OK to overfill by .3 Qts?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
9,852
Location
Marshfield , MA
Simpler than trying to save it Camry specs 4.7 qts, 4.4L I have been holding back a pint. Its really closer to 1/2 that, 9.6 oz.
grin2.gif
 
Why don't you check the dipstick instead of blindly relying on the specs. If you let it drain an extra 30 minutes it might not overfill by .3 Qts. anyway.
 
Since those engine like to consume a little bit of oil over the course of an oci it's probably a good thing.
 
That's what I've done all this time, dump in 5 quarts and call it a day.
 
I found the qt oil bottle of previous pour offs. It has almost a qt in it now. It fits down by the windshield washer reservoir I'm changing the SE's oil. It does use a bit of oil between 10K Ocis.
grin2.gif
 
Dump the whole jug in. Won't hurt a thing and I did this always with the 4.5 qt capacity engines of our old Aerostar as well as a couple of Gen 6 Accords.
The 4.5 liter capacity BMW also always gets 5 qts.
I do find it a little amusing that it would be cheaper to buy a jug for the 4 qt capacity two liter in the Accord Hybrid and throw the extra quart away than it would be to buy four quarts, not that I would ever throw out a quart of virgin oil.
 
My Camry specs 4.7 qts. It's a little below the full on the dipstick from the factory. I dump in 5 qts. It hits the full line on the dipstick.

Go figure.
 
Next time your car is parked on level ground, check the dipstick. If it's at the top line, give-or-take a tiny bit, it will be fine.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Since those engine like to consume a little bit of oil over the course of an oci it's probably a good thing.



This ^^^^^
 
OP, dump in the 5 quarts. My Subarus and old Odyssey all take around 4.3-4.5 quarts and got 5. The Subies end up just above the top hole but below the notch, which is just fine.

Originally Posted by atikovi
Copycat


Are you 5?
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Since those engine like to consume a little bit of oil over the course of an oci it's probably a good thing.



This ^^^^^



Yeah it is future planing by Toyota.
 
No way. The Toyota oil capacities are usually optimistic to begin with. In my experience, 0.25 qt less than the published capacity is the correct amount for the newer Toyota's, so 5 quarts would be way too much.

Next time, add 4.5 qt and recheck the oil level 5 min after shut-down. For a 2.5L, this should get you to exactly full.

The key is to always to check the oil level after the engine is warmed up; the oil level rises significantly once the engine is warm.
 
Wish to point out that for some cars, parking on level ground is very important when checking the dipstick. My driveway is roughly on a 12 degree incline. In the Mazda, when parked uphill, the dipstick shows way over the full line. Park downhill and it shows way below the full mark. When I do a OC and put in the exact specified amount of oil then, park on level ground in the garage, the oil level is dead center.

On the Sienna, it shows different readings when uphill vs. downhill and the Matrix is also different from the others...

It all depends on where the dipstick tip sits in the pan relative to the centerline of the block. If you don't believe me, take a glass with some water hold it level and mark the outside. Now hold the glass at different incline/decline angles and image what happens if a dispsick tip sits in the front vs rear of the glass relative to centerline.

Unless you become familiar with your car's behavior there's no way to know how much the oil is off by looking at the dipstick.

Ray
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top