Oil overfill

[irnbru83]

Long story short:

Took MS3 to dealer for oil change. Three days later notice small oil marks under car every time I move away after being parked. Jack the car up and find the top side of the plastic shield under the engine is covered in oil.
So back to the dealer we go. They tell me that they had to replace the gasket on the drain plug. Fine, whatever.
I'm still leaking oil, so I check the level. I checked the dipstick 3 or 4 times in disbelief. Apparently when they were looking for the leak problem, they decided to overfill the oil. The dipstick shows oil up to at least the first bend in the dipstick... I can't quantify how much of a quart past normal that is, but I know it's too much.

So now my question is, I've been driving for a few days with too much oil, so what are the negative effects in a modern car? At some time we can get into a philosophical discussion of why I didn't check the oil level after they messed with the car. (Probably because they made NO mention of having added to the reservoir).

 

[irnbru83]

Nevermind. I guess it is going to cause frothing if the crank is churning the oil. Air is a great lubricant. RIGHT?

 

[chief_wiggum]

I'd make sure that they document their error somewhere; you never know when that information might be necessary....

 

[BigDaddyMS3]

Too much oil

Too much oil in the engine results in lack of lubrication due to low oil pressure. The crank whips the oil into foam. The engine pushes the foam through the system resulting in air bubbles causing a drop in in oil pressure and lubrication.
This will cause loss of power, higher engine temps, excessive wear on internal parts, (gaskets, seals), poor fuel economy etc.

If the dealer performed the oil overfill, have them document this on the invoice, keep a copy for your records as you may need it to cover future engine work that may not be covered by the warranty.

I hope that you are towing the car to the dealer at their expense or perhaps a AAA membership coverage applies here. The less you drive it the less potential damage to the engine.

 

[irnbru83]

I've already put significant miles on the car since then (I live in Houston). I have NOT run it hard since then. I'm going to call them now and at least get this documented, like you said.