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From FINE LIVING Viewer Kim, Decatur, Ala.:

Hi Steve,

Steve - I purchased a new 2004 Toyota Camry in March. Took it to the dealership for 5,000 mile oil change. Drove the car home without checking oil level and continued to drive car for 2,000 miles before checking.

When I did check the oil the dipstip indicated an overfill. Took car back to dealership and when drained the car had 11 quarts of oil in it!!

I am not experiencing engine problems at this time. The dealership is telling me that the car will probably be okay. Can you give me some insight as to what my engine may experience?

Steve Natt:

Congratulations on that new Camry - thrilling it's not, but if what you want is a solid, dependable car, you picked a good one.

You didn't mention whether your Camry is a four or six cylinder model. The six needs five quarts, and the four needs just four. My guess? You've got a 6 cylinder. The oil change guy at the dealership drained the oil and refilled it, went to lunch, then FORGOT he had refilled it and simply filled it again. Or he left and handed the incomplete job to someone else to finish, and they double filled it.

It's a case of too much of a good thing being a bad thing. There are a bunch of things that can go wrong from overfilling. While there is too much oil in the engine, high pressure may develop in the crankcase, you can get oil leakage through the oil pan gasket and other engine seals. You might have noticed reduced gas mileage while the oil level was too high - it's possible that the crankshaft was splashing in the oil, which made it work harder. And that splashing could cause the oil to foam up, which could cause the oil pressure in the crankcase to drop and perhaps lead to premature engine wear or even damage. In my experience, this would be a rare occurrence... mostly too much oil just makes a mess.

That's the bad stuff. The good news is that you have remedied the situation, and you'll be on the alert in the future. ALWAYS check your oil level as soon as you have a cool engine after an oil change. Check for leaks under the car (did they tighten the drain plug properly? Screw on the oil filter properly?)

Have a frank discussion with the service manager at your dealership, and ask him to check your engine thoroughly. If you have any doubt about the condition of your engine (indicated by a drop in performance or mileage, or an increase in engine noise) you may want to involve the customer service people at Toyota of North America. Hopefully, your dealer will pay better attention to your car in the future.

Keep on watching,

Steve
Life in the Fast Lane