Oil changes are a very important part of keeping your car running smoothly. If you want to save money and get the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself, then let us show you how to change the oil in your 2012 GMC Terrain. It is actually pretty simple and only takes about an hour from start to finish if everything goes well! We have included a list of tools required, along with detailed instructions for each step so follow along as we teach you how to do this.
Oil changes are not difficult to do yourself, but they can be time consuming. This is a step-by-step guide to help you change the oil in your 2012 GMC Terrain yourself. We will walk through all of the steps, so after reading this post you should have no problem changing your own oil on any vehicle!
2012 GMC Terrain Oil Change Guide [hide]
2012 GMC Terrain Oil Type
Before changing oil in 2012 GMC Terrain use owner’s manual for reference. Engine oil affects the reliability and durability of 2012 GMC Terrain engine, so vehicle owner has to regularly change it.
VISCOSITY GRADE
GMC recommends using motor oil with viscosity of SAE 5W-30 grade for the 2012 Terrain. This means that it can use almost all quality motor oil branded with this rating. The first thing you have to do is to buy high-quality oil which will be suitable for your Terrain engine oil system.
CAPACITY
The 2012 GMC Terrain has a 2.4L engine that requires 5 quarts (4.7 lites) and the 3 Liter version takes 6 qt., which is significantly more than most cars with this type of powerplant
SPECIFICATION OF OIL
The 2012 GMC Terrain is an excellent vehicle for those looking to get from point A to B. The original Dexos 1 SAE 5W-30 Motor Oil by ACDelco helps ensure that this will happen smoothly and quickly with every turn you make. Though any oil with Dexos sticker is GM approved, and any oil with proper viscosity may perform good enough.
HIGH MILEAGE OIL FOR 2012 GMC Terrain Oil
Castrol – EDGE® High Mileage 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil is recommended for 2012 GMC Terrain vehicles. Don’t forget about the recommended maintenance schedule. Change oil in proper intervals especially if you take high mileage trips.
2012 GMC Terrain Oil Change Intervals
Oil changes are essential for keeping your car running smoothly and efficiently by removing contaminants that cause friction, heat, and engine wear. These contaminants are mainly metal shavings from engine or transmission wear, dirt, residue, moisture, sludge build-up and also acid compounds that accumulate with usage of the vehicle.
Oil change intervals for 2012 GMC Terrain are every 7,500 miles or once per year. These are the oil change intervals recommended by GMC for this model. An oil change is the most common service done to a vehicle. It refers to changing of motor oil, usually done once every few months or 3,000 miles. This is how frequently your owner’s manual lists for you to get an oil change.
The oil filtering element of an oil change removes these harmful debris to keep them from circulating in your car’s engine further causing damage. The oil change intervals for 2012 GMC Terrain is every 7,500 miles or once per year.
Best Oil for 2012 GMC Terrain
Depend on personal preferences and the manufacturer’s directions when it comes to choosing the right oil. We will help you to choose the best one for your 2012 GMC Terrain.
Oil (by manufacturer) – GM recommends using ACDelco GM Original Equipment dexos1 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil. Synthetic oil will improve the protection provided to the engine by the lubricant.
Oil (our choice) – Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil for 2012 GMC Terrain is safe to use. It can provide better gas mileage, engine protection and performance.
Oil filter (by manufecturer) – If you are looking for which oil filter is perfect for your 2012 GMC Terrain then check out this ACDelco GM Original Equipment PF63 Engine Oil Filter.
How to Change Oil by Yourself – Step by Step
This guide will provide you with all the tips and tricks as well as the steps necessary to successfully change oil yourself in a 2012 GMC Terrain. If you decide to follow this guide make sure you fully read through it before starting out. This guide assumes some basic understanding of automotive concepts and terminology. As well, this guide shows you all necessary steps (i.e. draining fluids, removing filters) to change the oil in a 2012 GMC terrain.
This is one of the easiest vehicles and motors to do oil changes on. So if you own one of these, we highly recommend you learn how to do this yourself because it will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Step 1.
Get an oil and oil filter, also it’s a good idea to to get gaskets that go on the oil pan drain plug in case you need to replace that. You will need a 32 millimeter short socket to get our oil filter cap off. Along with that it helps to have a pivoting head on your ratchet.
First step we’re going to do is jack up the vehicle just come right up under the front. And right along here is going to be our jack point we’re going to just locate the center that then on either side support the vehicle jack stands.
So vehicle doesn’t have to come completely off the ground just where you can get up under and get to your oil drain pan comfortably. Get the vehicle supported on the frame rails. If you want, you can also use the pinch weld.
Step 2.
When you’re under the vehicle you can see the bottom of your engine pan. This one over here is your transmission. And that pole there is what we were looking for.
Use a 15 millimeter bolt, you just want to have a drain pan ready to catch any oil that comes out. Loosen that off. And it’s good time to wear gloves if you don’t want oil all over your hands, and just going to go ahead and take it out by hand from now and just catch that oil.
Step 3.
Let that drain out. And as that’s draining, we can go ahead and start to replace the filter up top. So as that’s draining, We’re going to use that 32 millimeter socket. And you can see it is kind of tight in there. That’s why having a pivoting head on your ration will make your life a lot easier. Once you get it loosened off enough, you can just usually go in by hand and finish it. Keeping in mind you are going to have some oil in here. So you may want to have a rag handy so it doesn’t spill everywhere. You just got to be careful that that doesn’t spill all over the place on you, you just going to want to wipe that up. Put the new filter in and hand tight it, and then go ahead and tighten it down to the torque spec.
Step 4.
So back up under the vehicle. Now we’re going to go ahead and just wait for that drip to stop once it does. We just clean up the meeting surface where the bolt is going to go. Then once you got your bolt re installed you can just take the oil pan out from under the vehicle and then lower the vehicle to the ground.
Step 5.
Now we can go ahead and remove our oil fill cap and also on it is the viscosity we need to use. Put the new oil in.
Then use the dipstick to check it and if we need to add any we can usually add at this point.
Step 6.
Once we verify that we have enough oil in there, we will go ahead start the engine, let it run for a minute and then check the dipstick again after it settles for a couple minutes. When you pull the dipstick out, just make sure you clean it completely along that cross hatching section there and then put it back in and then take your reading.
