Using random lubricants is unacceptable

Engine oils are chosen to match the make of car. Every service centre in the world sticks to this. Viscosity figures, approvals and standards are also taken into account. Take any Nissan service centre — they always check for possible errors in various ways.

Every carmaker has factory instructions that should be followed. Perhaps in some difficult situations one substitute or another can be used. The quality of a substitute oil, or a mix of oils of different viscosities, must not conflict with the requirements of the specific car make's oil-use instructions. At the first opportunity, everything should be brought back to normal and exactly the oil that's poured in at the factory should be used.

Russian service outfits need to follow the rules clearly, with no room for deviation, and not rely on Russian "it'll be fine". Nissan service, for instance, won't tolerate the slightest breach. Neither will any service centre in Europe or America. The Japanese are extremely fussy about doing things by the book.

In fairness, it should be noted that Russian car-service centres have significantly improved the quality of their work of late. You'll be fitted, without question, with genuine Infiniti parts, unlike how things often used to go not so long ago.

An oil change in Moscow, using that same Infiniti as a test case, shows that the job is done properly a hundred percent of the time. The inspection, disproving the negative view around problems with vacuum extraction, showed that this method of changing oil removes the used oil completely too, just as it should with any other method.

It also showed that car owners get the oil-change service done without delay — well before the mileage reaches 8,000 km. Drivers understand the risks that poor oil condition carries.

To head off future problems with the car, Moscow service centres also replace the filter where needed, if that hasn't been done in the past six months. In every case, a full diagnostic check of the car is offered. About sixty percent of owners agree to that offer.

In winter, people are more receptive to it. After all, many understand that soot and other harmful deposits build up in the engine more intensively in cold weather. You can see this from the increased fuel consumption. And the engine starts pulling worse on the road too.

In winter, car owners turn to having their mineral oil switched for synthetic. Such oils perform better on cold starts.