Low on oil?

[subzero]

Has anyone ever had their truck almost run out of oil at 3000 miles? I almost always change my own oil, but I was so busy last time that I just had it done at a Pennzoil. I go to start my car this morning, and it runs for like 1 second, and then shuts off. It took 2 tries just to get it running. I then decide to check the oil, even though the oil light was not on. When I checked it, I found that the oil was only around 2 mm up the dipstick. I then immediately drove to NAPA and put about 2.5 quarts into it. Now it starts up no problem. It has been 3034 miles since my last oil change. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this would happen? Thanks

 

[dingo]

You had to put 2.5 quarts back into it?! I would check for a leak somewhere. That's a lot of oil to burn in just 3000 miles. I never had to add any oil at all post oil-change since I've had my 4runner. I have a little over 18000 miles on my '05 and haven't had to add additional oil once between changes. Check the oil filter and oil pan bolt.

I had a similar situation with my old '91 Acura. Some dumb@ss put the wrong size filter and it obviously didn't seal completely and all the oil flowed out slowly. All the oil was gone in less than 500 miles.

Another possibility is that whoever worked on your truck forgot to put oil or just didn't put enough.

 

[toto]

2.5 quarts is WAY too much. I haven't had to add oil to any vehcile between changes in years!

Maybe whoever did the oil change last didn't realize it's a V8, which takes 6.5 - 7 quarts with filter. A V6 is 5.5 quarts with filter.
Either that or it's a big leak like dingo suggested.

 

[Mark86]

To me, it seems like way too much oil was lost for a leak. You probably would have noticed all of that oil on the ground when you got into your truck.

 

[spyne]

To lose that much oil you would see oil under the truck every time you parked it, or see clouds of smoke behind you as you're driving down the road. For comparison purposes, my '91 Mustang had a bad rear main seal and would lose about a quart every 2000 miles. I couldn't park that car for more than 20 minutes without leaving noticeable oil droppings on the ground.

I have about 36K on my '03 4.7 and have never had to add a drop between changes to keep the oil level where it should be.

IMHO they must have shorted you on the last change. Unfortunately, you'll have a tough time proving it. I'm sure they will deny they did anything wrong and demand that you provide conclusive proof, which of course, you can't provide. Hopefully nothing was damaged. If you ever have to go to a quick change location in the future, make sure you check the oil level before you leave their shop. Not that I need to tell you that now. :bash:

 

[subzero]

To lose that much oil you would see oil under the truck every time you parked it, or see clouds of smoke behind you as you're driving down the road. For comparison purposes, my '91 Mustang had a bad rear main seal and would lose about a quart every 2000 miles. I couldn't park that car for more than 20 minutes without leaving noticeable oil droppings on the ground.

I have about 36K on my '03 4.7 and have never had to add a drop between changes to keep the oil level where it should be.

IMHO they must have shorted you on the last change. Unfortunately, you'll have a tough time proving it. I'm sure they will deny they did anything wrong and demand that you provide conclusive proof, which of course, you can't provide. Hopefully nothing was damaged. If you ever have to go to a quick change location in the future, make sure you check the oil level before you leave their shop. Not that I need to tell you that now. :bash:

Yea I mean Im definitely never gonna let anyone else change my oil again. My main concern is the the truck. Do you guys think that this could have damaged the engine in any way?? I didnt really find any oil spills in my garage. The only indication that it was low is that it would take 2-3 times to start the engine. What do you guys think about long term damage?

PS It was taking more than once to start for only 2 days.

 

[JP4RNR]

Has anyone ever had their truck almost run out of oil at 3000 miles? I almost always change my own oil, but I was so busy last time that I just had it done at a Pennzoil. I go to start my car this morning, and it runs for like 1 second, and then shuts off. It took 2 tries just to get it running. I then decide to check the oil, even though the oil light was not on. When I checked it, I found that the oil was only around 2 mm up the dipstick. I then immediately drove to NAPA and put about 2.5 quarts into it. Now it starts up no problem. It has been 3034 miles since my last oil change. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this would happen? Thanks

Did Pennzoil indicate how many quarts they put in the engine on your receipt? Maybe that's where the 2.5 quarts is missing.

 

[Fro-Runner]

I would rather pay the price and allow the stealership to change my oil since I live in a place where I can't do it myself. I've heard too many horrible stories about those 15 mins oil and lube places.

 

[4by4th]

I would rather pay the price and allow the stealership to change my oil since I live in a place where I can't do it myself. I've heard too many horrible stories about those 15 mins oil and lube places.

You're kidding right?
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22397&highlight=nightmare

Hind sight is 20/20, but the only way to be safe is to stand next to the person changing the oil, and check the dipstick before they move the vehicle from the location they changed it. Checking it before driving home will only make you wonder how much damage was done driving it to the point of delivery. Looking back now I'd say it would have been better to have taken it out on the highway and opened it up without oil in it since there wouldn't have been any question of damage.

We confirmed damage done by the stealer while draining the oil through a white rag (T-shirt) finding metal shavings with reprentatives of the stealer present.

I change my own oil now.

 

[icantsee]

I use to have a Honda & I torque down the drain plug to factory specs - 33ft/lbs.

I also do that to my dad's Camry & will do on my 4R when it needs an oil change.

 

[Northof49]

Most likely they shorted you than the vehicle burning/leaking that amount.

 

[pat161]

It does seem like it would be excessive to burn or leak that much oil, but at the same time if it was 2.5 quarts low the whole time why would it stop running only after 3,000+ miles. He had no issues at first, and much later it wouldn't start or run until topped off, seems like either 2 coincidentally unrelated issues or he really lost 2.5 quarts of oil somehow.

 

[Northof49]

It does seem like it would be excessive to burn or leak that much oil, but at the same time if it was 2.5 quarts low the whole time why would it stop running only after 3,000+ miles. He had no issues at first, and much later it wouldn't start or run until topped off, seems like either 2 coincidentally unrelated issues or he really lost 2.5 quarts of oil somehow.

Just a stab in the dark, but the temp drop coming into winter could be a possible explanation for that. The added restrictions of a colder motor, thicker oil, weaker batery, etc. All the variables that come with lower temps could add up to juuuust enough to make for hard starts.

Just an idea.

 

[TheBlueWave]

I would rather pay the price and allow the stealership to change my oil since I live in a place where I can't do it myself. I've heard too many horrible stories about those 15 mins oil and lube places.

I gotta bump. One time they overfilled my rear diff on my old truck and it blew a pinion seal. I was dry for awhile before I even knew my pinion was broke. If you go to a place like that, supervise the slappys as they work on your car to make sure they aren't screwing something up. One thing I would never do is have them change my tranny fluid.

Just remember the world is full of slappys, even the stealerships are full of them.

 

[Rob96]

Another possibility is that they didn't get the filter on tight enough.