MSKJON

Hi Guys,
I hope you can relieve my concern. I've been bringing my 04 Civic EX, 117k miles, to the dealer for oil changes and service since I bought it used in early 08. They did a crappy job of the Service (plug change was gassing me inside the cabin) but I've stuck with them for oil changes. Every time I took it home the dipstick would show it overfilled and the receipt would show 4 qts added though my manual says only 3.4 qts capacity, I have all the receipts. They even put 30 weight in last September. My buddy works for a Toyota dealer and said this would cause problems to seals/gaskets and foaming (?). He also suggested I call to ask what oil they used as he doesn't like paraffin based oils. The service guy first asked someone else, I was on the phone, and answered they used HONDA OIL. My buddy says neither Honda nor Toyota ship bulk oil.
Will them overfilling my crankcase cause problems down the road? They personally confirmed they add 4 quarts. Is there anything I should do? This is the only Honda Dealership in Muskegon, Michigan.

Jon

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

They sometimes add all 4 to my 05. (I take my own oil in) It should be fine.

Honda does have it's own oil it is 08798-9023

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

I rather be a little over then a little under. Simply because sometimes you may burn off oil, and I do it mainly because I dont want the little amount of oil sitting in my garage. If they top off the 4 quarts its not a big deal really, unless they are overfilling it dangerously high. Honda and I am pretty sure Toyota too have their own oil, I heard that its pretty shitty compared to most generic oils though. I think they are required to use Honda fluids (brake, coolant, oil, transmission) unless you specify otherwise.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

its because most shops and dealer mechanics are stupid. even when they read the service specs of how much to add, they are just too lazy to figure out how much of the 4th bottle to add. alot of times even the amount called for in the manual isnt correct. ive sometimes only needed 3.1 qts, sometimes 3.4 qts. it varies, and only the owner will care enough to actually check before adding too much. remember these are usually high school graduates that maybe attended a tech school training who get paid $10-12 an hour to slave away other peoples cars all day. they could care less what happens to the cars so long as they get paid.

i used to be forced to take my car in for oil changes cause i lived in apartment (did not allow us to work on cars for liability reasons) and i was so busy in school. so i went to the #1 rated shop with awards all over the wall where i personally was friends with the owner. yet still after every oil change, it was overfilled. i went like this for about a year or two and as a result, my rear main seal started leaking. it costs $600 to replace the seal since the transmission needs to come of. finally i started changing my own oil since last year and the leak completely went away and my car runs better too. a little bit of oil like 1/4 qt overfilled will not hurt anything, but any more and you risk serious problems including main seal failing and possibly total engine failure. search around the internet for what happens when the oil is overfilled. i know many car owners who even fill their oil 1/2 way between min and max on the dipstick to avoid overfill problems. ofcourse that means you need to check the dipstick more often to add oil if its being burned. the best idea is to leave the oil just slightly below the max line. also be sure that when you check the oil, the engine has been sitting cold for at least 15 mins and you are on level ground to get an accurate reading. if you are parked on a slight incline, the level will read much higher than it actually is.

04 honda civic-im just the opposite. i think its safer to slightly underfill so you dont damage the engine. just check the oil more often if you are burning any. i keep mine right at the full line just because i drive a bit spirited and dont want to risk oil starvation on a fast corner. the dealer honda oil is actually some basic mobil1 type. no dealer has their own brand of oil. its just oil made by another company that honda slaps their name on.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Yea I suppose, I always use up the full last quart usually doesnt bring my level very high from full. I suspected that Hondas oil was made by someone but I heard otherwise. Even if its good quality oil just because they put their name on it, it gets expensive.

ADMCivic

Gearbox is right, I have also heard that is it safer to slightly underfill your oil than overfill.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

main reason is your car will run just fine with the oil level at MIN. that whole extra quart is insurance to guard against ppls laziness of never checking the oil. so if it drops a quart by the time next oil change comes 3 months later, the engine will still be fine. can you imagine how many cars would have broken engines if you actually had to check the oil level every few weeks and refill to the top? lol. most people do not even check their tire pressures more than once a year.

digger

For those with a 2009 civic, it is difficult to tell where the oil is on the orange dipstick when changing oil. Bad move using an orange dipstick, what were they thinking.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the whole thing?

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

You have to look real close to see the level even on the metal ones when you first change the oil.

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

Honda oil is blend by Exxon Mobil. Most of Honda dealer (the ones in my area) will use bulk Mobil oil (not the same as Honda oil you get at the parts department since it has different blend) So i think this is where the mix up is. Some dealers will also use brand name bulk like Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvoline. etc. As far as overfilling, i wouldn't worry about it. since it's around 1/2 qt above.

lexxie

Can't be no worst than me driving my car across country and stopping for an oil change.. and the moron didn't even check my fluids and needless to say my car was thirsty for water. ... Gulp