I took my 1999 Altima in for an oil/filter change. Now my dipstick is showing an overfill. The oil is at the red line pictured below.



The manual says the oil capacity is about 3.5 quarts with filter. Dang, judging from the dipstick, it looks like they put in 5 quarts! Maybe it's not that much, I really don't know. Does anyone have an idea how much I'm overfilled? Will my car be okay, or should I go back to the shop and tell them to drain some oil out? I think they are closed today.

That's WAY overfilled. Demand them redo the oil change.

Overfilled oil is not something to be taken lightly.

That's more than a bit in my book as well.

Follow LT's advice. They could probably just r&r the oil filter (may still be overfilled!)

You don't want to overfill those engines that far. If you are capable, loosen the filter and let some drain out into a pan... Then tighten back up and start the vehicle to refill and then drain some more again using this same method. This should get you to the right level after about 2 times. Easiest way without making a huge mess.

Then call the place and raise heck!

The few oil changes I've had others do always resulted in overfill.

Yeah, it looks way high, but then again, maybe it's only over by half a quart or so. Here's a thread I just found about the same problem:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1419175&page=1

Does anyway have an Altima or another Nissan model with a similar dipstick?

Service station did the same to my daughter's Civic and it looked very high. However, on the Civic from the bottom to the top of the safe area on dipstick is only 1/2 qt. It too looked about twice as high (1/2qt)as it should be. I brought the problem here (BITOG) and most said not to worry.

I just loosened the drain plug some and let the oil drip out to a level I was more comfortable with. You could very easily do the same without much effort. Obviously, you don't want let the plug fall out of your fingers.

Would not lose sleep over it looks like they filed with 4qt insted of 3.5qt. Was it checked when hot just after running or cold over night many will look high over night cold.

Hey sayjac, what a coincidence. Yours is the thread I posted a link to! I hope my dipstick's high-low range is the same as the Civic. How did you find out that it was only a 1/2 quart difference?

Good advice, but I can't get under the car and don't have ramps, no tools anyway. The shop is closed today too.

Yes, I'm hoping they just put in 4 quarts and not 5! The sign at the shop says "Up to 5 quarts." I checked the oil hot and cold and it looked to be at about the same level.

If you check the dipstick immediately after shutting the engine down and you don't see tiny bubbles on the dipstick, then you're fine, as that means the oil level isn't high enough to aerate the oil, therefore the crank is not sloshing through the oil.

As I've done most of the OC's myself, from adding ~3 qts. oil and taking it down off the racks before filling it to the top of safe on level ground, got a good idea from bottom to top of safe. Confirmed again the day I drained ~12 oz.

Funny coincidence you got my thread, you're better with search feature than me. As said above, IMO you'll likely be OK till you take it back. That's if you can't find a wrench and have enough room to slide under on some cardboard.

They only put in 4 quarts. My 1998 Altima was the same way, the dip stick reads wonky. For some reason, it is not linear in reading. To go from the lower hash marks to the top of the has area takes about .75 quarts. If you go from the "L" to the top of the hashed area is one full quart. As I have found out over the years, most dip sticks only give an approximate reading. The Altima set up is also very picky on how level the surface is, even a slight forward incline will make it read high.

You can remove some if you want, but it is really not that over filled. And the official capacity is 4 quarts with filter change, and 3.5 without filter change. 4 quarts with filter always showed high on the dip stick, usually just at the bend you are showing in the picture.

My Nissan holds 4 3/8 according to the fsm. There`s a guy who`s been working on Nissan Z`s since the late 60s (when they first came out) and that`s all he works on is Nissan Z`s and Infinity G`s. He told me if I regularly drive hard,or extended high speeds,I can use an even 5 quarts and would actually be better for the engine. I just use an even 4.5