2022 Santa Fe - Low oil level

[cable4503]

I have a 2022 Santa Fe. I took it to the dealership for its second oil change. two weeks later I noticed oil on the gravel.
so I check my oil level and it was 2 quarts low. I jacked the car up and found that the oil filter was too full revolutions loose.
Can somebody tell me if 2 quarts low in this engine is going to damage anything?

 

[SC Maintenance]

The short answer is no one will know for sure.

I assume full is somewhere south of 4 quarts? So it likely was still lubricated. However the oil likely got quite hot - being a small amount. Depends on how it was driven? Short trips OK. Long highway trip, not so good.

Dealer won't do anything either way.

I would return to the dealer, have it documented as being their fault, and get a complete new oil change - to get the oil that was heated replaced completely.

Just my personal opionion.

 

[emmett442]

No damage.

Get it fixed up and move on

 

[atikovi]

Add the small filter and all the oil passages inside the engine, and that totals to maybe a quart needed to maintain oil pressure. Since it takes some time for the oil to drain back to the pan, lets say it's needs 2 quarts total just to be safe. 2 quarts low is no problem, especially if the oil light didn't come on.

 

[Astro14]

If the oil pressure light remained off, you didn't have a catastrophic loss of oil pressure caused by the low quantity. So, no, I doubt any damage was done.

It is unusual that a dealer tech left it so loose, most techs overtighten everything, so that is the common complaint.

 

[Barkleymut]

Question, if the filter was really loose (enough for oil to escape) would that cause lower oil pressure - meaning because the system is no longer sealed does that reduce the pressure?

OP - if you did not hear any knocking/metallic noises during this time then I would tighten the oil filter, add oil until it reads correctly on the dipstick and continue driving the car. Taking it back to the people that could not do the job correctly to begin with will not accomplish anything.

 

[twX]

Can somebody tell me if 2 quarts low in this engine is going to damage anything?

Does 2 quarts low mean 2 quarts below the "full" line or below the "low" line? If it's the former, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd cut the oil filter open to look for sparkly bits. If there aren't any, you can be pretty sure there was no significant damage.

Oil starvation is most likely to happen at high rpm, when there is a lot of oil still draining back to the sump. Hard cornering sloshes the oil around and makes it more likely as well. If you weren't driving it like you stole it, there was probably enough of a margin to prevent oil starvation.

Question, if the filter was really loose (enough for oil to escape) would that cause lower oil pressure - meaning because the system is no longer sealed does that reduce the pressure?

For a leak to reduce oil pressure, a significant percentage of the oil pump's output would need to be leaking out, which would spray litres of oil onto the ground within minutes.

 

[walterjay]

That crankcase holds nearly 6 quarts. You should be ok.

 

[michaelluscher]

Depending on engine, your Santa Fe holds 5 to 6.6qts
2 qts low briefly isn't an issue, and you didn't see an oil pressure light

Scold the service department to do better, degrease, and move on with life