How To Change the Oil in a 2012-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK and Reset Indicator Light 3.6L

How Often Should I Replace My Engine Oil?
Jeep recommends replacing your engine oil every 8,000 miles or 6 months. I replace my oil every 5,000 miles in all my vehicles regardless if I’m running conventional or synthetic oil.
What You Will Need
Ratchet
13 mm Socket
24mm Socket
Torque Wrench
Drain Pan
Funnel (Optional)
Pick set (Optional)
Shop Towels
Oil (6 quarts of 5w-20)
Mopar MO-744 or MO-349 Filter
Capacities
6 quarts (5.6 liters)
What Type Of Oil Should I Use?
5w-20
How To Guide
The first thing I like to do to prepare the Jeep for the oil change is take it out for a short drive to get the engine and oil heated up. This makes the oil less viscous and make the oil flow out of the drain plug better. When I get back I ensure the Jeep is parked on level ground.
Underneath the car, locate the oil pan. Make sure the drain pan is underneath the plug and you can now remove the drain plug using a 13mm socket. Caution: If you warmed up your engine prior to removing the oil, it will be hot. Let the oil completely drain from the engine.

While the oil is draining, we can open up the hood and start replacing the oil filter. To do this, we will need to remove the plastic engine cover. Lift up the front of it and then pull it towards the front of the vehicle out of the two tabs in the back.

The oil filter cap is located right behind the alternator. This can be removed using a 24mm socket. I like to keep a rag handy to place underneath the filter while pulling it out.

We can now remove the filter from the cap. The oil filter and cap will pull apart with a little bit of force.

The new oil filter comes with an O-ring for the cap. Using a pick or your fingers, remove the old -ring from the cap.

Jeep used two different types of oil filters on the JKs. The Mopar oil filter part numbers are listed below:
MO-744 (2012-2013)
MO-349 (2014-2018)
Install the new O-ring that came with your oil filter onto the cap. Make sure the O-ring is not sitting on the threads and is installed properly in the channel.

The new oil filter can now be installed into the cap. Push the two together until you hear an audible click.

Before installing the filter back onto the engine, I like to put some fresh oil on my finger and lubricate both the O-rings on the filter and the filter cap.

The filter can now be reinstalled into the engine. The filter cap gets torqued down to 18 ft-lbs (216 in-lbs).

By now, the oil should be completely drained from your engine. Reinstall the drain plug. Jeep recommends torquing this plug down to 25 ft-lbs. Over torquing this bolt can result in a damaged oil pain.

Now that everything is complete underneath the car, we can go back underneath the hood and remove the oil fill cap. You can now add 6.0 quarts of 5W-20. I’ll be adding a 5 quart jug along with a 1 quart jug. I would highly recommend using a funnel to keep your engine bay as clean as possible.

Put the oil cap back on. We can now head inside the Jeep to reset our oil light indicator. To reset this we will put the key in the ignition and turn it two clicks forward to the run position. Do not start the engine. Depress the gas pedal 3 times within 10 seconds of turning the key. We can now turn the vehicle off.

It’s always a good idea to check out the vehicle right after the oil change. Go ahead and start the Jeep and let it run for a couple of minutes to get the oil circulating throughout your engine. While the vehicle is running, take a look underneath it to check for any oil leaks. Go ahead and turn off the vehicle and let it sit for another couple of minutes to let the oil drain back into the oil pan. You can now check the oil level to be sure everything is good to go. The oil level should be somewhere in the recessed cross hatched area on the dipstick.

Don’t forget to put the engine cover back on. That’s all there is to it. Your Jeep will be good to go for another 5,000 miles!