Excessive motor oil

Hi,

I live in the US and drive a Honda Civic 2005. I have been going to the
local auto shop that specializes in Japanese cars for car maintainence.
These folks do a good job for the most part except for oil change. The
Civic manual says that it will take 3.4 quarts of oil but these
mechanics use the last quart completely. The dip stick shows the oil is
filled far above the upper level mark. Will this cause any damage to
the car?

Any information or pointers appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

NJ

 

YES - go to your HONDA dealer!

 

Too much oil can certainly be harmful. Talk to the boss at the shop.
He needs to mend his ways or counsel his employees.

 

There is no need to go to a Honda dealership to get an oil change. You can
if you want,
but going to a dealership doesnt guarantee you quality.

 

Perhaps not, but it seems that where he has been going has NO IDEA how
much oil the vehicle needs. Better safe than sorry.

 

We agree that this needs to be looked into. He should bring his concerns to
the shop
owner, not just stomp off angry. That independent shop owner should be very
keen on
getting things straight and keeping them straight.

The same sort of cockup could have happened at a dealership. It is really
hard to find
a good mechanic these days and hard to keep them. Too many dopeheads, too
many
that dont know what they are doing, and too many that really dont care.

 

BULLSHIT! Oil change places are institutional RIP OFF parlors.
Jiffy-Lube was one of the WORST at selling people shit they didn't need. I
had my fill of them when I took a BRAND NEW GMC Jimmy in for an oil and
filter change. They came back to me with a LONG laundry list of what it
needed. Over $1,000 worth. Trans filter, trans fluid change, differential
change, brake fluid flush, air filter. and it went on. The car only had 750
miles on it. They were SURE the transmission was "SHOT!" Frankly stuffing
in an extra quart of oil is small potatoes for these rip-off factories.
Maybe it was an innocent mistake. Frankly if the jackass doesn't KNOW how
much oil a car takes - I wouldn't let him with 500 feet of MY car. Dealers
OVERCHARGE for everything. But usually they fix it right. There are always
exceptions. I had to get an adjustment on the valves on a new Pontiac Grand
Prix (72) and they left a wrench inside. When they went to start it, so much
for the engine. Pontiac sent a new crate motor for it.
I wanted a new car, but since I had already put 20,000 miles on it, Pontiac
said "THAT'S A NO!" Car was fine after that. The dealers are expensive but
generally honest.

Most COMPANY owned tire stores are good too. Many mom and pop repair
salons are great if you establish a relationship with them. But the oil
change chains? As they say in new York ...
Ferrrrrrrrrrgettttttttttttttt bout it!

 

Nobody said anything about the Jiffy Lube franchises, krp.
Something must have touched a nerve for you to explode like this.

 

If all it's got is the extra 0.6 of a quart I don't think you have
anything at all to worry about. If the crankcase "size" is 6" x 12"
and it has that extra 0.6 quart it means it's about a half inch higher
then "normal". I've had v-8 cars filled with an extra 1.5 quarts that
didn't seem to have any problem with it.

 

No he didn't mention "Jiffy Lube" I did. He mentioned a "little shop
that specializes in Japanese cars." Over filling the oil may not be the
biggest sin in the world, but if they get even an OIL CHANGE WRONG - what
would they do with a brake job?

 

I do have to agree with krp about Jiffy Lube. In the early 90's I took
a good working Mazda for Oil Change at Jiffy Lube. They tried to sell
me a whole lot of unnecessary stuff which I declined. After that, the
car started showing symptoms of sabotage. Fortunately, I gave it to a
family friend and he fixed it. After that incident, I would avoid Jiffy
Lube at all cost! Wal-Mart folks (depending on the region) do a good job
at oil change. Jiffy Lube avoid it.

This Japanese Auto shop I go to with my Honda Civic, they seem to be
reasonable. They do have good ratings. This is the second time they
are doing my oil change. I did bring it to their attention. The
manager asked me to bring it in and he is going to check and drain out
the excess oil.

Thank you everyone for your ideas.

NJ

 

I agree about the franchises like Jiffy Lube too, but that wasnt the subject
of this thread.

 

As to Jiffy Lube they have been exposed by one of the Network TV
magazine shows as a SCAM operation. I wouldn't take a skateboard in to them.

 

"They" can mean a lot of things.. I know the local owner of the Jiffy Lube
franchise, and
he is an okay guy. They use standard oil and filter options. Nothing wrong
there.

He is not a scam type of person.....

But if they hire a "goober" and dont try to educate him to change oil and
filter, then you
will have trouble.

I dont use Jiffy Lube. I still change my own oil and filter.

 

I believe it was ABC that did it and it was national in scope. They had
the cars inspected before taking them in to Jiffy Lube. They found two
things, the first being the HARD SELL on things the cars didn't need, AND in
some cases deliberate sabotage of the cars. Like in some companies yopu can
find a few crooks. In Jiffy Lube I am sure you can find some decent people.
You will never get ME within 500 feet of one.

I buy my own oil and filters in a parts store. Castrol Edge, and the
Purolator ONE filter. But I have my Honda dealer do the change.

 

Haha, I did exactly that. They not only overfilled my car but spill oil on
the engine. I had to smell oil burning for 30 miles.

The only way to guarantee the job is done right is DIY. You can save some
money too.

 

Well I would certainly scream at the dealer. There are dealers and
dealers.

 

Even dealers, who often use dropouts for entry level work like oil
changes and brakes, frequently have problem filling them right.

It can cause the crank lobes to aerate the oil (lowers lubrication
property) and when too much oil gets onto the cylinder walls
(overwhelms oil control rings) excessive oil consumption.