I recently brought my own oil (pennzoil platinum 5w-30) to the dealership for an oil change and they used all 4 quarts. The dipstick reading shows it being ~ 0.5 quarts over the fill line, which makes sense because the capacity is 3.48 with a filter. Is this a problem or can I let it slide.

I don't personally see it as being a problem but I wouldnt drive the car to hard, if you want for peace of mind you can always go to the local parts store and buy a siphon pump you can stick in the dipstick tube and siphon a bit out.

What are your personal qualifications for advising on oil fill levels?

Get under your car with a wrench and drain out a pint of oil from the oil pan drain plug.

What kind of smart reply is that? I hope you are not serious! I guess you are an ASE Certified Master Tech?

well if it were me i would take it back to the dealership to deal with. it their fault so they should fix it.

I don't see it as being the end of the world for half a quart, but hey - I'm no master tech either! :P Of course, you really don't want it too full. If it concerns you, drain some out or have the dealer do it for you.

Dealers have had a habit of overfilling mine by about 1/2 qt if I bring my own oil. They have overfilled it by more if they use their own! At least when using mine they're limited to what extent they can overfill. :grin:

I had a dealer dump ~5 qts in mine one time when they were using their own oil. That could probably get a little foamy in the crankcase if you ran it too long like that. :P I didn't realize it until several hundred miles later and I then brought it back in to have them drain the excess.

This post has been edited by hoosieraccent: Mar 12 2008, 01:18 AM

Enough sniping at each other. No personal attacks please.

The concern is that your oil level is too ful, will blow seals from high oil pressure or get 'frothy from the crankshaft 'whipping' air into the oil.

Not a problem for a pint of oil over full in an Accent. You are within the acceptable factory range for oil level.

You need more than a quart overfull to cause frothing or blown seals from high oil pressure.

Byron

good to know, thank you sir

Not to mention you will get a oil light or check engien light come on before any damage is done.

Well I am a Nissan master tech. No it wont do any kind of damage. If it was a quart or more over i would definitely drain some out but .5 quarts over wont hurt your engine at all. What it is is laziness on the part of the tech that did the oil change. instead of filling it with 3.5 starting it up to build oil pressure and then topping it off, he decided to just be lazy and throw 4 qts in there. Stuff like that happens pretty often but only because of some lazy techs. I wouldnt worry about it. just mention it next time you take it in to the service advisor. He will probably make a note to put in the correct amount of oil on the R.O.

What's it with you people ?

0.5 of a Quart ....... Look its a "Pint"

I'd change my own oil from now on if that's the way they want to behave..... Did they replace the filter ? did they bother to replace the copper "O" ring on the sump...... All these little items are a lot more complex than just stopping pouring :innocent:

You don't need to be a master tech of any description to RTFM :bwekk:

Over on a Mazda forum I visit, someone totally forgot to drain the oil for their oil change. They simply replaced the filter and added another 4 quarts on top of the 4 already in there.
Now that made a mess for them.

I worry bout some people ;)

Thanks for the info. I'll probably just save myself the headache , and expense, next time and do it myself.

Get yerself one of these

(IMG:http://quickoildrainvalve.com/images/valve2.jpg)

Rarther than a plug in your sump, you replace it with a valve....... :)
As soon as oil change time comes, you just slide under your wifes favorite roasting tin open the valve & out comes the oil.

Its all a spring loaded mechanism & properly made, so it won't leak or fall off or get stuck..... Makes changing the oil really easy :thumbsup:

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

(I have these on my engine & gearbox-auto .... Lifes easy)

Hmmm
How long have you had it?
And what kind of environment do you live in?

I've had the motor oil one 18 Months & the ATF one about 6 weeks now

I live in the UK ...... So my car is quite used to getting wet, muddy, salted, sworn at ;)

:clap:

I don't know too much about the U.K. other than that they have some cool cars and the greatest show ever (top gear) and great British comedy.

Anyway, how cold does it get there?

Pends really, where I am you get -9˚C in winter ...... However the higher climbs get -15˚C or so......... Cold doesn't do any harm ...... Its the Salt & assorted chem sprays that you get, that really gives you headaches :thumbsup:

Why do you ask ?