New Scion xA, Oil smells like gas and is over full.

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Grateful111

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Aug 12, 2006
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I just picked up a new Scion xA this past weekend and decided to check the oil just now and my wife and I seem to think it smells like a combination of oil, gas and diesel, almost like paint thinner. I guess the thing that has me worried just as much is that it's about 1/4" over the full mark. Possibly gas getting into the oil? I've been changing my own oil for almost 30 years and I've never smelled anything quite like it. I even got a sample out of my wifes car for her to compare, it has about 500 miles on it's change with Havoline 5W-30. I've been using Havoline for over 20 years so it could be our noses. Does Toyota use some weird smelling oil at the factory? I did a search and found only a slightly similar post like this. Should worry about this, take to the dealer or an independent guy and see what he thinks? I have 227K miles on my old '91 Ford Explorer and it's still running strong so I must be doing something right as far as maintenance. This is my first foreign car since a used '66 VW.

Manual says my engine is a 1NZ-FE
 
Well, if it's new, then take it back to the dealership!
We can't tell how it smells from here, so take it back ASAP.

Scott

PS - congrat's on the new car, and
welcome.gif
!!!
 
FWIW, the oil in my '00 VW GTI 1.8T always smells strongly of gas, but used oil analysis has consistently shown the fuel concentration in the oil is 1% or less. I guess some cars are just funny this way.

Since your car is new, though, it might be worth having the dealer take a look at it, just for your piece of mind.
 
Is the car like brand new right off the showroom floor or has it been on the dealer's lot for a while? If the latter is the case and the dealer has idled it a bunch, then it might just need a good long drive on the highway to clear things up. But like the others have said, get the dealer to check it over, and don't worry about the oil being 1/4 inch over full, I highly doubt that alone would cause any trouble for your new Toyot..uh, I mean Scion.
 
From what I understood they had only had it a few days and it was inspected this August. It had 5 miles on it when I test drove it. I've already put almost 400 miles on it since Friday. I can't keep my wife out of it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Grateful111:
I just picked up a new Scion xA this past weekend and decided to check the oil just now and my wife and I seem to think it smells like a combination of oil, gas and diesel, almost like paint thinner. I guess the thing that has me worried just as much is that it's about 1/4" over the full mark. Possibly gas getting into the oil? I've been changing my own oil for almost 30 years and I've never smelled anything quite like it. I even got a sample out of my wifes car for her to compare, it has about 500 miles on it's change with Havoline 5W-30. I've been using Havoline for over 20 years so it could be our noses. Does Toyota use some weird smelling oil at the factory? I did a search and found only a slightly similar post like this. Should worry about this, take to the dealer or an independent guy and see what he thinks? I have 227K miles on my old '91 Ford Explorer and it's still running strong so I must be doing something right as far as maintenance. This is my first foreign car since a used '66 VW.

Manual says my engine is a 1NZ-FE
Click to expand...
Could be the braking in process since the pistons havent really seated yet. Drive it for awhile since the warrenty is fresh and if something happens just take it back in.
 
I never really thought about that it sounds very possible, some gas getting by the rings. I think I'll call the service manager at the dealer and see what he says. It's a very large and reputable dealer.
 
They may have moved it around the lot a bunch of times, and each time a bit more gas got into the oil. But 400 miles of driving should have cleared all that out.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Grateful111:
I just picked up a new Scion xA this past weekend and decided to check the oil just now and my wife and I seem to think it smells like a combination of oil, gas and diesel, almost like paint thinner.
Click to expand...
It's probably the factory 5W-20 that smells like paint thinner. Not much difference between the two.
tongue.gif
 
See if you can light what is in the dipstick with a match. If can be easily ignited, do not drive, have it towed to the dealer as there is enough fuel dilution to ruin bearings. I did this in a Ford van that had a fuel pump dump fuel into the oil.
 
Well I took it in today, I was off work yesterday no need in driving 40 miles just to take it in it's only about 8 miles from where I work, and they said the color looked fine, texture felt fine and the smell was typical of the factory oil from Japan. So I guess I'll take their word for it but I think I'm going to change it this weekend, take a sample and send it in somewhere for a test. I'm planning on this car carrying my until retirement about 14 years from now. I drive about 16.5k/year to work and that comes to about 224K miles.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Grateful111:
they said the color looked fine, texture felt fine and the smell was typical of the factory oil from Japan.
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Big shock there.
rolleyes.gif


quote:
So I guess I'll take their word for it
Click to expand...
Bad idea.
nono.gif
Dealers are notorious for saying "we can't find anything" to weasel out of warranty work.

quote:
but I think I'm going to change it this weekend, take a sample and send it in somewhere for a test.
Click to expand...
Now you're talkin'! Good luck & keep us posted.
cheers.gif
 
What kind of fuel mileage is the car getting? If it is really bad (like in the teens) I'd have to wonder about that. But if it's what one would expect from a brand new econo box, I'd go with your plan for a weekend oil change and monitor the thing to see what happens. It's probably OK. Keep in touch ! DV
 
Actually that's about the response I figured I'd get out of them. I haven't put gas in it yet. I've got close to 600 miles on it already, it only holds 11.9 but from what I've read about the most you can get in it is 10. They filled it up twice at the dealer because their computer system crashed twice and we had to go back twice to get all the paperwork and tag. So I bummed another tank of gas and two Scion hats off of them. How much they filled it up is anybody's guess. I'm going to put gas in it tomorrow and check it next week. If it has bearing damage I doubt if it last 60K which is what the drivetrain warranty has.
 
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