How to Change Oil on a 2002 Neon

The 2002 Dodge Neon features a 2.0-liter engine. Changing the engine oil and filter at regular service intervals is a vital maintenance procedure that optimizes the performance of the engine. Depending on the grade and quality of the oil that you use, the oil changes on the Neon should be performed between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. Synthetic oils are more expensive, but you can go up to 7,500 miles between oil changes if you use that type of oil.

• 1

  Drive the 2002 Neon up onto car ramps to elevate the front of the vehicle. Apply the parking brake. If the engine is cold, let it run for a few minutes to warm the oil up. Turn the engine off and open the hood.

• 2

  Remove the oil fill cap located on the valve cover.

• 3

  Put on the latex gloves and crawl under the Neon with the oil catch pan, the wrench set, the shop rags, the oil filter wrench and the replacement oil filter.

• 4

  Position the drain pan beneath the engine oil pan plug on the bottom rear of the engine. Remove the plug with a wrench by turning it counterclockwise. Allow the oil to drain to an infrequent drip before replacing and tightening the drain plug in the oil pan. Wipe any spilled oil with a shop rag.

• 5

  Locate the vertically mounted oil filter on the bedplate extension, near the oil pan. Loosen the filter by attaching the oil filter wrench and turning it counterclockwise just enough to unscrew the filter by hand. More engine oil will spill from the filter and the housing as you unscrew the filter, so be sure the drain pan is under the filter properly.

• 6

  Add a light layer of the engine oil from the drain pan to the replacement oil filter gasket before screwing it onto the oil filter housing. Be sure the gasket of the old oil filter did not stick on the housing and came off with the old oil filter. Do not use the oil filter wrench to tighten the filter; hand-tighten it only. The filter just needs to be snug to the filter housing.

• 7

  Crawl out from under the Neon with the tools, the rags and the drain pan.

• 8

  Place a funnel in the oil fill spout and add 4-1/2 quarts of 5W30 oil to the engine. Replace the oil fill cap, release the parking brake and start the engine to back the Neon down off the car ramps. Check the yellow-handled oil dipstick to ensure that the oil level is within the crosshatch marks at the bottom of the dipstick. Wipe the bottom of the dipstick and recheck the oil level. Add more oil if necessary. The 2002 Dodge Neon takes four quarts for the oil pan and half a quart for the filter.