Dealer overfilled oil

[fifteenwindow]

The oil on my dipstick was about half an inch above the full dot. Today I drained out oil until the level was right at the full mark on the dipstick. I saved the oil in a used plastic water bottle, in case I took out too much. I drained out about 6 ounces. FYI

[cookiemonster]

Donate your extra oil to your nearest Spark owner

[R01k]

Donate your extra oil to your nearest Spark owner

Right!?

[81.Chevette]

I came to this forum for this problem. Dealer offered me a free oil change, so I went for it. After, I just checked the oil every once in a while to make sure I still had oil, and it didn't look too foul. It took me about 2000 miles to notice that it was overfilled. Judging by the dipstick, I guessed it was a quart (!!!) overfilled. At least, I assume the "add" mark is 1qt low like on most cars, and the oil level was almost the same distance above the full mark as the distance between full and add.
Since my dealer is about a 2-hour trip from my house, I just decided to pay for an oil change. I was extremely clear that this car does NOT take 4qt of oil, but approximately 3L. Please, I asked the hillbilly kid, please don't overfill my car with oil. We complete the transaction, and I watch this kid MEASURE the oil when he puts it in the car. He carefully starts the car and checks the dipstick. Great, I think. So, imagine my surprise when I check it the next day, and the dipstick reads EXACTLY the same as before.
WTF? Is it possible that my dipstick is wrong? Do I have a neighborhood prankster? Oil fairies living under my hood? I can't imagine that I'm a full quart overfilled like I thought I was, as I watched this kid measure the oil. I can believe that he put a little too much in, but not that much. It also boggles my mind that the oil level is exactly the same as after the dealership changed it.

Donate your extra oil to your nearest Spark owner

Hah. The wife parks her Spark right next to my Mitsu. Maybe I should have her siphon it out.

[cookiemonster]

Oil is still stuck on all the engine parts, so when you park the car overnight, most of it drips back down into the oilpan. So it's possible that the mechanic put in 3qts, but did not account for the oil on the engine parts. When I change oil, I put in enough to get to the center of the two marks on the dipstick - the next morning, I top off to get to the top mark.

[81.Chevette]

Oil is still stuck on all the engine parts, so when you park the car overnight, most of it drips back down into the oilpan. So it's possible that the mechanic put in 3qts, but did not account for the oil on the engine parts. When I change oil, I put in enough to get to the center of the two marks on the dipstick - the next morning, I top off to get to the top mark.

That's a pretty good idea, actually. If I start doing my own oil changes, I'll try that.

I think I figured out what happened, anyway. I bet both the quick-change monkey and the dealership forgot to subtract the amount of oil they added to the filter from the total oil.

[sunsetjim]

All you have to do is look in the owner's manual...duh

[m4v3r1ck]

hahahahaha .... but indeed best time to measure the oil is when the car has stopped for overnight.

[Cani Lupine]

Since it's not possible to keep every car overnight at oil change places, we just fill to full and you're good to go. Being just over the line isn't going to hurt anything.

[81.Chevette]

Since it's not possible to keep every car overnight at oil change places, we just fill to full and you're good to go. Being just over the line isn't going to hurt anything.

Just over the line, sure. Half inch over the line? Not so much.