too little oil found after oil change

[Sn0wman]

Thursday night I changed the oil in my 2012 Mustang GT for the first time since I have owned it. It takes 8 quarts and I was all ready to catch oil in my first pan (about 5-6 qt capacity), then shove another pan in to catch the remaining. Trouble is it only emptied out about 4.5 quarts. I removed the oil filter and some more came out there. I poured all the used oil into a 5 qt oil jug and filled just a bit lower than the 5 quarts line. Hmmm.

So I bought the car used end of April '17 with about 11,800 miles. It was certified pre-owned so they're supposed to change the oil and what not. So far it has run fine, no issues. My guess is, at the car's last oil change at the dealer where I bought it (and I'm assuming they did it) the guy didn't realize a V8 mustang takes 8 quarts and just dumped in the normal 5 quarts which seems about average for most cars. Hard to believe engine could have used up 3 quarts of oil. I checked the oil a couple times over the past few months but never got a good reading. It always seemed like the oil is all up and down the dipstick. Dipstick kind of comes out of the side of the engine. Figured it was fine.

I poured in 8 quarts (Ford recommended Motorcraft 5W20 synthetic blend and used Motorcraft filter), check the dipstick, looked good (not so steaky on dipstick), then took it for a spin. Car now has 20,500 miles. Engine oil change interval reminder was at 11%. I noticed the oil pressure gauge a little higher than normal.

So I drove about 8700 miles in 10 months with 5ish out of 8 quarts of oil. Wondering if I have internal engine problems. My used oil is dark brown, nothing seems out of the ordinary visually. I'm a little bummed out. Was going to get oil tested. What do you think.

 

[barkingspider]

Check the oil level every time you fill up w gas. I don’t think you did any damage

 

[Snagglefoot]

Consider how many square inches the area of the oil pan is and you could probably convince yourself the oil level was still above the oil pump pickup screen. A lot of the oil change guys are not used to 8 quart capacities so I’ll bet the kid in the pit threw in 5 quarts. I’m assuming you still had oil pressure, so you’ll be OK.

 

[Planb]

I think you should check the oil. You have already owned the car for almost a year, and you think they might have shorted you on oil when it was changed in April 2017? I think you should have checked the oil in April 2017 and once and a while after that. Good luck with vehicle owenership.

 

[incognito_2u]

Sounds messed up,

but what's done is done...… Now that you have the Oil up to the proper level, continue to check the Oil at each gas stop and monitor it for loss...….like others have said, there should be no damage to the vehicle.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: Planb
I think you should check the oil. You have already owned the car for almost a year, and you think they might have shorted you on oil when it was changed in April 2017? I think you should have checked the oil in April 2017 and once and a while after that. Good luck with vehicle owenership.


check your oil!!! Its not uncommon for the coyote engines to use oil. Im betting the right amount was put in 10k miles ago. It probably used 3 quarts in 10k miles. Certainly not uncommon for a coyote engine. All combustion engines use some oil. Some more than others.

 

[montero1]

What's done is done. If you saw no oil light, sleep easy.

 

[parshisa]

40% less oil in the sump for almosta year and probably ok? I personally would be greatly concerned. There definitely was a lack of heat transfer due to resuced oil flow (which likely was the case sincw you saw reduced oil pressure). I guess, engine should still he covered under warranty so keep an eye on any abnormal noises/ticks/knocks it may develop. And probably do the UOA for the current fill at some point

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: parshisa
40% less oil in the sump for almosta year and probably ok? I personally would be greatly concerned. There definitely was a lack of heat transfer due to resuced oil flow (which likely was the case sincw you saw reduced oil pressure). I guess, engine should still he covered under warranty so keep an eye on any abnormal noises/ticks/knocks it may develop. And probably do the UOA for the current fill at some point


Where did he say he saw reduced pressure? Sounds like he tried to check also, at least towards the end.

This engine has an oil cooler, no? I'd be kinda surprised if it didn't have one, some sort of oil to coolant heat exchanger. Or IOW, I suspect oil temps were probably well controlled despite a loss of cooling in the sump.

OP: I usually check my oil level after it's been sitting for hours. Try it in the morning, see if that helps with reading. Furthermore: if concerned, just do a change after 5k, see what comes out. if 8 quarts comes out, go back to 10k OCI's and sleep well. If 6.5 comes out, then count on having to add top-off oil--and sleep well--while doing 10k OCI's.

 

[Sn0wman]

Thank you all for your input. The oil pressure gauge showed maybe a tick below half since I owned it. Again I thought that was normal while owning the car. It is above half now with the full 8 quarts. Never saw any kind of oil warning light. As I mentioned, the car's computer still showed 11% oil life. Does it in anyway measure quantity of oil? I'm guessing not.

I didn't drive the car hard. Highway and city, commuting to work. Did open it up once in awhile but not like banging on the rev limiter.

Thanks to donnyj08 for pointing out the coyote oil consumption issue, I'll read into that.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: Sn0wman
Thursday night I changed the oil in my 2012 Mustang GT for the first time since I have owned it. It takes 8 quarts and I was all ready to catch oil in my first pan (about 5-6 qt capacity), then shove another pan in to catch the remaining. Trouble is it only emptied out about 4.5 quarts. I removed the oil filter and some more came out there. I poured all the used oil into a 5 qt oil jug and filled just a bit lower than the 5 quarts line. Hmmm.

So I bought the car used end of April '17 with about 11,800 miles. It was certified pre-owned so they're supposed to change the oil and what not. So far it has run fine, no issues. My guess is, at the car's last oil change at the dealer where I bought it (and I'm assuming they did it) the guy didn't realize a V8 mustang takes 8 quarts and just dumped in the normal 5 quarts which seems about average for most cars. Hard to believe engine could have used up 3 quarts of oil. I checked the oil a couple times over the past few months but never got a good reading. It always seemed like the oil is all up and down the dipstick. Dipstick kind of comes out of the side of the engine. Figured it was fine.

I poured in 8 quarts (Ford recommended Motorcraft 5W20 synthetic blend and used Motorcraft filter), check the dipstick, looked good (not so steaky on dipstick), then took it for a spin. Car now has 20,500 miles. Engine oil change interval reminder was at 11%. I noticed the oil pressure gauge a little higher than normal.

So I drove about 8700 miles in 10 months with 5ish out of 8 quarts of oil. Wondering if I have internal engine problems. My used oil is dark brown, nothing seems out of the ordinary visually. I'm a little bummed out. Was going to get oil tested. What do you think.


Dude! Check your oil level once in a while.
Do it on level ground and while the engine has not been run and the oil is cold.

Check your tire air pressures also. They may look full of air and still need 10-20lbs of air.

 

[thunderfog]

I echo the sentiments about checking it cold. And make the check when you pull it the first time. Don't wipe it and then reinsert and then take the measurement, either. My 4Runner is the same way, with a hard-to-read dipstick.

 

[bigjl]

I initially missed the bit where the OP checked the oil.

I prefer to check the oil when engine is cold unless the manufacturer specifically says otherwise.

Some cars are indeed difficult to check with the oil doing as the OP has said, i find thst issue less of an issue with cold oil.

The oil level on the Smart (0.9 engine) was like that and it took a few attempts to get a good reading.

It is also a possibility that there is some oil still in the sump if the car was not perfectly level and that it has used a bit in the last year.

As others have said I doubt any harm has been done as the oil pressure light has never came on.

 

[Nick1994]

You never checked the oil for 10 months?

 

[Sn0wman]

Yes I did check the oil as I mentioned in original post. Yes on level ground and yes when cold. My goal is to check once a month, I have 4 cars, so I am concerned about maintenance. Maybe I'll start a log book and check after fuel fillups as people have suggested. I check tire pressure about monthly as well. Perhaps I should have taken further time to examine the dipstick but as I mentioned it came out streaky each time and didn't get a good read. I guess lesson learned there. I do my own oil changes 90% of the time. Also changed air and cabin filters with this oil change. While this situation may be seen as negligence, I did make attempts to check. But this is the situation I am in.

 

[supton]

'tis ok. I suffer from SAD and when it "broke" I realized that I hadn't checked tire pressure in almost two months. Sure enough, one tire was at 15psi, and has the wear to prove it.

I still don't think anything was impacted by being low. It has a large capacity for when it is being worked. Doesn't sound like you're using it to its utmost.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: Sn0wman
Hard to believe engine could have used up 3 quarts of oil.


What's even HARDER to believe is that you've *never* pulled the dipstick the entire time you have owned this car?!?!!?!?!

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: parshisa
40% less oil in the sump for almost a year and probably ok? I personally would be greatly concerned.


LOTS and LOTS of engines have only a 4 or 5 quart sump capacity, and last many 100,000 of thousands of miles.

It's the people that drive until the oil light comes on & then add 4-5 full quarts that really irk me.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My friend's 96 GT would use an entire sump's worth of oil within 3000 miles. I'm not sure how the current V8's are,but his 4.6 used oil like it was going out of style. I'd check your oil once a week at least to see if it's using any.

 

[Sn0wman]

If you get a chance, please reread my posts where I explain that I did check oil level but had difficulty with oil streaked on the dipstick to get a good reading. Having read more about the Coyote V8 oil consumption issue, that is also a possibility. I just went out and checked the dipstick again. It is on flat level ground in my garage and is cold, has not been started up since Thursday actually. The oil is streaked up and down the dipstick, however, the oil looks thickest up to the top of the hatched area, so that seems like full 8 quarts.