Dealer filled engine oil without draining

[b.min]

Hi all,

I was not sure how to resolve this case I had to go through today, so I will greatly appreciate any advice from you.

Today I went to the dealer where I bought my CX-5 stick shift for the first oil change, odo at 7000 miles. Things went well and I got the car back in 45 mins and I drove about 30 miles back to my town.
About 2 miles left from my apartment, I suddenly felt misfire-ish action on my car. And then power slightly dropped and I quickly exited to the nearest exit and stopped the car. (had no CEL)
I cooled down the car and started briefly inspecting the car - only to find that engine oil was overfilled by a lot and white smoke coming out of exhaust. Actually the oil line was above about 1.5 inch over the max fill line. Also oil was really dark colored.

At the moment, only thing I could think of was the dealer filled the oil without draining. So I called Mazda roadside assitant and tow the car to another dealer near where I stopped the car. (Props for Mazda road assitant, did great job)
Guys over there inspected the car and they also thought that oil was filled without draining. Well, at least I was able to drain it this time and fill with new 0w-20 and did some kind of fuel flush service to clean spark plugs.
Seems like the car is running fine now but I am little nervous to drive it.

So the summary of my question is, will such overfill permanently damage a engine? Car seems to be running fine but not sure what kind of damage it already got.
I am visiting the first dealer soon to get reimbursement for what I had to pay at the second Mazda dealer. In such case, should I ask for extended warranty on power train for compensation?
Here I am not trying to get a big buck out of it, but just want to keep my car for a long time without problems since I don't know what damage has happened to the car.

Thanks for reading long post and any help will be appreciated!

 

[erhayes]

Severe over filling of oil can lead to increased pressure in the crankcase which in turn can cause seal leakage. I think if no leakage is evident for one oil change then no problems. I would get the mishap well documented in case some issue arises in the future. One of the problems I've always had with dealer service is the following. You take your vehicle to a dealer to get profession service and OEM quality parts. Unfortunately, service work, that does not require the experience of a mechanic is pushed down to most anyone willing to do it. You pay top price for professional service that you usually don't get except for brake jobs and major repairs. Just my observations over the years. Ed

 

[Gio26NJ]

That is unacceptable b.min, how careless can the dealer be? here's a vehicle you paid good money for you deserve the best service. I agree with Ed, most dealers do some shoddy service work. When the time comes I will take my CX-5 to a small mechanic shop with my own oil, OEM filter in hand and give it to a true professional. Wish car makers could control these types of things.

 

[Jwlj]

The Lexus Dealers around here are pretty anal about doing the job right.
Don't know if that is a brand thing or just awesome customer service.

 

[CX-SV]

Unbelievable for any dealership service department, horrible. Not only Lexus dealers are capable of doing quality work (although I do like the snacks and loaner cars at my Lexus dealership, top notch service for sure). I have never experienced service that poor at any Ford, GM, Porsche, Mercedes, Jag, Mazda, Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Acura dealership. Agreed, an extended warranty is owed at minimum.

 

[b.min]

Hi all,

Thanks for your relies, I will well document the whole situation now so I don't into trouble in the future. I was bit shocked that even the Mazda dealer can do such poor job.
I always change oil by myself, but this time it was my first oil change on this new car and the dealer offered free change. I don't think I will visit dealer service center for oil change in the future.
Thanks,

b.min

 

[CX-SV]

Hi all,

Thanks for your relies, I will well document the whole situation now so I don't into trouble in the future. I was bit shocked that even the Mazda dealer can do such poor job.
I always change oil by myself, but this time it was my first oil change on this new car and the dealer offered free change. I don't think I will visit dealer service center for oil change in the future.
Thanks,

b.min

Normally I'd suggest switching dealerships. But given that this dealership made the mistake and the slight possibility of future problems....

What about the extended warranty?

 

[StingRay007]

Took mine in to a Mazda dealer for tire rotation, they damaged two of my wheels.
I notice the damage when I pick up the car and brought it to the Manager's attention.
They will replace both wheels, but looks like they have kids working at this dealership.

 

[Bcdad182]

Hopefully you caught it in time and there were no major issues. I would definitely talk to the first dealer and Mazda corporate to ensure future problems related to this are covered. I think the junior mechanics always get the oil change jobs (sometimes I swear its the lot boys in training to be mechanics) An oil change is easy to do, and easy to screw up if you're not organized. Always check the dip stick before driving off! I had an oil filter seal blow out after a change at a Honda dealer. They claimed defective filter. I blame the king kong mechanic who overtightened it. They gave me free towing, dropped the car off at our house when done, and gave us several free oil changes. In this case it was only a mess that resulted. Hopefully that's all yours is too.

Aerated Oil Problems

When you put too much oil in an engine, there is nowhere for the excess oil to go. As the oil is turned by the crankshaft, it can become oxygenated and assume a foamy quality. Oil mixed with air does not lubricate as effectively and tends to cause overheating as well as damage to the engine's moving parts. The vehicle may experience loss of oil pressure because aerated oil is difficult for the oil pump to process.
Seals and Gaskets

Overflowing engine oil can cause various seals and gaskets to fail as the excess oil is forced out of the engine. As seals and gaskets fail, the vehicle will develop oil leaks, which can leave unsightly stains on a driveway as well as produce low oil levels in the engine, causing further damage. Blown seals and gaskets must be detected and repaired.
Combustible Fumes

If there is enough extra oil in the crankcase, it may be forced out through the piston seals and rings as the vehicle runs. This creates "blow-by," which has the potential to coat your engine in oil. As the oil burns off, noxious fumes and gases are released. This can create a fire hazard if enough oil accumulates on the outside of the engine.

 

[mazdadude]

Sorry about the problem with your dealer. If it were me, I would write a "disappointed" letter to your dealer, and copy Mazda North America Operations on it as well. Document the extra time and hassle it took, missed appointments, future service problems, etc...

If the dealer wants your future business, they will make it right.(fight)

 

[CX-SV]

Sadly gross negligence. The procedure calls for final checks after completion of oil change that were obviously not done.

Just had my first oil change at local Mazda dealership at 7400 miles today, recommended synthetic oil per owners manual. No problems to report (I checked oil level, etc. before driving off), car was washed. No warranty problems to report or fix so far.

 

[ryukensfj]

Wow that dealership is really bad. Overfilling is worst than underfilling. What dealership was this so people don't go to them.

 

[tsedhun69]

that was really dissapointing and i do have free oil change offered by dealership but now i'm thinking i should do it myself.its totally unethical and total negligence,,should write to north america mazda head office...hope everything is fine with your car...thanks for sharing your bad experience with mazda dealership...hope this is an isolated case...

 

[IHeartGroceries]

You did the correct thing by immediately discontinuing operation, and having the issue corrected. Having so few miles driven with this condition, I am skeptical you have much to worry about.
The problems listed above from over filling result from prolonged operation. Blue smoke was burning oil, making its way into the cylinder either from over pressurized oil squirters, overwhelmed rings, or CCV.
They made an effort to clean your spark plugs because they likely assumed the burning oil resulted in carbon deposits in the combustion chamber.

The best piece of advice you got here was to have everything documented. I would even have some service manager signatures in a few places, and made a few calls to Mazda NA.

 

[b.min]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your comments on this issue. Sorry but I had to make a long trip to IL, so could not update on what happened next.
I visited Mazda dealership a day after this incident happened and got a report from them that the mistake was made by them. Also got reimbursed for the new oil change I had to made at another dealership + spark plug cleaning charge.
(plus some dealer credits, which I don't think I will use anyway)

As some of you pointed out, I should have checked the dip stick before I left the dealership. I simply trusted them too much for being a official Mazda dealer.
I don't think I will ever visit dealership to change my oil. Never.

Becasue of long trip from Michigan to Illinois, the car ran about 1000 miles and seemed fine. I was keep monitoring the oil and was looking for a leak, but nothing happened. (Knock on wood.....)
Although car is ok now, I am going to report this incident to Mazda anyway since this kind of mistake is unacceptable.

Thanks all for your comments and encouragement!

 

[sussig]

i bought my cx5 back in march and it took my dealership 6 months to send me the license plate and as of now, i still dont have ownership doc from DMV and per DMV, their still missing proper doc from the dealership. I made a complain to mazda corp and guy took my case sent me $100 mazda gift card. moreover, guy even called the dealership to reprocess my doc. 2 weeks gone by and still havent heard zip from the dealership. at this point, i've gave up in talkin to the dealership. first i was baited in to trade in my scion tc when sales guy promised me higher trade in value and ended it getting $800 less and now these dilemma. im not even sure if i should get my first free oil change done at that crap dealership. needless to say, im thinkin of filing a complain with BBB on that dealership. I paid off the car on the spot the first day and i still dont have my proof of ownership.

 

[Protege03ak46]

Hopefully you caught it in time and there were no major issues. I would definitely talk to the first dealer and Mazda corporate to ensure future problems related to this are covered. I think the junior mechanics always get the oil change jobs (sometimes I swear its the lot boys in training to be mechanics) An oil change is easy to do, and easy to screw up if you're not organized. Always check the dip stick before driving off! I had an oil filter seal blow out after a change at a Honda dealer. They claimed defective filter. I blame the king kong mechanic who overtightened it. They gave me free towing, dropped the car off at our house when done, and gave us several free oil changes. In this case it was only a mess that resulted. Hopefully that's all yours is too.

Aerated Oil Problems

When you put too much oil in an engine, there is nowhere for the excess oil to go. As the oil is turned by the crankshaft, it can become oxygenated and assume a foamy quality. Oil mixed with air does not lubricate as effectively and tends to cause overheating as well as damage to the engine's moving parts. The vehicle may experience loss of oil pressure because aerated oil is difficult for the oil pump to process.
Seals and Gaskets

Overflowing engine oil can cause various seals and gaskets to fail as the excess oil is forced out of the engine. As seals and gaskets fail, the vehicle will develop oil leaks, which can leave unsightly stains on a driveway as well as produce low oil levels in the engine, causing further damage. Blown seals and gaskets must be detected and repaired.
Combustible Fumes

If there is enough extra oil in the crankcase, it may be forced out through the piston seals and rings as the vehicle runs. This creates "blow-by," which has the potential to coat your engine in oil. As the oil burns off, noxious fumes and gases are released. This can create a fire hazard if enough oil accumulates on the outside of the engine.

This, I just replaced a engine in a corolla because of a severe rod knock. Cause: 2 quarts overfilled.