Gen 2 Oil Level

[RelaxedDrive]

When my car was recently serviced I noticed that once again the dealer had overfilled the oil, by just over a 1 cm.

When I questioned this they said 'the oil should be changed when the engine is warm'! (When warm, it is indeed then at the max level!)

So which is it? Should the oil be cold(as I have always believed) or warm, when checking the oil level. Seems stupid to do it when warm and the oil could be sitting in various parts of the engine/filter!

I'm thinking I should get a syringe and some tubing and remove some!

[cootuk]

I thought a warm engine helps the oil drain more, but level should be checked when the engine has stopped and had a chance for all the oil to drain back into the sump.

[Yolina]

I usually check mine about 10-15 minutes after switching the engine off .

Edit: just looked in the handbook and it does say "with the engine at operating temperature and turned off, check the oil level" and they recommend waiting at least 5 minutes after engine off

[Ancient Nerd]

This is a problem with the Gen II. Toyota specify an amount of oil to be added at a service, but unfortunately it is significantly too much. Toyota have been told about it by the dealer who serviced my old Gen II in 2008, although I think it was a known problem even then. As far as I know, nothing was ever done, and the refill amounts remain too high. Sadly, this is fairly typical of Toyota in recent years.

I stopped having the problem by checking the oil level after every service, and getting the dealer to remove the excess before.I drove away. They learned quickly.

[johalareewi]

When my car was recently serviced I noticed that once again the dealer had overfilled the oil, by just over a 1 cm.

What Ancient Nerd said.

It's a well known issue (on here at least).