Oil indicator light after routine oil change

[jmek13]

Hi,
Hoping to get some feedback. I took my 2013 4Runner in for routine oil change at the dealership today and about 7 miles down the highway my oil indicator warning light came on. I pulled over and called dealership and they sent a flatbed tow truck to pick it up and it just arrived back in their shop.

The oil dipstick did not show any oil on side of road but they said there is still two quarts in the engine even if non on indicator.

I am not sure what to expect.. Has this happened to anyone? Is there potential for engine damage (I love my 4Runner as if it were my 4th child).

 

[Antman]

Hi,
Hoping to get some feedback. I took my 2013 4Runner in for routine oil change at the dealership today and about 7 miles down the highway my oil indicator warning light came on. I pulled over and called dealership and they sent a flatbed tow truck to pick it up and it just arrived back in their shop.

The oil dipstick did not show any oil on side of road but they said there is still two quarts in the engine even if non on indicator.

I am not sure what to expect.. Has this happened to anyone? Is there potential for engine damage (I love my 4Runner as if it were my 4th child).

Did you get under there and look? Was there oil anywhere under the truck?

The light will illuminate immediately if there is no oil, so if they forgot to put the oil in it would have been lit at startup.

My guesses:

1- They left the drain plug loose and it fell out.
2- Didn't install filter correctly, or more precisely the O rings on the filter housing and the oil sprayed everywhere.
3- Didn't fill it up completely (unlikely IMO)

If you shut the engine off as soon as the light came on you are probably OK as far as engine damage is concerned.

If you drove, even a little bit engine damage is likely.

THIS NEEDS TO BE DOCUMENTED!!
Good Luck.

 

[K0nfusion]

Hi,
Hoping to get some feedback. I took my 2013 4Runner in for routine oil change at the dealership today and about 7 miles down the highway my oil indicator warning light came on. I pulled over and called dealership and they sent a flatbed tow truck to pick it up and it just arrived back in their shop.

The oil dipstick did not show any oil on side of road but they said there is still two quarts in the engine even if non on indicator.

I am not sure what to expect.. Has this happened to anyone? Is there potential for engine damage (I love my 4Runner as if it were my 4th child).

Was it a Toyota Dealership? Please let us know how this ends for you! I hope everything is ok.

 

[thebwlife]

Sorry bout yah - that's a big mistake either way.

Let this be a lesson to all anytime your oil is change by anyone (including your self) always check your oil before leaving the property. I've seen this happen a couple times and its never pretty.

Also I'd add that anytime you fill up spend the 30 seconds and run through all your fluids that are serviceable topside really quick.

 

[jmek13]

Did you get under there and look? Was there oil anywhere under the truck?

The light will illuminate immediately if there is no oil, so if they forgot to put the oil in it would have been lit at startup.

My guesses:

1- They left the drain plug loose and it fell out.
2- Didn't install filter correctly, or more precisely the O rings on the filter housing and the oil sprayed everywhere.
3- Didn't fill it up completely (unlikely IMO)

If you shut the engine off as soon as the light came on you are probably OK as far as engine damage is concerned.

If you drove, even a little bit engine damage is likely.

THIS NEEDS TO BE DOCUMENTED!!
Good Luck.

I did not see oil or look under vehicle (I am not mechanically inclined). I just know that the light came on about 7 miles down road and once I noticed it I had to move to side of road (three lanes of traffic), once parked turned vehicle off and checked dipstick. Is it true that if no oil is on the dipstick there is still 2 quarts in engine (per dealership). I have my fingers crossed but really nervous.

 

[Antman]

I did not see oil or look under vehicle (I am not mechanically inclined). I just know that the light came on about 7 miles down road and once I noticed it I had to move to side of road (three lanes of traffic), once parked turned vehicle off and checked dipstick. Is it true that if no oil is on the dipstick there is still 2 quarts in engine (per dealership). I have my fingers crossed but really nervous.

That could be true- BUT I'm not sure if the oil light comes on if the oil is just low. I know for sure it comes on when it senses a loss of oil pressure (no oil).

Do yourself a favor and go to the dealer NOW and look under the truck to see if there is oil spilled. You need to know what happened to get this resolved- NOT what the dealer says happened!

Go take pictures and we will help you figure it out.:becky:

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

I did not see oil or look under vehicle (I am not mechanically inclined). I just know that the light came on about 7 miles down road and once I noticed it I had to move to side of road (three lanes of traffic), once parked turned vehicle off and checked dipstick. Is it true that if no oil is on the dipstick there is still 2 quarts in engine (per dealership). I have my fingers crossed but really nervous.

It could be true but the problem is it could be anywhere from 2 quarts to 0. Or give them the benefit, maybe 1 quart in the oil filter.

 

[jmek13]

That could be true- BUT I'm not sure if the oil light comes on if the oil is just low. I know for sure it comes on when it senses a loss of oil pressure (no oil).

Do yourself a favor and go to the dealer NOW and look under the truck to see if there is oil spilled. You need to know what happened to get this resolved- NOT what the dealer says happened!

Go take pictures and we will help you figure it out.:becky:

Toyota dealer had master mechanic look and said it checked out fine, they are putting in writing that they will take 100% responsibility of any related damage that may occur. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing does occur, as mentioned - love my vehicle..

 

[philsey]

.... The oil dipstick did not show any oil on side of road but they said there is still two quarts in the engine even if non on indicator......QUOTE]

This, IMO, is a very misleading statement - why they would tell you this raises my suspicions.

Now, is it POSSIBLE to have 2 quarts in the sump while still not showing on the DS? Perhaps it is, I don't know.

But is it LIKELY (that as fast as you lost oil, plus that you drove it some after the light), there were still two quarts in it before you shut it down?

Hmmm, I have to wonder. Like [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] said, this needs to be fully documented.

 

[jmek13]

Toyota dealer had master mechanic look and said it checked out fine, they are putting in writing that they will take 100% responsibility of any related damage that may occur. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing does occur, as mentioned - love my vehicle..

Also - they said it is an automated process of adding oil. Something malfunctioned and only 1 quart was added, no leak. They added 6 quarts to the vehicle when it was returned. Thanks everyone for your help, I guess I will need to wait and see.

 

[Antman]

Also - they said it is an automated process of adding oil. Something malfunctioned and only 1 quart was added, no leak. They added 6 quarts to the vehicle when it was returned. Thanks everyone for your help, I guess I will need to wait and see.

Oh man- I would be piiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssed! There is NO WAY anyone can know if damage was done to that engine without taking it apart. Tell them you want an oil anylasis at your next oil change to see if anything abnormal shows up. This will give at least some indication of what's going on.

If I were you, I would stand there at the next (FREE I presume by now) oil change and watch them drain some of your oil into a container so you can send it to Blackstone Labs for an analysis:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=e8wCUiiNoYXdqti99rMirg&bvm=bv.48705608,d.dmg

They can pay for it. The least they can do,

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Also - they said it is an automated process of adding oil. Something malfunctioned and only 1 quart was added, no leak. They added 6 quarts to the vehicle when it was returned. Thanks everyone for your help, I guess I will need to wait and see.

Wait... first it was 2qts... and now its 1qt? and then they added 6qts?

First off, what is this "automated" process of adding oil? Unless they're counting under-trained, under-paid, over-worked, and over-pressured lube techs filling the engine up with oil automated... they are blowing smoke where it don't shine.

We have a bulk oil container for our 5w-30 that has what looks like a gas nozzle pump with a digital indicator to let us know how many quarts are pumped. But its still manual, you hold the lever until it gets to the number you want; not to mention I doubt they have these types of bulk oil tanks & lines for each grade of oil (would be nice though...) as your vehicle take 0w-20 and normally is going to be filled by "hand" via 1qt bottles of the Toyota Stuff (assuming the dealer is honest enough to use the right oil...)

The oil light will come on if the oil level is low or if there is low oil pressure. the engien takes about 6~6.5qts of oil (the new canister filter adds almost a qt capacity vs. the old 1GR-FE with the screw on filter that took 5.5qts of oil) so no one put oil in the truck most likely. You could probably have 2-3qts and still see nothing on the dipstick itself, this is sort of true on many cars as usually the dipstick seems to read only towards the last 1-2qts of oil (from what I've noticed.)

Either way, this dealership sounds super hi-tech to have automated robotic filler things for the oil!

 

[philsey]

^^^ Yeah, I'm thinking I'd ask to see that automated filling thingy. Sounds like horse pucky to me.

 

[1000MPH]

The ones I've seen are set first, usually approx .5-1 qt less than full.
They shut off automatically when they reach the preset number.
The oil is checked on the stick and then filled as needed to the full level.
They can shut off prematurely if the drum is empty.

I hope you enjoy your new 4Runner that they will be selling you at an amazing discount.

 

[ZO6_Vette]

Oh man- I would be piiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssed! There is NO WAY anyone can know if damage was done to that engine without taking it apart. Tell them you want an oil anylasis at your next oil change to see if anything abnormal shows up. This will give at least some indication of what's going on.

If I were you, I would stand there at the next (FREE I presume by now) oil change and watch them drain some of your oil into a container so you can send it to Blackstone Labs for an analysis:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=e8wCUiiNoYXdqti99rMirg&bvm=bv.48705608,d.dmg

They can pay for it. The least they can do,

Unfortunately Antman is correct no one can tell if there is any damage to your engine without disassembling it.
His suggestion for an oil sample is a good idea but I would have one taken immediately and another at say 5000 miles to see how the engine is wearing.
The sample can be pulled from the dip stick with a plastic tube and a suction device.
If you do have a sample taken write a note of what happened so that the lab technician is aware of the situation.

I would also file a complaint with Toyota Corporate.

Good Luck

 

[1engineer]

Let me weigh in here before it gets out of hand lol. Remember first how the oil system works and what it does:
Oil is pumped from a sump into various parts of the engine for lubrication. Gravity does it's job and the oil returns to the sump. With that said, as long as there is oil to pump, regardless of amount, lubrication is happening within your engine. Now with less oil in the sump heat could quickly become a factor. The OP said he drove it 7 miles so that's not too far as long as there was some oil available to pump.

I concur with others that an oil sample should be taken fairly soon. While I do not think there will be any damage its good insurance.

Also the OP stated the dealer has put in writing an admission of error and will be responsible for any costs incurred. I would not worry much about it and drive with confidence. Just remember next time to alway check the oil before you drive no matter who changed it. I do.

 

[Canazes9]

Let me weigh in here before it gets out of hand lol. Remember first how the oil system works and what it does:
Oil is pumped from a sump into various parts of the engine for lubrication. Gravity does it's job and the oil returns to the sump. With that said, as long as there is oil to pump, regardless of amount, lubrication is happening within your engine. Now with less oil in the sump heat could quickly become a factor. The OP said he drove it 7 miles so that's not too far as long as there was some oil available to pump.

I concur with others that an oil sample should be taken fairly soon. While I do not think there will be any damage its good insurance.

Also the OP stated the dealer has put in writing an admission of error and will be responsible for any costs incurred. I would not worry much about it and drive with confidence. Just remember next time to alway check the oil before you drive no matter who changed it. I do.

That's a fine plan, but what do you suggest he do if the engine starts burning oil or throws a rod in another 80,000 miles after 4 or 5 years? Do you think the dealership will say, absolutely that's our fault - we'll install a brand new motor free of charge?

I agree there's a good chance there is little to minimal damage, but I wouldn't be satisfied with that if the dealership did that to my Truck. I would file a complaint w/ Toyota - immediately. I would express my concerns about the possibility of accelerated wear/damage to the motor that may not be immediately apparent. Ask Toyota what they plan on doing about it.

If your motor throws a rod tomorrow you're covered, by you already were covered by your warranty. Exactly what is that letter saying it's the dealerships fault good for? Did they extend the drivetrain warranty? You better start asking some hard questions because I imagine that letter and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks if the engine starts having problems a few years down the line.

David

 

[eddiebx]

That's a fine plan, but what do you suggest he do if the engine starts burning oil or throws a rod in another 80,000 miles after 4 or 5 years? Do you think the dealership will say, absolutely that's our fault - we'll install a brand new motor free of charge?

I agree there's a good chance there is little to minimal damage, but I wouldn't be satisfied with that if the dealership did that to my Truck. I would file a complaint w/ Toyota - immediately. I would express my concerns about the possibility of accelerated wear/damage to the motor that may not be immediately apparent. Ask Toyota what they plan on doing about it.

If your motor throws a rod tomorrow you're covered, by you already were covered by your warranty. Exactly what is that letter saying it's the dealerships fault good for? Did they extend the drivetrain warranty? You better start asking some hard questions because I imagine that letter and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks if the engine starts having problems a few years down the line.

David

If I may ask, what do you feel Toyota should do in this situation in order for you to be fully satisfied? Replace your engine with a new one? Give you a written lifetime engine warranty on any lubrication related failures? Buy back the vehicle and give you a new 4runner?

Unfortunately events like this happen because we are all human, and there's never going to be a 100% satisfactory resolution if both sides do not want to compromise. IMO, in this situation, all you can really do is accept a resolution which is reasonably accommodating given the circumstances. From what it sounds like, the OP's dealer is doing just that or at least trying to make it right.

Regarding your statement about if the engine threw a rod tomorrow you would be covered under warranty anyway--I am not so sure that is going to be the case at all. If you bring in your brand new 4runner with a blow motor and Toyota deems that you ran the engine without oil which caused the catastrophic failure, I highly doubt they will be making a good will engine replacement on their dime due to your negligence. This is where your allegedly worthless letter from the dealer would come in handy; you have on the record that the dealer is taking full responsibility for running the engine without sufficient oil.

 

[Go JayBee]

Man o' man...this really scares me about having the dealer do an oil change for me!!!!!
Truth is: I'd rather do it myself....no one to blame for a shoddy job, but me.

I don't trust anyone to touch my oil or filter, as far as I can throw them...

Just my 2 cents....

 

[mjohns2]

I would ask the dealer to extend my Vehicle Service Agreement (warranty) out to 8 years / 125,000 miles, assuming this wasn't already paid for.

It would really wouldn't cost them much and you have peace of mind for the next 8 years or 125,000 miles that if anything should go wrong you are covered.