Motor Oil Overfilled Continuously

RobbS

Thread starter
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
809
Location
Northern Va.
My Corolla takes 4.4 quarts & my Focus takes 4.5 quarts
My shop has filled it with 5 quarts regularly.
Any damage that can be done? The dipstick looks to the fill mark. Engine makes no noise .
Thank you
 
My Corolla takes 4.4 quarts & my Focus takes 4.5 quarts
My shop has filled it with 5 quarts regularly.
Any damage that can be done? The dipstick looks to the fill mark. Engine makes no noise .
Thank you
If your manual says 4.4 quarts or 4.5 quarts then that's exactly the amount they should be putting in. That's the service you're paying for. Now you want to double check dipstick, leaving it level overnight, then checking in the morning. Seems they are probably dumping 5 quarts in & charging you for it. If you intend to top off oil make certain they give you the 1/2 quart on each vehicle. 4.5 qts for both vehicles should be an easy solution.
 
The bulk oil dispensers had readouts to the 1/10 qt and we had to tell the front desk when a car took more than five so they could be charged. So, for you, "five" could easily mean "within the coupon price parameters."
I very much question the accuracy and how regularly they are required to be calibrated. I imagine laws vary by state (Weights and Standards etc).

I'm actually not suggesting bottles/bottlers are any more accurate. I have informal, completely unscientific reason to think that 5qt jugs are very approximate.

I've never pursued it in a more "scientific" manner because I've got better things to do.

If in doubt:
1) check dipstick
2) close hood
3) live life
 
How can it be overfilled if it's at the full mark but not over the full mark which is what overfilled means.

The 2.4L Mitsubishi does the same thing. It takes 4. something but I couldn't be bothered to micro measure so I dump in the whole 5 in and it's right at the top hole.
 
I very much question the accuracy and how regularly they are required to be calibrated. I imagine laws vary by state (Weights and Standards etc).

I'm actually not suggesting bottles/bottlers are any more accurate. I have informal, completely unscientific reason to think that 5qt jugs are very approximate.

I've never pursued it in a more "scientific" manner because I've got better things to do.

If in doubt:
1) check dipstick
2) close hood
3) live life
I used those digital pumps daily for over 13 years. 8 as a .mil contractor for vehicles ranging from snowblowers to tracked vehicles like M60s and 88s. They were never calibrated unlike every other tool in the shops and they always spit out the correct amount of fluids. Our building had 16 drive through bays with 20+ mechanics and another 2 buildings had 11 bays and 14 mechanics between them. Daily usage by mechanics kept the pumps busy.

5 years as maintenance at a mine and daily usage of fluids between me and the Volvo/CAT/JD mechanics that would come and go everyday and not an issue. Whether or not my fellow maintenance guys could program the gun or not and if they actually looked for the correct capacity is another story. One guy programmed 6 gallons for our welding truck, GMC 6.0l, not 6 quarts.

Like you said at the end, check the stick and rock on.
 
I don't like it but I doubt it's a big deal. You have people here telling others one qt extra is good.

Under the hood of my VW it says don't do it on a warning label


Dealers today with my free maintenance overfill the oil and tires as a standard.. the last time I had free maintenance they overfilled my oil and left a mess on my engine cover and left my coolant cap off...

If you keep your shop, next time tell them what they are doing and if they can't get it right you're moving on...

Good luck...
I agree, thank yoú.
 
How can it be overfilled if it's at the full mark but not over the full mark which is what overfilled means.

The 2.4L Mitsubishi does the same thing. It takes 4. something but I couldn't be bothered to micro measure so I dump in the whole 5 in and it's right at the top hole.
Volvo says 7.7 qts but I dump 8 qts in perfectly level.
 
My Corolla takes 4.4 quarts & my Focus takes 4.5 quarts
My shop has filled it with 5 quarts regularly.
Any damage that can be done? The dipstick looks to the fill mark. Engine makes no noise .
Thank you
Some filters hold more oil than others, so there's that.
The dipstick sez it's OK. It's OK. Between the 2 marks is good. All good. Drive that bad-boy!
 
My Corolla takes 4.4 quarts & my Focus takes 4.5 quarts
My shop has filled it with 5 quarts regularly.
Any damage that can be done? The dipstick looks to the fill mark. Engine makes no noise .
Thank you
For your Toyota Corolla, that 4.4 quarts will put it in the middle of your dip stick. 5 quarts will put it to the full mark or just a tick over.
I have a Toyota Tunda and takes 6.6 quarts and if I add that, puts it right at the mid point. I always put in 7 quarts and it sits right at the full mark.

Your Ford Focus is probably the same way. If the dip sticks show full and are not overfilled, then I would leave well enough alone.
 
Juß
I accidentally overfilled our 2017 Sentra the entire time we had it. It was 4.1 quarts, I was using 5.

It wasn't until we got the current '19 that I actually realized I had been overfilling. For the most part, this one has seen 5 quarts too. It's always right at the top of the dipstick, not overfull.
It's always to my p size.
 
If sub-quart overfills destroyed engines, more engines would be destroyed. I get the Wally World low end syn oil changes (QS 0w20). Always shows the correct fill to the tenth of a quart on their receipts, but slightly high on the dipstick. Suspect they're not letting it fully drain cause they like to get them in and out. Used to get me concerned but almost all cars allow for slight overfilling without frothing the oil.
 
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