to the minimum, think about topping up.
How much to refill?
In the majority of popular car models, there is approx. 1 liter of oil between the minimum level and maximum level. You had better top up oil in portions approx. 0.25 l each and after one minute check the level. In modern engines it is important for the oil level to be close to maximum. One of the most important functions of oil is to cool down the engine. The more the oil the better the engine will be cooled down.
What to top up?
A spare liter of proper oil should be in a trunk. If there is no such, look for a pendant under the hood with a report from last replacement of oil. You will not only find there the date and mileage but also oil brand and specification. If there is no pendant, check entries in the service book. If proper information is not there either, select oil on your own.
How to choose oil?
Oil as a “top-up” should be characterised by the same quality class, and preferably also by the same viscosity, as the oil in the engine. The quality class is specified by relevant international specifications such as API or ACEA. It is also advisable to match oil meeting the relevant type-approval of vehicle manufacturer for a given type of engine. Information on what quality and viscosity class is dedicated to our engine is available in the vehicle operation manual or on manufacturer’s website (it is also worth using an oil browser on websites, e.g.: http://dobierz-olej.totalenergies.com.pl/)
Two crucial details
While choosing oil “sight unseen”, remember about some special requirements. First of all - cars equipped with a particulate filter require oils for engines with a particulate filter or Low SAPs oils. You can find them on the basis of the ACEA standard and letter C.
A couple of remarks at the end
An engine which is “cold” should be topped up with oil. Filling a hot engine with cold oil may lead to microcracks of the head.
While topping up, proceed in line with the principle that a one-off top-up should not exceed much above 10% of the system volume. If you must add 1 l of oil and the system has 4 l of capacity, then first add 0.5 l, and after some time, after covering a distance of several dozen kilometers, add the other 0.5 l.
In a vast majority of cases, oils which have higher quality specifications are retrospectively compatible with lower quality oils. Adding a higher-quality oil than the one used will not have an adverse impact. However, it is always necessary to assume that after mixing two different oils, the mixture formed will have parameters of the worse one.
Thus, if you take care of your car and have doubts whether you have added oil to engine with appropriately chosen parameters, after returning home, just replace the whole oil with a proper one and this time make sure that in the trunk there is the spare liter.
The necessity to top-up oil over a longer distance is not tantamount to the fact that the engine is worn-out. Demand for oil is highly dependent on the way of using the car. If you go in mountains or cover long distances, frequently at motorway speeds, your engine will be exposed to large loading. In such conditions, high oil consumption will be well-grounded.
Top-ups of more than 0.5 l per each 1000 km shall mean that you should verify the technical condition of your engine in a reputable garage repair shop. This applies to the condition of sealing rings, valve sealers and any possible leaks which may be the cause of excessive oil consumption.
About TotalEnergies Marketing Polska
TotalEnergies Marketing Polska has been present in Poland since 1992 and has an established position on the market of motor oils. It offers products of two well-known brands: TotalEnergies and Elf. The company has also been rapidly developing the sale of asphalts and has been present on the market of industrial special fluids since 2008. In 2010, TotalEnergies Marketing Polska started imports and wholesale of fuels. In December 2014, the company launched its first petrol stations in Poland, thus entering the retail market. www.totalenergies.pl
About Marketing & Services TotalEnergies department
The business segment TotalEnergies Marketing & Services offers to its professional and private customers a wide range of energy products and services - petroleum products, bio-fuels, charging electric vehicles and related services, gas for transport by road and sea - to support mobility thereof and to help them reduce the carbon footprint. Every day more than 8 million customers visit our 16 000 fuel stations all over the world. As number four in the world in the field of lubricants, we design and sell high-efficiency products for motorisation, industrial and maritime sectors. So as to respond to the needs of our B2B customers best, we implement our sales forces, our international logistics network and our diverse offer. We operate in 107 countries where 31 000 employees of ours are close to all our clients.
About TotalEnergies company
TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company that manufactures and sells energy in the global scale: crude oil and bio-fuels, natural gas and green gas, renewable energy sources and electric energy. 105 000 our staff members are involved in generation of the increasingly cheap, pure, reliable and available to the greatest possible number of people energy. Being active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies focuses its activities on sustainable development in all dimensions thereof, in particular in the area of its business projects and operations that shall contribute to increased quality of life of people all over the world.
Contact TotalEnergies
Bartosz Cyran | bartosz.cyran@proautomotive.pl | +48 662 454 679
Legal note
The following terms “TotalEnergies”, “TotalEnergies Company” or “Company” herein are used for determination of TotalEnergies SE and consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Similarly, the following words “we”, “us” and “our” may be used with reference to such entities or staff members thereof. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly holds shares are separate legal entities. TotalEnergies SE shall not bear responsibility & liability for actions or omissions of such entities. This document may contain information and statements pertaining to the future, which are based on a number of economic data and assumptions adopted in the particular economic, competitive and regulatory environment. In the future, they may turn out to be inaccurate, as a result of being subjected to many risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any subsidiary thereof shall undertake to publicly update any information or declarations concerning the future, objectives or trends contained herein, both as a result of new information, future events or in another manner whatsoever. Information pertaining to the risk factors which may have an influence on financial results or activities of TotalEnergies is available in the latest Registration Document the French version of which has been submitted by TotalEnergies SE in the French securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and 20-F form has been submitted in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
