so yeah they overfilled it after i brought it back three days later cause i kept smelling oil burning which my car neither burns nor leaks. turns out the oil filter was so lose it was about to fall o and was leaking. man is nothing safe? a place that does nothing but oil changes cant even get that right? anyway the guy there just starts dumping it back in and im like hey you cant just do that it has to be accurate and to do so you really have let it sit cause my oil stick can be hard to get a reading if not sitting. i then take the mobil one oil from him and decide ill add a lil at a time till its perfect.

to late i get done work and check and its over the high mark on the stick. this is thursday and i bartend and work till monday so ill have to just deal with it. sat check engine light comes on and i have it run and its p0430 which means one or more of following large vacuum leak-fuel system fault-ignition system fault-failed bank 2 catalytic converter

i take it back to oil place monday and its perfectly filled. so im guessing car burnt it or something to make it right again? car now smells of exhaust more than it ever has. could there be any other damage caused by this? they shut off engine light and its been over a week with no problems or it coming back on but like i said it does smell of exhaust more now.

so where did that oil go? also could i have problems in the future? and is the strong smell of exhaust related? thanks to any that can help. greatly appreciated

 

Never go back to them.

Do all of your own oil changes from now on.

Save yourself the frustration of wondering if they did it right.

Last time I let another human being change my oil, they shorted me a quart and a half.







Also, those codes don't sound related.

 

+1

Changing your own oil is really up there on the list of basics you ought to do yourself, like changing a flat tire.

You could have burned your engine up and they would have gotten away with it, if you hadn't caught that leaky oil filter in time. Same thing with too much/little oil.

Just not worth the risk, imho.

Oh, and yeah, what SLC said, I don't see that code being related.

 

Sorry to be crass -- but just reading the title, and where you took it for service....I don't have alot of sympathy for you.

When will people LEARN??

gr

 

Most quick lube places assume your car needs 5 quarts of oil with an oil change, when it really only needs 4.25 quarts so unless you remind them they will probably overfill the crankcase.

 

...unless you've got free lifetime oil changes from your dealership.

Even with my low milage, I figure I've saved over $700 in the last 8 years.

 

LOL!

For whatever reason, Rochester's threads always seem to bring a "smile" to my face, he's the only dude I know that can brag, humbly

 

I'm gonna disagree with everyone here.

You should be able to trust an oil change place or a dealership to change you oil. Most of them have pretty good training, and a person who follows behind and checks their work.

Do they make mistakes? Yeah, sometimes. But people here make mistakes as well. The difference is that if the oil change place or dealership makes a mistake and your engine fries, they have insurance that pays for it. If you make the mistake, you get to pay for it.

Don't get me wrong, I do 90% of my oil changes in my driveway, mostly for economic reasons. mainly that I can get a full-synthetic change for what Jiffy charges for basic dino oil change. But oil change places are generally pretty good as long as you don't get upsold to other purchases from them.

BTW, my 3.5 takes almost 5 qts every time, and my last one (Altima) took exactly 5 qts to hit the top of the crosshatch mark.

I also think that even if you overfilled by 1/2 qt, nothing bad is going to happen to your car.It doesn't get "burned off" because you put too much in. Heck, how would that happen?? It just means there is a little more oil in the pan when the system is pumping away, not anything wrong with that.

If our engines really only need 4.25 qts, then I'm adding 3/4 qt too much every oil change. No issues yet after doing it for 50,000 miles.

There was a post in another thread where one guy said you should fill your oil filter 1/2 full before you put it on, or you are running your engine without lubrication when you start the motor up. I mean, c'mon, there is a bit too much paranoia around here sometimes. Half filling the filter before installing it is only guaranteed to do one thing; make a bigger mess than usual.

 

That's a very good point, Scott. Better to only put 4 quarts in, and check the levels the next day.

I may not be changing my own oil, but I check the oil level at least once a week.

Nah. You're confusing manipulative composition for humility.

"Eet is a race, and I am weening!"

 

i'm very picky about who i let change my oil IF i dont change my own. there's only two places i go, one is my father in law's shop and the other is this shop that i know about that does do good work, but i dont go to them now because of time AND they use a different oil than i do. but invest in a jack and jackstands and a oil catch can and do your own. as was mentioned 4 1/4 qts

 

I have never taken any of my cars to a place to change the oil in them, even my parents and sisters cars I do them all myself, it is very simple to do and you know its done correct. Understandable that time may be tight for people, if it came to taking it somewhere, i agree take it to the dealership if anything.

All of my cars use OEM filters and always have, along with whatever oil the dealer suggests for the car, mobil, castrol whatever, just because they are suggested by the dealer (i know overkill). if you spend an extra $10 or $15 at the dealer rather than a quick lube, it is because you are paying for the techs experience and schooling. I am sure most dealers offer some sort of 20 or 50 point inspection and can point out something that the quick lube place really wont notice also, bad ball joint, axle or whatever. Just a peice of mind in my eyes.

 

May be related to over-filling, but probably just was the tipping point in throwing the P0430 code. You have several options at this point. Do a search on P0430 code and see what options you have.

Perhaps, you can push back and have the place pay for your repair.

 

i cant fit into any jiffy lube cuz of ltb clearances

i would like to do my own oil changes but never got around to doing it my self.

 

They did the same thing to me twice I thought but the second time my car was just running and you know the oil rises as the car runs but when they over filled it last time my check engine light came on and my oil burned long before 3k miles it was very weird.I do my own oil changes now at a friends show jiffy lube is for noobs too easy to get a job there with no experience DIY ftw

 

lol thanks guys but wasnt asking opinion on if i should or should not do it myself. just was wondering about the code and if any relation but thanks for the input. of course i can change the oil myself i just simply do not have the time nor do i want to. i have no problem paying someone to do it as its much quicker and easier but i guess there is always the chance of human error. i have been going to the same place for 4 years now without inncident until now. good news is code never came back on, the car seems to have blown all that exhaust smell out and continues to run as smooth as the day i bought her. guess i just got lucky this time and will not be going back to them. thanks again

 

Mr Bean FTW!!!

 

I'm gonna go ahead and be the guy that doesn't let it go.

Taking your car somewhere is not faster. It takes 10 mins to jack up the car, drain the oil, and put in a new filter. You know what oil you're using, you know what filter (and how tight it is), and how much oil is in it - IN TEN MINUTES.

How long does it take to drive there, wait for the morons to F*** up your car and drive home?

It's never worth it, period.

A lot places won't even change your filter. Many have been busted for this and it still continues.

But it does sound like your engine blew the oil through and burned it up, but apparently it was a large amount to trip the code.

 

I highly doubt your P430 has anything to do with the oil level. Either you have a bad cat or you need the ECU reflashed so it is less sensitive to minor fluctuations in catalytic efficiency.

 

The local lube goons are less than 5 minutes from me and I'm in and out in about 15 minutes.

Not allowed to work on my car beyond a jump start or changing a flat, plus having to take the oil to be recycled still means a trip to the lube goons or an auto parts store after changing my oil. For $36 for high mileage oil, filter, checking tire pressure, refilling my windshield wiper fluid and topping off the others (as needed), it is a damn good deal.

 

For those that are basically imprisoned where they live and actually recycle oil (it's a good trash pit burner), sure. I'm not sure how many actually live like that, although, I hope it's few.

 

Oil has to be properly recycled anywhere in the US, federal law. Up to a $10k fine for not properly disposing of petroleum products.

 

I'm guessing upwards of 75% of the population does not change their own oil, maybe more.

And +1 to acting responsibly if you do. Take it to the proper place to recycle it. I run mine back to Wally World.

 

I dunno. I enjoy working on my car an maintaining it. I go to Advanced Autoparts and they usually have a deal thats $30 for 5 quarts of synthetic oil usually Mobil1 or Castrol Edge and a k&n oil filter.

BTW, I always recycle my used oil.

 

Consistently good deals on synthetic oil at Walmart. I usually get Pennzoil Premium for anywhere from $20-25 for the 5-qt jug. I do at least one oil change a month in my driveway; 4 cars to service. 3 Max's and a Camry.

 

Please tell that to multi-billion dollar corporations (wait I forgot, they're above the law).

And about 90% of "recycled" oil is sold as fuel.

 

The law is meant to keep oil out of the local trash dump and out of the water systems. Using it as fuel is a much better option than the dump or water system. Don't you agree?

I like changing my own oil when I can. However, I have a shoebox for a garage and live in a condominium complex where technically we can't do any work other than change a tire/wheel. These factors make it a challenge to change my oil or do any type of work requiring the car to be jacked up. I usually end up taking it to my friend's house for major work. The oil changes I leave up to my local shop I trust.

 

next time bring your own oil and ask them to give the left over back to you.