Hi, first thanks to everyone for comments and suggestions when my husband and I were looking for a new vehicle to replace our cavalier… they closed all discussions so I couldn’t show appreciation…
Now we bought a used 2009 RAV4 V6 and I had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago… well my husband checks Saturday and thinks there is too much oil. I checked it this morning and was probably an inch above the full line dot (cold engine). So I took it to a dealer and they looked at it and said it was fine. I looked on my receipt from a couple of weeks ago and it said 6.5 Qt oil used. Is this too much for a V6 RAV4 or just about right? And would anyone speculate that too much oil will harm the engine? Thank you!
Your owner’s manual will list the total oil volume necessary for your engine.
Yes, that sounds like too much oil for that motor…but don’t believe me, check your owner’s manual.
Did you use a Quickie Lube? Congratulations on having the oil changed, you did the right thing, however I’d recommend that you find a good reputable owner-operated local garage and begin to use them instead. Quickie lubes often use minimally trained, lower paid, less experienced, personnel and rush the work. Way too many problems get posted here due to quickie lubes for me to not suggest avoiding them. Besides, I’ve watched them work…they’ll never touch my car!
Hi, we used our usual mechanic…we don’t do quick lubes… ok I finally found oil capacity since you must attend a college course in order to read the manual… it states that with filter it takes 6.4 qts, without filter it states 6.0 qts… why would you not have an oil filter??? any way I am sure there is a filter should the small amount be removed or just leave it be?
Congrads…It should be a tad quicker then the Cavalier…It should be no problem as the dealer says. You have pretty good leeway when filling on an occasional basis. This is one maintenance item you can get it a little wrong once in a while, just don’t make a habit of it.
Park the car on level ground and check it again… If it’s more than one inch overfull, I would remove some. If it’s LESS than one inch, that should not be a problem…
The term “without filter” means that you are not changing the existing oil filter. You are leaving it in place. It contains enough oil to account for the 0.4 qt difference.
The fill line on the dipstick is only an approximation. An oil level slightly above or below is perfectly acceptable.
Page 355 of the owners manual states to check the oil level at “operating temperature”, parked over night will read higher due to more oil draining back to the pan.
“Park the vehicle on level ground. After turning off the engine,
wait more than five minutes for the oil to drain back into the
bottom of the engine.”
I’m inclined to agree with Caddyman. One inch should not be a problem. More than that i’d let a bit out. Your shop should do thisfor you for free.
Congrats on having checked the manual. I’d rather have someone read the manual for the correct information and prove me wrong than to have them assume that I’m right.
Thanks SteveF for correcting my silliness… I will check it again after I have driven it (following manual instructions) and see what happens… thanks everybody!
When you’re checking it, are you wiping the dipstick, reinserting it, then removing it and looking, as you should be? Or are you just pulling it out and looking?
The large difference between “one side” and the “other side” is what makes me wonder. That happens due to the turbulance of the oil as it’s being moved around and draining back into the pan. The oil level will always appear higher and uneven if the stick is pulled while the engine is operating, It needs to be wiped down and reinserted.
Hi, yes i remove dipstick, wipe, reinsert and then check level. I did not actually have the engine running on either check. Should I check while the engine is running?
If some needs to be let out someone else suggested inserting 1/4 tubing and siphon the oil out. Any other suggestions?
It is normal to see a higher level of oil on “one side” of the dipstick. We are actually referring to the edge of the stick. When the engine is run, oil can splash up the dipstick tube and coat the sides of it. When you check oil (engine off, dipstick wiped dry) the edge of the stick will scrape off some oil from the tube. So you will typically see oil on the edge that’s well above the level indicated by the flat part of the stick.
From your descriptions so far I’d say you have nothing to worry about. Leave it as is.
OK we will leave it… although the excess oil is on the flat part of the stick not the sides of the stick… I just don’t need a major repair bill on a new if used car… I would not think there is more than a .5 qt over so even though I will probably worry about it I will leave just in case I would cause something else to go wrong… thanks everybody
Soilsenasuil…you did already take it to the dealer who checked it. My take is that changing oil happens so frequently, that mechanics often just dump entire quarts in without regard to the manual’s 6.4 with filter reference and you got 7 quarts. It may happen every time you take it this place.
If it were a motorcycle or generator with small capacity, I would change it…but .5 quarts or even .6 here out of 6 seems like too little to worry about as everyone says and I would be equally unconcerned if it were a little less then full as well. As long as the level remains constant…I feel a little variability during fill up is fine.