Ford dealer over filled oil🔥

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted by KneeGrinder
Some decade or so ago when GM had so many complaints of their gas engines burning too much oil, the dealer would purposely over fill the crankcase by a quart and put seal tape on the dipstick. They would tell the customer to drive so many miles, 1000, 2000, bring back to the dealer and they will check it while you watch. I don't think they could legally void your warranty if you did brake the tape and check the oil level, but more than 99% were too timid to pull the dip stick.A few of the smarter customers went home, drained the oil, measured the volume, and poured it back in. That's how it was widely proved that GM knew they had oil burners and were over filling. I believe it was mostly the 4.8L, 5.3L, and the 8.1L.
Interesting, never heard of that one.
Recently Hyundai and Kia gave owners a new dipstick to get the surface of the oil closer to the crankshaft.
Originally Posted by ebr1190rx
This is actually a second recall. The first one they just plugged a computer into the obd port and listened to the knock sensor. If it was good they stuck an orange dipstick in the place of the yellow one and sent you on the way. A letter came later as above for a longer warranty. If it was bad they offered short block or highly devalued buyback. This one is for the same issue but wont know till approval and such till may. Mine seems to be ok except it doesnt seem to hold 6th gear lockup on hills like it used to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4MndzWZAqc

Again, as long as there is not foaming, no bubbles forming, it's fine to have some extra oil. For the OP's engine, 1 more quart out of 6 quarts likely is not a problem. Easy to check for bubbles too.

 

[SilverSnake]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by SilverSnake
Exactly. These discussions always amaze me. Most dipsticks have a statement on them that says "Do Not Overfill." They do not say "don't overfill by more that 1/2 quart' or "don't worry about overfilling unless the oil foams" or "overfilling is OK unless there is a problem." What is so hard to understand about this? The oil level should be between the add and full mark at all times.


Not entirely true statements, you've obviously never owned an EJ25. There is an "Lower Level" hole, an "Upper Level" hole, and a "Full Hot" notch in the dipstick. Literally anywhere between the lower hole and upper notch is OK, and magically, the upper notch also corresponds to 1/2 quart above the full mark.


You are correct. Never owned an EJ25 and never will. Your own explanation and the attachment clarify what the upper notch is for. If the engine is hot it means that the oil level shows higher due to thermal expansion. If the oil level was on the upper notch when the engine is cold then it is overfilled by 1/2 quart. We are not talking about situations where the oil is at the correct level. We are talking about engines that are overfilled. I will bet that your OM states somewhere not to overfill the engine oil. The dipstick explanation is designed to make sure you don't think it is overfilled when checked hott.

 

[BrocLuno]

Whether or not it's a problem depends on how much vertical space there is between the sump full and the crankshaft when spinning... If they are close, could be a problem as it'll aerate the oil. If there is room and you do not run it much above 1/2 the RPM range, should not be an issue.

 

[SnowDrifter]

It's likely fine

If you want to be certain, drive the car around, then pull the dipstick and see if the oil is foaming. If it's not, you're fine

2 trains of thought for erring on the side of overfill:

1. Giving the customer what they paid for. Consider your average joe if they paid for an oil change, checked it, and found it was halfway between the hash marks

2. You have a fair bit of fudge room with overfilling. Most customers don't know how to pop the hood let alone check the oil. They can't be arsed to do anything unless the car tells them to do it, and even then, it's a struggle. It's cheap protection from liability in the event the vehicle burns oil

 

[oilpsi2high]

Always check the dealer's work before leaving their lot if possible.

 

[Hall]

Going slightly off-topic, in some Nissan/Infiniti forums, there are people who argue about the markings or meanings on Nissan dipsticks. They have an "H" and and "L" and insist it must be filled up to the "H" mark. Maybe it's just silly, ole me, but when I see "H" (on the high or upper side) and "L" (on the low side), my first thought is those stand for "High" and "Low". In that case, to me, the ideal level would be right in the middle of the two marks.

 

[Onug]

Four pages of replies and no one has suggested excessive fuel dilution yet. Interesting.

So we have poorly marked dip stick that may not be accurate above the hash marks, known slow-to-drain conditions and possibly fuel dilution. Seems feasible the OP got 6qts of new oil and other problems exist

 

[Hall]

Or, everything, including the OP's vehicle, are perfectly fine.

 

[askani79705]

Start/Stop engines take 20 - 25 mins to drain completely. He didn't wait.

 

[SilverSnake]

Originally Posted by askani79705
Start/Stop engines take 20 - 25 mins to drain completely. He didn't wait.


Interesting. Where did you get this information? Could you post a link or links please?

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by PWMDMD
The difference between the top and bottom of the hash mark on the dip stick is one quart

Where is that documented ? Does it apply to ALL vehicles ? I've never seen it referenced in any owner's manual and I read them, front to back, for vehicles that we own.
It's often referenced in owner's manuals. Mine, for example, says the distance between marks corresponds to 1.5 liters or 1.6 quarts.

Extrapolating to estimate the amount of an overfill is dubious, because the relationship of quantity to height of the level is not linear.

 

[Ablebody]

The only thing I would ever suggest someone take their ride to the dealership for is (assuimng they can't or won't do it themselves) an atf flush or change.
So many issues with lube places killing transmissions.
NTB has killed several including my sister's by using the wrong fluid or overfilling it. Otherwise I'd tell them to stay away from the money grubbing dealers.

 

[Onug]

I have no idea why a start/stop function would have anything to do with drain times. As an owner of a 1st gen Ecoboost (not start/stop), I can attest it takes a long time to drain. Granted, I have a Fumoto valve in and that's smaller than the oil drain hole so there is some restriction there. But I do drive the truck for 10-20 minutes before draining, so the oil is nice and hot. I've never timed it, but my guess is I give it at least 30 minutes to finish draining.

To be fair, what we need to know is how long it takes to get "most" of the oil out. Maybe it only takes 5min to get 5.9qts out. If that's the case, then lube shops and stealerships going "too fast" shouldn't have an issue like what the OP mentioned. But if you've got a big, flat bottom to your sump, then it's feasible the last quart can take longer to drain.

I know it's possible the dealership overfilled the engine, but I bet there's another reason. Oil is money, so I don't see how even the stupidest tech couldn't count empty bottles and realize he/she's already got 6qts loaded. I've lost track how many times I've seen a post (here or on Ford forums) about "Um, my Ecoboost is making oil?! It's very high on the dip stick...". Ford's dip sticks are horrible to read and if the motor is having fuel dilution then up goes the volume.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted by Rolla07
6 quart capacity seems hard to mess up with single quart bottles...


It isnt unusual for oil to be sold in 1 litre bottles. One of our cars takes 6 quarts exactly but with litres bottles I will use all 6 litre bottles which will result in about 300 mls too much.

 

[askani79705]

My Ford service guy said it keeps the oil that long to prevent start up wear. Sticker says 15 mins but my experience is that it's 20 - 25 when I change it myself.

 

[madeej11]

Obviously over filling isn't a good thing. If my little 1.5 four banger that takes 3.9 qts. and it's a quart over or more than 25% of total capacity then I'd say it's a problem. On a 6-8 qt. sump maybe not so much. By the way, my owners manual does indicate the amount of oil needed to bring the level to the full mark from the low or add mark. I make it a point to maintain the level just under full. No worries though, doesn't consume any oil at all.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Originally Posted by Onug
Four pages of replies and no one has suggested excessive fuel dilution yet. Interesting.


OP just said he went to the dealer a couple months ago, then said it was overfilled by a quart. No mention about how long it actually took him to discover the mistake. Without knowing this crucial fact, any guess about excessive fuel dilution as a possible cause would be haphazard. Besides, I don't think we've seen too many reports of EB engines adding much to the dipstick level, even those with fuel >5%.

 

[dbvettez061]

It's not ‘dealer bashing'. I assumed they would know how to do a simple oil change on a 50000 vehicle.
I have had over 50 vehicles in my life, and it's very rare to have a dealer do it. I have a couple (free)
Changes to come , and yes I will check before I leave the dealership.
I'm not bashing anyone buddy, I'm just stating the facts.

 

[SatinSilver]

With the 2012 Camry the oil level is spot on the full mark. The 05 Matrix is a bit different where they fill it .25 quart above the full line. Come to find out there's an updated dipstick that allows an extra .25 quart of oil. I wondered about this for awhile but now it makes sense.

 

[MNgopher]

Didn't catch which engine the OP has, but in my truck with the 2.7 Ecoboost (same as the edmunds article linked to earlier in the thread), I was the recipient of one of those overfill oil changes. I went in for my oil change, and literally 12 minutes later, the guy comes back out and says your truck is done. I looked at my watch and said "pull it out, and I'll have you check the oil level in 15 minutes." We did, and it was way, way over the top of the full mark. Needless to say, they redid their work.

Point being, Ford says to wait 15 minutes to check the oil level - in 12 minutes, there was no way to drain all the oil (I find it takes about 20 when I do my own on this truck), refill, and wait 15 minutes again to check the level after filling. I make a point of telling them when I go in to take the time necessary to do it correctly and I understand it may take an hour, not 10 minutes. I've had no problems since.