Help!!! I need advice from some of the XF techs or anyone else that may have an input. The dealer overserviced my engine while doing an oil change. What harm to the engine may result and what should I do to protect myself from damage that may happen down the road as a result of what happened???

I had my oil changed last week by the dealer. We just got back from a 700 mile roundtrip juant across parts of Route 66 and then back home. Over half way through the trip I checked the oil using the in car oil level indicator system. To my surprise and horror it said "HI". I immediately pulled the dip stick and sure as hell the oil level was past the top red plastic portion of the dipstick, way too high!!!

I watched the "Oil Monkey" at the dealership for the last 20 minutes of the oil change. He put a quart in, waited and then looked in the car for a few seconds. He did this three more times. I was wondering what he was doing??? Why wasn't he just putting in the required amount of oil, close it up and check the dipstick???

I now realize what the"idiot"may have been doing and why the oil change took too long... he was putting in a quart of oil, waiting a few minutes and then checked the oil level using the in car oil level indicating system!!!

I'm taking the car back to the dealer and showing them the overservice condition. I'm going to demand they drain the oil, reservice and install a new filter. I also want the engine completely inspected and a letter from them acknowledging that they overserviced the car in case there are any engine problems down the road.

Note:
I have been pretty vocal in the past about the clowns at my dealership and their ineptness. Out of courtesy to them, I haven't revealed their identity on this forum. This is the last sraw... I've had it with their **** poor attitude, lack of knowledge of this car and unwillingness to listen to what I have to say...

I advise anyone in the Phoenix area to shop elswhere and not to buy or have a car serviced at

"DELETED"

until they clean up their act....

 

Just the name alone...I would never take my car to superstition springs...unless I walked under a ladder, broke a mirror, and a black cat walked past of course. Sorry...had to make it!

 

I doubt any damage was done.Just have them drain or suck out the extra.I put 8 qts. in mine and that seems to be fine.Yours is probably a half qt. overfull.Happens all the time at quick lube service.No reason to go ballistic! You will look like a crazed ahole if you go in there screaming about a half qt.Talk to the service manager and tell him you want a crossfire tech on the car every time in.Some people wish they had your problems.

 

crossfiretech

Thanks for your input.

I "hope" it is only a "half quart" over serviced because that's a big jump from where it should be reading on the dipstick to over the top of it to where the braided metal starts. The in-car oil level indicating system reads in one quart increments, right? If that's the case, then car is more than a half quart over serviced. If the oil guy was checking the oil level the way I described, it would be very easy to overfill the engine. We'll see tomorow when I take it back.

What damage usually results from an overserviced engine? What should I look for? How soon before the damage that "may" have been caused "could" show it's ugly head? What should I have them look at, oil leaks from blown seals, anything internal etc?

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You are right... no one is going in there screaming but if I have to get **** so be it. They will at least sit there and hear what I have to say. I am tired of people rolling their eyes and looking at me like I'm stupid whenever I try to talk with them about the mechanics of the car. Being an ahole is a two way street and can come in many forms from "me" as well as "them".

I spent 24 years in the aircraft maintenance field and am well aware of the flight crew/maintenance relationship. No mechanic likes to hear a "no-it-all�h pilot or flight engineer "tell" them how to fix a problem... the same holds true for you folks in the automotive business, I'm sure. They fly it/we fix it was the way we did business. Give us a good description of the write-up and leave the trouble shooting to us�c we�fd get it fixed or go back and resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the flight operations folks with involvement from the Chief of Maintenance and the Chief of Flight Operations if needed. When something did go wrong�c people were held accountable for dereliction of duty and paid a price to include loss of pay and reduction in rank if the situation called for it.

Nothing in this world is perfect and mistakes do happen but I'm sorry... this is a business that is providing a service for which I am paying. They are supposed to know what they are doing. If they screw up fine... listen to my complaint and compensate me for the aggravation and my time they wasted with a free oil change or something the next time I come in. I am just plain tired from the lack of customer service... ask just about any women how they get talked down to by "automotive specialist". Most would do most anything than have to take a car to the shop.

It doesn't look good when a dealership can't get a "simple" oil change right and yes, no matter how many of us think this is a special car... it is still only an oil and filter change... not rocket science. I would very much "like" a Crossfire trained mechanic do "all" the work on the car, including the oil change... but IMO that is not practical from the dealers point of view. How would your dealership handle many customers requesting a "real" mechanic service the oil on their car? When you think about it, that guy with a lowly Jeep Wrangler (I have one of those too) should get a real "mechanic" to service his oil too... the dealership won't be "fixing" many cars operating that way.

Some may think I'm over reacting and say I am making a mountain out of a mole hill... I don't think so. I am tired of the hassle I go through whenever I take this car in. IMO two trips to the shop for an oil change is a complete waste of anyone's time. We'll see what happens and at the very least I hope the next oil change is on the house......

The bottom line is, I am the person who bought the car and pays the bill which in turn helps provide a livelyhood for the people at that dealership. Until such time that I start receiveng good service and customer realations from them... I will continue to advise people to shop elsewhere for a car. Sorry for the rant, that's just the way I feel... and sorry if anyone disagrees.

PS: My intent of coming back to the thread this early on a Sunday morning (0545 AZ time) was to edit and tone down my first post. However, after reviewing the situation as I write this... I'll leave it posted as is, maybe the dealership will see this and get their act together... or just continue rolling their eyes whenever they see me coming.

(C Mc... it took over and hour)

 

Uhm.... dude. I really don't think anything is going to happen to your car. It just has a little bit of extra oil. I do oil changes on my car and make sure that the oil is full at least to the highest dip-mark. It's over much of the time. It's nothing to worry about. It will probably keep your engine running cooler and give you better gas mileage. And when the car is running the oil level goes down, anyway, because it's filtering through all of the necessary components.

 

Yo Bro...

The dipstick on the "Crossfire" has an one inch proper oil level range. I would not call an engine 6/8" over serviced a little bit of extra oil... but then I could be wrong as I'm not the expert here.

An over or under serviced engine is "not" a good thing. It will not make an engine run cooler or get better gas milage.

In case you are not familiar with the Crossfire, it has a very accurate sensor in the oil pan that allows oil level to be checked without opening the hood. It indicates oil level in one quart increments. The owner's manual specifically states:

The "HI" message indicates that the excess oil "must be removed" from the pan to avoid possible engine or catalytic converter damage.

If the idiot that serviced the oil in my car checked the oil quantity using the in car oil level indicating system like I suspect he did... there is no telling how much oil was put in. Too me that is a big concern, especially after driving mostly at speed for the good part of 700 miles...

Thanks for your input tho...

 

Oooh... okay. That is pretty overfilled. You could just open up the oil pan and drain some of it out.

 

Why??? They did the work... why should I correct their mistake? I also want the engine inspected and a letter for my records admitting it was over serviced should I have problems down the road and compensation for my time. In short, it's called holding people responsible for their actions....

 

I ... just thought it would be simpler to fix it yourself. You could call them and tell them that the oil was over filled and that you drained some. Then your blood pressure would go down. Or I suppose you could eat a bowl of Cheerios the morning before you talk to the dealership... either way.

 

Bro, your still missing the point... "they" did the work, not me... this "new" concept is called holding people responsible for their actions and CYA if something goes wrong later. I know that's a hard concept to grap for some people today... but that's the way it works in the real world... Later.

 

fwiw... I'd do exactly the same as you plan...

 

AZ you got a 7/70 powertrain warranty in writing!! You might need to go back to Honda! The stress of owning and servicing this car might kill you!You freak out at every bump in the road with this car! You get your oil overfilled and you turn it into a federal case.CALM DOWN I would like a perfect world also but it ain't gonna happen.Learn to deal with it or do the work yourself!

 

Ooooo... i dont agree with that at all... this is the dealers job to do their job correctly... and if they Fudged something up on AZ's car they best damn well pay for it... this is America... the land of the sueing... but this reason is worth the lawsuit if they messed his car up... yet I'm almost 100% sure that over oiling only causes a blow out of excess oil... even if so thats a problem... If my dealer nicked my car with the smallest of sratches id be a) knocking on the door with the lawsuit or b) with a pair of brass knuckles... and its just not cuz I love my crossfire... this is there JOB to do correctly... they should be able to do that

 

So how bad could overfilling with oil really be?

The manual says don't over fill. There's probably some reasons not to. :shock:

 

XFtech,

I thanked you for your first input and I took it into account and made a lengthy reponse to why I feel as I do. Now this is the "third" time I've asked the same questions that you have not seen fit to answer...

"...What damage usually results from an overserviced engine? What should I look for? How soon before the damage that "may" have been caused "could" show it's ugly head? What should I have them look at, oil leaks from blown seals, anything internal etc?"

You seem to be very good at handing out psychological advice were no was asked for but a little short on answering specific and direct mechanical questions. Everyone does not and will not take "your" word and views as gospel, nor will they mine.

You have always been very quick to jump to the defense of a car company that was bailed out by the government to keep it from going under and belittle Japanese vehicles. If I'm not mistaken, it has also dropped to fourth place in sales behind Toyota and for the most part has always been known for poor quality products and customer service.

So in closing... could we please come to an understanding and stop slinging mud at each other?

If "you" do not like my posts, questions or comments, please just ignore them. You are not the only person on this board and frankly I hold very little stock in your "vauge" answers anyway.

Thank you... and have a great day.

 

Thanks to those that answered my questions directly...

 

Some of you guys are nuts! Sue the dealer over adding too much oil?? :roll: No oil foaming was mentioned,no engine noise,no oil blowby.Lets not make a federal case out of problems you don't have. Don't give that dealer anymore of your business if their so bad.You don't like when I defend chrysler AZ....thats too bad! You have a right to complain...I have a right to defend. But don't worry I had enough of your complaints! I will not respond anymore. :roll:

 

So, AZ, you don't even know what could go wrong with too much oil? ... hehe.

 

Hey James, enough of the sarcasm dude... No I did not know "all" the damage that could be done to an over serviced engine, THAT'S WHY I ASKED... duh..... just like you thought the engine would run cooler and get better mileage. Let's just drop the whole issue okay? Thanks...

 

Can I perhaps mediate a bit? Both sides are probably right here. Outlaws bought the Crossfire. Chrysler advertises their Five Star Dealer network as "being different" and knowing all about what they sell. Outlaws has a reasonable expectation that all work done on his Crossfire by his Five Star dealer will be correct in every detail. It's that simple. By all appearences the dunce at the dealer overfilled his oil. Outlaws has a right to be pissed off. End of story.

Now, the other side. Perhaps it is no big deal. (Assuming here) The car still runs OK, not outward signs of problems. Outlaws takes the car back, some oil is drained and all is well. Maybe his Five Star dealer gives him a freebie next time to make up for their screw up.

Judge Wapner rules for Outlaws, with a tip of the hat to the defenders for admirably trying to diffuse the situation. Doug Llewellyn is standing by outside the courtroom for final thoughts.