[EmOne]

My mom's 04 Camry was due for an oil change in December, I brought it in for service on December 30, 08. The service after taxes cost me $22x.xx dollars.

The following week, I filled up the tank with 40L and few days later when the low gasoline light came on, I got exactly 324KM. So I was wondering, i should be getting better MPG since I done an oil change and the whole car was inspected with no other problems.

So today, i stopped at a red light and suddenly my idle dropped and bounced up and down. When the light turned green, I gased and the car started to bog.

When i go home, i parked it and check the oil level, and to my surprise, the oil on the dip stick was ALMOST HALF WAY! LIke half of the dip stick there were oil on it.

Anyways, I came back 4-5 hrs later when the engine cooled to check again. And yes, oil is still up to half way of the dip stick.


I called the dealership and explained my problem and what i observed. The lady on the phone told me that the "technician" WOULD never OVERFILL the engine with oil. I am going in tomorrow and let the "technician" have a look at it.

In the meanwhile i thought i share my experience with you guys, anyone ever got into a situation like this??

What should I expect when i go in there tomorrow.

thanks for reading

[kumbo1]

If that was the case, I am suprised you didn't blow a gasket or 2....

[Truenosan]

oil change probably wasn't even done by a technician, but by the shop bitch.

[Volvo-brickster]

if they over filled, the oil would then start to get "whipped" within the crankcase and you can sometimes see bubbles

were there any ?

[smoothie.]

check it again when its cold

edit: overnight cold

[k20a]

Did you do the proper procedure and wipe the dipstick then check again?

[dustinb]

Not trying to be a dick or anything, but is the car on level ground?

Also, if they did over fill it, it's going to be really hard to prove that they did it. They could possibly say that someone else added oil etc.

[OffroadZuki]

check it again when its cold

edit: overnight cold

The 4-5 hours the OP allowed is plenty of time...especially in January.

[slickk6o4]

Did you do the proper procedure and wipe the dipstick then check again?

what he said! i dont think a tech at the dealership would overfill the engine, if so you would be seeing lots of smoke when ur drivin

[EmOne]

yes the car was on a leveled ground

yes i wiped the stick when i checked it twice

and yes, i see quite a bit of white smoke coming from the exhaust, i thought that maybe was because of the cold weather.

[DC5-S]

white smoke is not oil.. blue smoke is oil

[Timpo]

I don't know about the dealerships, but at Canadian Tire, the actual work won't be done by jorneyman technician.

It will be done by either apprentice or support staff and the actual jorneyman will sign it saying that he did it. It happens everywhere.

[nipples]

support staff as in...the cashier??

[hamhead]

why didnt u just change the oil yourself? costs $50 and 1 hr max

[GordonTse]

holy, $22x for an oil change? or a service like a b1 from honda? a bigger service is not done by apprentices most of the time.. flat rate guys need to get paid, so they give those 1+ hour jobs to techs.. well at my work anyways.. (nissan+honda)

[Leopold Stotch]

IF it was that overfill the engine would drive like utter shit and it should smoke like crazy.
Newer engines usually can tell if there's too much oil and start burning it off before it breaks anything.

hopefully you did it right, but was it on level ground and the engine off?

also make sure to wipe it clean and check both sides of the dipstick

[!SG]

maybe they forgot to drain the oil.

the 04 camry should have the oil filter high up if i remember right. so they can technically change the filter without much spillage, then they would drain the oil from underneath.

[HardBoiler]

Maybe they forgot to drain the old oil before refilling with new? :S

[spydermanx]

maybe incorrect amount of oil. amount for V6 dumped into a I4...? That can easily be a 2L difference. But if the lube / tech didn't check the oil after a fill, then you have to wonder what else they didn't bother to check.

[yoall]

I sure hope your valve seals are still good.

[Alatar]

Correction, white smoke _can_ be oil. Try doing a wet compression test some time and watch the white smoke after you put the plugs back in and run it.

[kknater]

I think you put the emphasis on the wrong words.

would NEVER overfill

instead of

WOULD never OVERFILL

just sayin. Good luck

[EmOne]

I sure hope your valve seals are still good.


enlighten me please

[EmOne]

just got off work and I checked the oil again after its been parked for 5 hours outside on a flat parking lot. Same thing, big puff of white smoke coming out the back when I hit the gas.
They probably forgot to drain the old oil.

[Leopold Stotch]

enlighten me please

Your engine, and the seals (the thing that holds the major components of the engine together) is made to withstand an optimal pressure from the oil and air in the engine. Now if you have more oil in there than otherwise specified then you'll have issues with too much pressure which can cause the seals to blow, along with other issues like oil going into places where it's not supposed to, and etc.

[Eff-1]

white smoke is coolant. typically too much oil will have a detrimental effect on your head gasket. a failing head gasket usually leads to coolant leaking which means white smoke. at least, that's how I understood it.

check your coolant level.

[yoall]

Your engine, and the seals (the thing that holds the major components of the engine together) is made to withstand an optimal pressure from the oil and air in the engine. Now if you have more oil in there than otherwise specified then you'll have issues with too much pressure which can cause the seals to blow, along with other issues like oil going into places where it's not supposed to, and etc.


Thank CakeTech.

[falcon]

just got off work and I checked the oil again after its been parked for 5 hours outside on a flat parking lot. Same thing, big puff of white smoke coming out the back when I hit the gas.
They probably forgot to drain the old oil.

sorry, but why in the hell are you still driving the car!

It`s not hard to get a pan and drain the excess out slowly bit by bit.

[rsx10]

what kind of dealership charges $22.XX nowadays.....from my shopping around, the lowest i saw was $34.XX before taxes. you sure you didn't go to mr.lube?

[CanadaGoose]

Sounds like Mr.Lube or some other greasepit to me...

[hamhead]

what kind of dealership charges $22.XX nowadays.....from my shopping around, the lowest i saw was $34.XX before taxes. you sure you didn't go to mr.lube?


its 22x.xx not 22.xx.

anyways. stop driving it. drain all the oil and refill it yourself

[Rich Sandor]

Excessive white smoke is coolant in the combustion chamber.

Blue-ish Black smoke would be oil in the combustion chamber.

Grey-ish Black is excessive fuel in the air/fuel misture.

[Alphamale]

Um..with such a new car, if the dipstick is filled up half way, I would think that the oil pressure light would come on immediately, no? That is a LOT of excess oil.

[k20a]

sorry, but why in the hell are you still driving the car!

It`s not hard to get a pan and drain the excess out slowly bit by bit.

Well, of course it's not hard to get a pain and drain the excess oil but since he got the oil change from a dealership, he has warranty on that service.

[yoall]

Forgot to ask you this.

What calour is the oil when you pull up the dip stick?

If its still brown black, then yes. The dealer forgot to drain it first.
Clear like new, overfill.

Good luck with this.

[Alatar]

Um..with such a new car, if the dipstick is filled up half way, I would think that the oil pressure light would come on immediately, no? That is a LOT of excess oil.

Oil lights come on when there's typically less than 5psi oil pressure. Not when there's excessive. Generally speaking, most oil pressure "sensors" are not sensors. They're just switches. On or off. Nothing in between.

[Alphamale]

^Oh, never knew the specifics. I've seen a few cars that have oil lights come on due to too much oil, I thought it was generic across the board. Good to know.

[Alatar]

The reason oil lights can come on when there's too much oil is due to aeration. The crankshaft starts whipping up the oil making lots of air bubbles, and last I checked, it's hard to pump air hydraulically. Ergo, the gauge reads less than 5psi hydraulic pressure, oil light comes on.

Btw. If anyone is ever driving and you see the oil pressure light come on, pull over immediately, turn the key off, and call a tow truck. If you decide to drive it, it's your engine, and you're the one who can deal with the repair bill that could've been $100 or less, but is now $3000 or more.

[IMASA]

I believe VW's have an audible sensor when there's low oil pressure. My female friend has an MK3 VW Jetta and she told me it occasionally the car made a warning sound when she drove. I told her it's probably the oil pressure warning alarm and that she should stop driving. She told me that it has been doing it for weeks and she didn't bother with it because it went away eventually and would only come on when she was going up hills. So much for buying cars that are "lady driven".

[rsx10]

anyways did you go back to the dealership and bit** at them?

[wyattH]

wow thats horrible
let us know what they say
good luck