I was quite shocked to find that my car was low on oil.
I check quite regularly, every month i'd say. Anyway car was in the garage and they informed me when i picked it up it was below the recommended level of oil.
Car is toyota auris t180 and holds 6ltrs of oil. I think they had to add just under 2ltrs, possibly just over - i should check.
So, naturally i'm worried because i'm so careful to check the oil. Last time i checked it was half way down on the dipstick. I reckon the slight slant on my drive and i mean slight is giving me wrong readings. My own stupid fault but as this is a brand new car, only done 9k miles i'm worried i could of done some damage!!
Could i?
also - no warning light came on and due for service anytime now. Still haven't got a clue how long i could be running low on oil and i've been giving it some beans too.
What do you think?
Edited by OldSkoOL on 22/04/2008 at 22:41
|
Half way on dipstick means it is not full, top up. Its possible that some damage has occured but you will be long shot of car by then. Some other poor mug with a bad engine at 70-80,000 will be cursing you. Just make sure it up to mark and you might have got away with it.
Oh and the oil light means there is no oil in engine an dthere is no pressure. By the time that comes on serious damage may well have happened
|
I think you'll be fine, as long as the oil pressure light didn't come on, the dipstick measures the oil in the sump and as long as the pump can pick it up continuously and stay primed, the car won't know.
Doesn't the car have an electronic warning if the oil gets too low? Check the handbook, most cars from the mid-90s seem to have this.
|
|
|
|
I check quite regularly every month i'd say. Anyway car was in the garage and they informed me when i picked it up it was below the recommended level of oil.
The recommended level must be at maximum fullness. That may give you leeway.
Car is toyota auris t180 and holds 6ltrs of oil. I think they had to add just under 2ltrs possibly just over - i should check.
Well, the first thing to ascertain is just how much did it need? 1 litre? 3??
I reckon the slight slant on my drive and i mean slight is giving me wrong readings.
It'd have to bee quite a "slant" to make that much difference.
I'd ignore this, quite frankly. Make sure in future that you check the oil at least fortnightly, on level ground, and make sure you change the oil frequently. You could get it changed now, don't wait for the "recommended" distance, use time or a 2/3 * "recommended" interval if that suits.
Still haven't got a clue how long i could be running low on oil and i've been giving it some beans too.
Coo! And a new car, too!
|
I hired a VW Polo once and after happily driving for fifty miles or so I happened to take a roundabout at speed. Immediately the oil pressure warning light came on at the very same time as the engine made a nasty rattling noise. I stopped and checked the oil level and it was off the bottom of the dipstick. So much for the oil pressure warning system. By the time the light comes on it's probably too late to avoid some damage. There is no substitute for regular routine checking - at least once a fortnight.
Regarding taking the oil level reading when the car is parked on a slope - I've found that even a slight gradient DOES have a significant effect on the dipstick reading - try it sometime, you'll be surprised.
Edited by AlanGowdy on 23/04/2008 at 01:07
|
|
|
|
Toyota & Lexus have been replacing engine blocks in Diesels @ 50K mls for high oil consumption
A "new car" should not consume 7 pts (I prefer old measures) in say 9,000 miles.
I would register my concerns now in writing and wait for a reply.
If oil gets worse then you have at least brought their atttention to it
|
Be glad it's not a Volvo 460 or early S40 - my cars used 1 litre every 500 miles - got so bad the garage supplied me (free of charge) with 2 x 5 litre cans every month, and an extra can if I had to make one of my tips to Cardiff. (They tried on both cars to fix the fault - put in new piston rings which only INCREASED consumption!)
Never bought a Volvo again.
|
I`m sure no damage will have occurred if it never ran with the oil pressure light on.
Regards
|
|
My handbook says to top up when the level reaches the "minimum" mark on the dipstick.
Edited by L'escargot on 23/04/2008 at 08:50
|
|
I too am surprised that a new car has got through this much oil and would be registering my concern with the Toyota dealer.
Edited by boxsterboy on 23/04/2008 at 11:05
|
|
|
|
I would be inclinined to think "no oil pressure light = no problem".
When I got given my first car, I knew nothing about cars or maintenance. Anyway, I drove it every day, hundreds of miles, and gave it some welly too. One day the windscreen washers ran out of screenwash and that is when I thought "I should be checking these things". I opened the bonnet for more or less the first time, and the oil didn't even register on the dipstick.
From memory the car held 4L of oil, and it took 2 litres to top it up to max. The engine had 60k on it at that point, and I run it up to 97k before selling it with no problems with the engine.
I doubt any damage has been caused, if no warning lights came on.
|
Oil warning light is probably is the only warning light which means stop immediately!
In many cars, light comes on only when pressure is too low. Usual oil pressure is ~30-40 PSI after idling. Often light comes when it is ~ 5 PSI. So, in some cases, light means some damage might have already been done.
Yet, moderns cars come without an oil pressure gauge!
|
|
|
There is no need to fill up to the maximum mark on the dipstick; anywhere between the max and min marks is OK, unless your handbook says something different. In some cars, filling to the max mark causes problems. Filling over the max mark in any car is to be avoided. The difference between max and min marks is two litres -- standard, I think, but please correct me if wrong.
With my cars, the general rule of thumb is not to worry about oil consumption unless it is more than a litre per thousand kilometres.
Check the dipstick every fortnight on level ground with a warm engine that has been switched off for at least five minutes.
|
>>The difference between max and min marks is two litres -- standard, I think, but please correct me if wrong.
It varies between engines Roger - on some Vauxhalls for example, it's only 0.75 litres between min and max.
|
|
SWMBO bought a 18 month old Toyota Pasio from well known main Toyota dealer - she picked it up on Friday night and Saturday lunch I checked it over - pulling dip stick showed no oil what so ever on stick - anyway - after a bit of ear bashing at dealers it was noted - filter and oil changed and she had it for 5 yrs or so - I checked oil every week - some weeks it was half way down and some it never moved - other than oil consumption the car never missed a beat or sounded rough - only plus was rear main oil seal went so they fixed it for free after warranty ran out. - in all this time there was no sign's of oil leaking or smoke from exhaust -in fact it was one of the most reliable cars she had.
|
Thanks for the correction, N_C. I should have worked that out for myself, given the variance in capacities.
Some dealer stories defy belief, don't they? The last time I used an MB main dealer for servicing was when they refilled an autobox with two litres of ATF less than it needed. And the last time I bought a used car from a general dealer, all the tyres were 10 psi under pressure. If they can't get such basics right, then . . .
|
I believe high oil consumption in new cars is due to their owners not running them in correctly - if you don't give them shortish bursts of highish revs, the engine won't bed in correctly and the engine will burn oil forever more.
We have just bought a new boat with a petrol outboard - handbook says for the 1st 2 hours running time, 1 minute in 10 should be on full throttle - 32 mph the other weekend :)
Our 2003 Forester II has never burn't a drop of oil, dipstick at full from one service to the next.
MVP
|
I honestly can't remember the last time I had to put oil in a car between services, has to be at least 20 years ago and a minimum of 800 thousand miles. Do you guys all drive around in second at maximum revs all day or something? ;-)
When did oil stop being just "oil" by the way? Seems from reading threads on here that you have to buy it with the care I would normally have reserved for choosing wine! Last time I bought some I'm sure they only had three kinds. It was labelled as suitable for petrols, diesels or two strokes, finito.
|
By the time the oil pressure light has come on you have already a good chance of major engine damage.
Most specifications for cars are something like 1 litre per thousand miles. Most cars don't use anything like that much. Doubt the garage will be interested
Also cars sometimes do use oil when they're younger. My Vectra, when my father had it in its young days could use a litre over 1000 miles. Nowadays, at 60k, it doesn't use any at all.
|
Bottom line for the OP though is `no damage done`, lesson learnt I bet though.
Regards
|
|
|
|
I honestly can't remember the last time I had to put oil in a car between services has to be at least 20 years ago and a minimum of 800 thousand miles.
Seems to vary drastically these days, my 3 litre Carlton used none at 194,000 miles but my last bamgernomics Omega used around 5 litres between oil changes.
When did oil stop being just "oil" by the way?
I reckon it came about as most engine designs moved to 16valve DOHC layout with hydraulic a tappets.
|
garage is monitoring my oil usage
could it be down to me giving it the beans quite regularly?
from new i ran it in like this - gentle for 4-600 miles. Varying the revs up to 2.5k. After about 600 miles give it the occasional full blast then back to varying revs up to 3k. At 1000 miles i started vary revs up to 3.5k. At about 1500miles it reached redline and i was giving it the beans daily.
From then on, i usually give it the beans everyday and all other times just change between 2 and 3k.
Always run the car on vpower.
|
My dad had a high mileage 2.0 Sierra when we were kids that burnt oil like it was going out of fashion. His cue that it was time to top up was when the oil light flickered during braking or acceleration and the engine started rattling. This would happen approximately every 2 weeks.
It went on for years like this. I reckon the oil light came on half a dozen times a fortnight for about three years. I wouldn't say it did no damage - the engine was knackered anyway, but it never broke down. Wasn't ever serviced either.
Cheers
DP
|
A couple of weeks after I bought my car the oil warning light came on, I had an oil change done straight away and has not come on since, however the top end now sounds like a tractor and it is probably related to the oil warning light.
I check my oil every week now, its better safe than sorry. Stem seal problems I can live, a seized engine I cannot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
