question about my oil levels?

Question

last time I got an oil change the meter that shows how much oil you have was higher than normal, so later I waited til my car was cool and checked the level myself and it was about 4 inches about the 'do not fill past this line' line. Well today I got another oil change and it is still too high! I thought maybe the other place just messed up but if it did that for 2 different places I went to, what is wrong?

meant to say above the line

Answer 1

Service centers are overfilling oil because they can't take the time to do it right. Even my Ford dealer overfilled my oil by about 1 quart. My only answer is to check the oil level when you pick up the car and have them make it right. Hopefully that will send a message to their technicians and shop managers that they need to deal with this problem one way or another.

Answer 2

well one issue could be that you have a very large dent in your oil pan. If you have an older car with a steel and not aluminum pan it could be dented. That would make the oil read high. But you still want to keep the same amount of oil in it. If your car takes 5 quarts then put in 5 and mark the stick where it reads full. If the dent thing is not a possibility then maybe you are not checking it correctly. The car is off correct. Not trying to be a smart butt. I have a lot of customers that have done that they get the oil mixed up with the tranny. Other than that I dont know what to tell you. I can tell you that for sure people are not overfilling the oil on purpose. I own 3 Pennzoil Oil Changes and I can tell you that I pay $2.07 for a quart of BULK oil and even more for bottled. The last thing I want to do is give that away by putting too much oil in a car. What type of car do you have. It is possible that both places are mistaking what size engine you have. But I have always required that the oil be checked and shown to the customer after we run the car to make sure the oil filter gets pressure and does not leak. I could tell you exactly how much oil your car takes if you said what kind it is. And then the next time you go in make sure they put that much in and ask to see the oil afterwards. And make sure to watch them so they dont wipe off the stick or tip it up to make it full. I have caught some of my past employees doing that before.

Answer 3

if you had checked it right after driving, then your working yourself up. The oil will splash its way up the tube naturally. If you let it settle and it still read there then they are clearly over filling it. Get a users manual and check the oil capacity for you specific vehicles engine. If a cars engine is overfilled it increases pressure to extreme, damaging levels. Change the oil level quick, do it yourself if you have to. If you don't you'll be changing more than just oil. You'll be replacing gaskets, sensors, etc.

Answer 4

There's no way it can be 4 inches too high. It's more likely you're scraping oil off the side of the dipstick tube when you check it, making it look like it's too high. It takes a special touch on some of those dipsticks to pull them out without getting oil from the tube on them.
Also, it reads way high if you just pull it out after the engine is running and look at it. You have to wipe it off, stick it back in and look at it to get a good reading.

Answer 5

Most owner manuals will, in the back, have a section that shows how many quarts/pints the crankcase can/should hold. Therefore, thats how many quarts/pints the technician should be putting back into your engine. My only guess is that he/she is not fully draining your crankcase of oil, or they are draining it when the engine is cold. I hate those "speedy oil changes". I'd rather it be done right, than quick.

Answer 6

Are you on level ground? If so, have whoever did the change drain the excess out. You NEVER want to run over that full mark, NEVER. The rule is 'a quart under is always better then a half pint (or any amount) over.