Car driven with low oil- question?

[311Hemi]

So I had the oil changed on our 2008 Toyota on Tuesday. Last night I notice oil all over the back of the car and it's all over the undercarriage. Checked the oil and nothing on the dip stick. The shop that did the change came and got it first thing this morning and it was 3 quarts low on oil (it holds 6 total from what I was told) and had been driven about 65 miles since the oil change.

Any thoughts on if this would have affected the engine in any way. I took pics of everything and watch them fill it with the 3 quarts, and asked them to document everything. Not sure if I should have done anything else.

On top of that I blew the serpentine belt on the Cummins yesterday....luckily I had an old spare I kept in the truck. What a day!

[spearchucker]

Probably be fine. I'm sure it wasn't driven with 3 qts low the whole 65 miles. What happened, did they leave the oil filter loose?

[GFNER]

Exactly the reason I'll always change my own. Took our company truck to one of those fast change shops, next day starts making all kinds of noise and the thing is 4 qts. low. The drain plug is hanging on by a couple threads. Young kids that changed it must have had something better to do than tightening the plug. Never again.

[311Hemi]

Yea...I hear ya. I do all the work on my truck....it is just convenient to take the car there. And this is a full service shop, not just one of those quick oil change shops.

[BobT]

I think the biggest problems you will have with low oil are...

* The pump could potentially suck air, especially on a steep hill or higher speeds, leaving some components with inadequate lubrication.

* Low oil level could result in excessive heat build-up leading to premature oil breakdown. This is especially true on long drives.

* There is less oil to handle contamination so it could become too saturated with contaminants prematurely.

Since you only drove about 65 miles and likely not all at once and not that low the entire time, I wouldn't be too concerned.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Your motor is fine. If you knew they number of cars that come in with literally half a quart in there system......!

On a side not we are running into issues with the canister filters on the Toyotas. Our current filter supplier has an o-ring than is to large for the filter cup. If your not really careful it can get pinched during install and cause a leak. We are currently exploring other suppliers for the filters.

You also didn't mention the model or engine size (every automotive post should have this!). The newer v-6 engines have an oil passage for the rear VVT that likes to pop and dump all the oil very quickly. If this is the case call Toyota regardless of the mileage and they will more than likley repair it at no charge.

What I'm getting at is, we don't know if it was a quick lube (well not until 311 told us) and we don't know what went wrong so lets not jump to conclusions until we know the facts.

[311Hemi]

On a side not we are running into issues with the canister filters on the Toyotas. Our current filter supplier has an o-ring than is to large for the filter cup. If your not really careful it can get pinched during install and cause a leak. We are currently exploring other suppliers for the filters.

You also didn't mention the model or engine size (every automotive post should have this!).

Thanks guys....reassurance is always good.

Airjer, the vehicle was a 08' Toyota Highlander with the V6...I should have included that. The o-ring/gasket on the filter was the issue here and it got pinched or something when they were putting it on. The service manager assumed responsibility for the mess up. He was at my house 30 min after I called this morning to fill it with oil and drive it back to their shop to do a fresh change/filter and clean up all the oil on the undercarriage. They made good on their end and gave me a few extras for the inconvenience.

[Scott K]

I dont think you will have an issue either. As Airjer said, you would be surprised at the number of vehicles out there with 1/5 the oil it is suppose to have in it.

[CAMAN]

I agree, as long as the oil pressure or service engine light didn't come on you should be fine.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I dont think you will have an issue either. As Airjer said, you would be surprised at the number of vehicles out there with 1/5 the oil it is suppose to have in it.

I'm talking about 1/5 of a quart! Dead serious!!!

[BoxMN]

Ha! wow. I did have a place double gasket me on the filter once. I was watching smoke in my rear view mirror, and thinking "glad that isn't me..." then realized it WAS m e... doh! They towed it and cleaned it and gave me a free oil change... which I never used

[BehindtheHead]

i have double gasketed a filter before. spin the old filter off and the new one on. never used to check if the old filter had its o ring on but now i do. 10 quarts of 15-40 on the shop floor isnt cheep, expecially when its schaeffers.

my cousin brought her impala in the shop to get a headlight fixed. we looked at her sticker on the windsheild and she had almost 20,000 miles on the oil! we pulled the plug and 1/2 quart of sludge came out! i cant beleve that motor still runs.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Knock on plastic I have yet to double gasket a filter. My high school shop teacher was very good at making proper procedure very clear. Look for the gasket on the old filter once removed. Always visually check the filter mourning surface for debris and always lubricate the gasket on the new filter. I follow that every oil change!

[RangerJack]

I'm talking about 1/5 of a quart! Dead serious!!!

[Scott K]

What I do is, I take the old oil filter, and hold it gasket side up, take the new filter and rub the gaskets together, this way I am putting lube in the new filter from the old filter, I am making sure the old filter has the gasket, and making sure the filter is the correct one. Now this isnt fool proof, as I did get burnt one time, because the person that did the oil change before me, double gasketed it, and one gasket came off with the filter, and one stayed on the block, then I double gasketed it, but luckily it leaked enough right away, and I noticed it before giving it to the customer.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

On another note oil does expand like transmission fluid, it may be very slight but it does expand. So when you fill you car to the very top of the full mark of the dip stick you are over filling the engine when it is warm. Then the oil gets aerated by the crank, air in a hydraulic system doesn't work well. Yea you get an extra half a quart in or so but I've noticed on some vehicles that that oil then gets digested by the engine through the PCV system. 6.0L Fords are good for this. so that "extra oil" did no good for you.

A full oil pan is in between low and full.

My two cents.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Quote:

I often wonder how many times people open the hood and check their oil between oil changes..

More people have seen bigfoot!

[delcecchi]

Well, I do so on occasion and I have never seen bigfoot. I probably check it every 500 to 1000 miles, but then again I grew up driving back in the day when cars burned oil, and 100k miles on a motor was an accomplishment.

My first car was a 1941 plymouth business coupe that I got from my Aunt who had bought it new. Actually I got it from my brother who got it from her. It was a little worse for wear by the time I got it.