If you are a Kia owner trying to do your first round of scheduled maintenance on your car, you are probably mystified by the process of how to change a cartridge oil filter on the Kia. Don't give up; changing your oil filter is essential to keeping your car's engine cooling system running properly. A clogged or dirty oil filter could cause your engine to run at too high a temperature and create internal damage. The Kia canister oil filter is different from most oil filters but better in many ways. There is less chance of oil spilling during its replacement, and once you know what to do and where to find it, the process is incredibly easy.
Park your Kia on a level surface and engage the parking brake. Place an oil drain pan under the oil drain plug located on the underside of the engine. The plug looks like a regular bolt and is sticking out of the bottom of the smooth oil pan toward the front of the Kia engine. Some models have the plug located on the right side of the pan toward the bottom. Remove the oil drain plug with a socket wrench and let all of the oil drain out into your drain pan. Replace the oil drain plug.
Open your hood and remove the four bolts holding the engine cover in place. They are located at the four corners of the cover. Remove the cover from the engine.
Look at the driver's side of the engine. You will see a black, round plastic cap marked "25nM." On some Kia models the first two numbers will be different, but all Kias will have a sequence of two numbers and then "nM" cast in the top of the cap. This is the cover to your canister oil filter. Grab the cover and remove it by unscrewing it with several counter-clockwise twists. The canister oil filter will be attached to the bottom of your cap by a plastic insert.
Use your fingers or a penknife to gently pry the rubber O ring off the bottom of the canister oil filter and the center plastic insert. Be very careful not to break the center plastic insert. If you do you must buy a replacement cap. Once the bottom O ring is off, pull the canister off the plastic insert. Remove the O ring that is inserted into the underside of the cap.
Dip your finger in the old oil you drained from the car and wipe the oil on both sides of the new O rings that came with your replacement filters. This will help to form the new seal. Press the larger O ring into the underside of the cap. Push the new canister oil filter onto the center plastic insert (make sure the arrow printed on the canister is pointing away from the cap) and lock the canister to the insert by pressing the smaller O ring onto the bottom of the canister. Reinstall the canister into the filter housing and screw the cap into place. Reverse the rest of the removal instructions to complete installation and do not forget to replace the oil you removed from the engine with new oil. See your manual for the make and model Kia you have for the correct amount of oil to put in.
