Went in for an oil change the other day. Brought my own oil and filter just needed them to basically drain and fill. Pretty hard to mess up right?

Well I hand the mechanic a full jug of oil (Castrol Edge Extended - capacity 4.4L) and the filter.
He drains the oil and replaces the filter (I hope). Then pours in the jug. He comes back and says I'm down a liter, I say it takes 4.9L, the jug is 4.4 so it should only need half a liter.

I have another opened jug thats about 3/4 full that I use for top ups. In retrospect I should have just said "don't worry about it I'll top it up" and driven away with just the 4.4 in the engine, but I hand him the other jug, he tells me to get in the car to get ready to start it up.

Well he must have dumped in a crap load of oil, he hands me back the jug which feels very light and tells me to start it, he them immediately says shut it down and shows me the dipstick. I glance at it but his thumb is on top of the H anyway.

I drove it home about 15 mins and check the dipstick. As suspected it's way above the high mark, in fact it's all the way to the top side of the bend on the dipstick, at least an entire quart over.

My solution was to get a 1/4 inch air hose and siphon some out through the dipstick opening. After about 30 mins I was able to get roughly half a quart out so now best I can figure it's still 0.5 liters high or so. Car seems to run fine although the idle on initial cold startup this morning was about 150-200rpm lower than normal.

Is it ok to drive like this or should I get it right down to the H mark?

Lessons: don't stand for a mechanic that's lazy and careless, push back if you need to, or better yet do it yourself if you can.

 

No, it's not ok to drive it like that.

Why don't you just get under the car, drain the oil into a clean container and refill it?

 

Coincidence. Oil level will not impact the idle speed.

 

Total coincidence. It's a wet sump system and a teeny tiny bit over filled won't kill it.

 

Go to an auto parts store, Harbor Freight, etc and get a "fluid pump" (cost less than $10, hand-operated and it 'draws' fluid out). You can extract sufficient oil in a couple of strokes vs a half-hour of work to get out some oil.

 

Well he did put the drain plug back so he gets a few points for that. Did he actually tighten it?

This is exactly why I only trust the dealer to change my oil. They do a 100 point free inspection, wash and vacuum the car and allow me to enjoy their snacks while I watch their large flat screen TV

Doesn't cost that much more and occasionally receive discount or free coupons in the mail.

Telcoman

 

All "newer" vehicles idle high until the engine reaches a certain operating temperature. A mere .5 quart too much will be fine in the car. If you have a rev-up, there's a good chance the oil level will be normal in a couple of weeks anyways.

 

By "newer", you mean any car built in the last 40 years ? All cars, for as long as I can remember, idle higher when cold.

In the OP's case though, it's idling LOWER than normal, not higher.

 

qft

 

Thanks for the replies, will definitely try to get that pump.

This morning the cold start up idle went back to normal hitting 2000rpm briefly before quickly dropping. When the engine is warm there are no issues.

I had thought the excess oil caused extra drag on the crank until it warmed sufficiently but it could also be my TBs are dirty and need a cleaning.

 

Drag on the crank ? Nope.... Worst case, and don't overthink this, is if the oil level is soooooo high that the engine crank reaches the oil, it can splash it, churn it, etc, which can cause bubbles (air). Hydraulic pumps (in this case, the engine oil pump) do NOT like air in the fluid they're trying to pump. It causes cavitation.

The amount of oil that's overfilled is really probably nothing to worry about. I take it you're not able to do oil changes, get under the car, etc ? If you are able to, one thing you could do is remove the oil filter and dump out the oil it's holding. It will hold close to 1/4 quart or so. That will get you closer to the top hole on the dipstick.

 

You don't need to waste your $$ on a pump since you don't do any of your own maintenance! My favorite tool for fluid removal is a turkey baster I barrowed from the kitchen! Oil changes, find an independent Nissan mechanic in your neighborhood where you can get your oil changed, I have 3 near by plus my tuner!
Gary