Fifteen years ago, oil extractors were DIY products sold to a lot of consumers so they wouldn’t have to lift up their vehicle to change the oil. Now these tools are actually a recommended and often required piece of equipment for a lot of vehicles.

For example, Audi and Mercedes-Benz actually advise using an oil extractor to change the oil in some of their vehicles. With this system, they can remove just about all of the oil out of the drain pan. This way, it’s very economical for them to change the oil and the filter which is usually on top of the engine.

But, there are some vehicles where this will not work. A great example of this is the 2.7-liter Ford V6. The dipstick actually goes into a separate well that has a small valve on it to ensure how much oil will be inside that little tiny crevice. If you insert (through the dipstick) one of these tubes, you’re only going to remove a few ounces of oil. This creates a problem.

So just be aware, some vehicles out there will work great with an oil extractor. Some, not so well. So, using this process, make sure you’re looking at the service information to see if you can use an oil extractor to make your oil changes just a little bit faster and to possibly avoid having to remove shields and other stuff from underneath the vehicle.

This video is sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper.