Engine oil is vital to your car’s engine. It’s primary function is to protect internal moving parts by providing lubrication to reduce friction and metal on metal contact. Over time the oil loses its critical properties, so regular replacement of the oil and filter are essential to maintaining your vehicle’s engine.
Porsche recommends changing the engine oil and filter every 1 year or 10,000 miles. However, we recommend replacing your engine oil every 5,000 miles if you want to keep your engine healthy for years to come. While it may be intimidating to work on your Porsche, changing the oil and filter isn’t much different than on other vehicles. This is a great entry-level maintenance procedure that you can perform yourself and save yourself money on year after year.
Instead of paying over $300 for a SIMPLE oil change at a Porsche dealership, use our detailed DIY guide to learn how to change your own oil for less than $100. To perform this DIY, check out the tutorial above from YouTube channel, Aaron Woodwell. Detailed steps can be found below.
Tools Required:
- Mechanic’s Tool Set
- 36MM Oil Filter Cap Socket (for oil filter cap)
- 1/4 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (20-200 in.-lb.) (for oil drain plug)
- 18 mm Combination Wrench, 12 Point, Metric
- Metric Hex Bit Socket Set, 3mm to 10mm
- 1/4 Inch Drive Extension Set
- Magnetic Torx Screwdrivers Set, T5 to T40
- Oil Drain Pan, 16 Quarts Capacity
- Oil Drain Pan, 6 Quarts Capacity
- Long Neck Fluid Funnel
- Low Profile Vehicle Ramps, 2.2 Ton Capacity, Pair
- Disposable Gloves
- Safety Glasses
- Foxwell NT510 Elite OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner (for Porsche) (optional tool to reset service indicator)
Parts Required:
Torque Specs & Fluid Capacities:
Engine oil capacity: 6.7 liters
Oil filter cap: 19 ft-lbs
Oil filter cap drain plug: 7.5 ft-lbs
Oil drain plug: 22 ft-lbs
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Prepare your vehicle and work area.
- Drive the car for 5 minutes to warm up the engine. This will help the engine oil drain more easily.
- Position vehicle on a flat surface.
- Gather required tools and parts
- Put on gloves and eye protection.
- Open the hood and remove the oil fill cap, which will help the engine oil flow more easily.
Step 2: Raise the front of your vehicle to give yourself extra clearance.
- If you have air suspension, simply raise your car to the highest ride height.
- If not, raise the front of vehicle via vehicle ramps or jack stands.
- Be sure to use wheel chocks and the parking brake to prevent your car from rolling.
- To get jack stands on the front jack points, jack the vehicle by the center cross member as shown in the photos.
- NEVER rely on a jack to support your vehicle.
- Note: If you have air suspension and decided to jack up the car, you will need to lock the air suspension by starting the car and holding the air suspension button up for 10 seconds. You will see an indicator pop up on your gauge cluster.
Step 3: Remove the underbody trays.
- Remove front underbody trays, which are held on by several T27 Torx screws and 10mm bolts.
- Also remove the panel covering the mid section of the vehicle, which is held on by 10mm bolts.
Step 4: Remove the oil drain plug and drain the engine oil.
- Locate the oil drain plug and place a drain pan underneath.
- Remove oil drain plug using an 18mm shallow socket and ratchet; if a socket won’t fit, you can use an 18mm wrench.
- Grab the plug so it doesn’t fall into the drain pan.
- Allow the engine oil to drain for 15 minutes.
Step 5: Remove the engine oil filter cap.
- While the oil is draining, located the oil filter housing underneath the engine and just in front of and above the oil drain plug.
- Use a 6mm hex bit socket, extension, and ratchet to remove the drain plug on the oil filter housing; be sure not to let the drain plug fall into the drain pan.
- After letting the oil drain for a minute, use a 36mm socket, long extension, and a ratchet to remove the oil filter housing.
Step 6: Replace the engine oil filter.
- Reinstall the oil filter cap drain plug along with a new o-ring and torque it to 7.5 ft-lbs.
- Remove the old engine oil filter.
- Replace the oil filter cap o-ring seal with a brand new one, which should have been included with the new engine oil filter.
- Insert the new oil filter into the oil filter housing cap.
- Add a small amount engine oil to your oil filter housing cap, which will help lubricate your engine on initial start-up.
- Lightly coat the o-ring seal on the oil filter housing cap with fresh oil.
- Re-install the new oil filter and cap and torque it to 19 ft-lbs.
Step 7: Re-install the oil drain plug.
- After allowing the oil to drain for 15 minutes, screw in a brand new oil drain plug and crush washer by hand initially.
- Torque it the drain plug to 22 ft-lbs.
- Be sure to use a brand new crush washer or you engine oil may leak.
Step 8: Add new engine oil.
- Now it’s time to add engine oil.
- The engine oil capacity is 6.7 liters, but start by adding 6 liters to prevent from overfilling.
- Ensure there are no leaks from underneath the vehicle.
Step 9: Re-install the underbody panels and lower the car back down.
Step 10: Top off the engine oil as needed.
- Take the car for a short drive and get the engine oil up to operating temperature.
- As shown in the video from Full Octane Garage, use the instrument cluster to check the engine oil level.
- With the engine on, use the right switch on the steering wheel to navigate to the “Vehicle” information page.
- Select the “Vehicle” page, then select “Oil level”.
- The engine oil should be between the “min” and “max” levels.
- The difference between the “min” and “max” levels is ~1.4 liters.
- If necessary, add oil in 0.25 liter increments and recheck the oil level until the engine oil level is between the minimum and maximum levels.
Step 11: Reset the service indicator.
- To reset your service indicator, you will need a tool like the following: ↗️iCarSoft POR II Tool.
- Check out the video from the following YouTube channel for instructions.
Step 12: Clean up your work area.
- Put your used engine oil in a container and take to your nearest auto parts store to recycle during your next trip.
- Clean up your work area and put up your tools. You’re all done!
