Corolla facelift oil level issues after service?

[Mojo1010]

I will lean to the direction of members who guess the engine was not hot enough or the drain is not long enough. So when they refill, refer to what capacity oil the engine take, so there are some old oil left, this is my assumption. 

[JasonM]

I have found measuring the oil level on the Corolla dip stick particularly difficult compared to other cars, I think the light colour and the very thin oil means it doesn’t leave a clear oil line and gets everywhere.   However I changed my oil the other day and added 4.3L in a 2.0L engine and the manual states needs 4.6L.  I gave the car a good run and left it for 10 min then checked.  If I looked really closely there was a very faint line across the oil on the dip stick and showed it was maybe 2-3mm below the upper max mark.  I topped up a little and all good.  So there is a level line but hard to see.

[sportse]

Thanks, that’s how I’d thought garages were supposed to change the oil, fill up lower than full capacity and then check the dipstick before topping up the last bit to reach the top dot. 
 

I checked the oil again yesterday when it was very hot - a 50 mile journey in 26 degree weather and left it 10 minutes. 
 

the oil level was the same, but harder to see as it was lighter. Still oil all over the dipstick and higher than the top dot. 
 

it’s strange that the factory filled oil did have a definite line and was easy to see. It’s only after the service the problems started. The oil is supposed to be the same new 0W16. Previous hybrids I’ve owned had 0W20. 
 

 

[TonyHSD]

Just buy syringe and suck the excess out. 
Check oil level on cold before wiping out the dipstick to get an idea where exactly is the oil level in the pan. Once the engine starts and oil gets warmed up will be almost impossible to read correctly as the oil is very thin and clear plus it has splashes all along the dipstick tube , very confusing. Perhaps some other makes has plastic inserts on the dipstick to prevent that, but then those with time gets brittle and tend to break and cause more problems. 
No matter what type of oil is filled up the results will be the same. You want oil level to be at max dot at cold at level ground, this is the best practice. 
Toyota dealers mechanics follow their instructions but in some cases they are wrong or limited to think outsiders the box and not practical nor correct. 

I open my car bonnet at least twice a week to check oil and all other fluids since I drive a bit more than average uk driver and also I do my own service on this car since 2016 now more than 25 oil changes , same car, same oil, same filter, same torque specs, same driveway, same trouble free engine and motoring. 
 

[Red_Corolla]

18 hours ago, JasonM said:

I have found measuring the oil level on the Corolla dip stick particularly difficult compared to other cars, I think the light colour and the very thin oil means it doesn’t leave a clear oil line and gets everywhere.   However I changed my oil the other day and added 4.3L in a 2.0L engine and the manual states needs 4.6L.  I gave the car a good run and left it for 10 min then checked.  If I looked really closely there was a very faint line across the oil on the dip stick and showed it was maybe 2-3mm below the upper max mark.  I topped up a little and all good.  So there is a level line but hard to see.

Same here: 4.3L was the amount required to refill when I did the initial oil change. Dealer been doing it since, but that will end next year if I take full ownership of the car.

I've noticed that Millers and Castrol GTX oils are available in 0w16 these days. Both good brands that meet the required spec for about half the price of the Toyota-badged stuff.

[JasonM]

I’ve used the Petronas Syntium 7000 0W-16.  £32 for 5 litres and meets Toyota standards.

14 hours ago, sportse said:

Thanks, that’s how I’d thought garages were supposed to change the oil, fill up lower than full capacity and then check the dipstick before topping up the last bit to reach the top dot. 
 

I checked the oil again yesterday when it was very hot - a 50 mile journey in 26 degree weather and left it 10 minutes. 
 

the oil level was the same, but harder to see as it was lighter. Still oil all over the dipstick and higher than the top dot. 
 

it’s strange that the factory filled oil did have a definite line and was easy to see. It’s only after the service the problems started. The oil is supposed to be the same new 0W16. Previous hybrids I’ve owned had 0W20. 
 

 

[MrTbee]

Concerned dad of first-time car-owner son. He just bought a 1998 Toyota Seca 1.6L Automatic. Perfect condition. Saw that the oil was so low when warm it did not even touch the dipstick. Filled it to within specs on the stick (took about 1L). Drove 15 mins to home. Checked in the morning. Still low. Added another 0.7L (now about 1.7L added total). Test drove for 3 mins. Noticed gear shifting suddenly irregular and slow. Rechecked oil level. It was now 5cm over the limit on the dipstick!! Drained off 1.5L through the pan and no more oil would come out of the pan. Mystified that the oil was still 5cm over the dipstick limit. Took a syringe. Drained off another 0.25L, which was about everything that we added in total. Engine starts and idles fine, just as before adding any oil, but now the car will not go into gear at all. My son is devastated. Please help.

[APS]

37 minutes ago, MrTbee said:

Concerned dad of first-time car-owner son. He just bought a 1998 Toyota Seca 1.6L Automatic.

Make sure the car is on a level surface when checking, ideally the same spot every time to have a reference.

P.S. - Please post this in a new, separate thread. 

[Corolla Mike.]

50 minutes ago, MrTbee said:

Concerned dad of first-time car-owner son. He just bought a 1998 Toyota Seca 1.6L Automatic. Perfect condition. Saw that the oil was so low when warm it did not even touch the dipstick. Filled it to within specs on the stick (took about 1L). Drove 15 mins to home. Checked in the morning. Still low. Added another 0.7L (now about 1.7L added total). Test drove for 3 mins. Noticed gear shifting suddenly irregular and slow. Rechecked oil level. It was now 5cm over the limit on the dipstick!! Drained off 1.5L through the pan and no more oil would come out of the pan. Mystified that the oil was still 5cm over the dipstick limit. Took a syringe. Drained off another 0.25L, which was about everything that we added in total. Engine starts and idles fine, just as before adding any oil, but now the car will not go into gear at all. My son is devastated. Please help.

Sounds like possibly some confusion with the engine and auto box dipsticks? Friend mistakenly drained the auto box oil thinking it was the engine sump. 

[TonyHSD]

I think a human error is present here as mentioned above. 
Toyota dipsticks are difficult to read but even so the oil level should be at max mark or no more than 5mm up or down. Anything outside these 5mm it’s not correct. 
Check oil level on cold without wiping the dipstick, just pull out place horizontally and read. 👍

[sportse]

54 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

I think a human error is present here as mentioned above. 
Toyota dipsticks are difficult to read but even so the oil level should be at max mark or no more than 5mm up or down. Anything outside these 5mm it’s not correct. 
Check oil level on cold without wiping the dipstick, just pull out place horizontally and read. 👍

Frustratingly, when I took the car back to the dealer twice the reading was reasonably on the level at the dealership.

Seems that for the facelifts, but only after first service, you can only take the reading when the oil is very hot after being just driven 30 miles on the motorway.

If you leave it for any reasonable amount of time or overnight, it shows high as originally.

It's weird as before the first service the level was always the same hot, warm or cold. And there were no splashes up and down the dipstick either...

[Corolla Mike.]

We use this for leak tracing. It will colour the oil slightly which will likely show up easily in the dipstick. We put full bottle as capacity are 12-13 litres on our cars. It's for leak tracing showing the leak as a uv trail. Half of this bottle should be sufficient. 

[ninanina]

On 8/11/2024 at 10:46 AM, sportse said:

I had the first service on my 2023 1.8 facelift done a month ago, but since then haven't been able to get a decent oil level reading from the dipstick.

 

I took the car back to the dealer for it to be looked at, only to be told the oil was fine and between the two dots on the dipstick.

Yet, whenever I check the level is above maximum and the dipstick itself has oil along it.

Perhaps there is an engine fault causing the oil level to rise after the car has been parked for a day or two? Or some other issue?

I have never had a problem checking the oil level in my Corolla before the service, nor in any of the other Toyotas I’ve owned so far – Yaris hybrid, Auris hybrid, Camry and IS. The oil is being checked on my driveway in the same level parking spot.

Despite wiping the dipstick and checking many times the oil level still shows above maximum in my Corolla since the service.

 

With many of the 23 facelifts being under a year old, maybe it's an issue that hasn't come up much yet - but as I do 25k miles a year I've already had my first service.

 

I have the exact same problem when checking the oil on my 2017 Prius (probably the same 1.8 engine)

The dipstick always has oil all over it so it’s very difficult to see exactly what the oil level is 

I have learned to ignore the oil further up the dipstick and just look very closely at the upper max dot mark to make sure there is some difference between it and just above it which tells me the oil level is correct 

As the oil is so clear it’s very tricky to see it at first glance 

[MrTbee]

To TonyHSD and all you fine folks, thanks so much for your advice. We checked the transmission dipstick (finally!) and it was empty! Yes old dad did a boneheaded move. My son then changed the oil and filled the transmission fluid on his cherry 98 Toyota Seca and the car sings! Thankfully our 200m test drive on no transmission fluid does not seem to have done any major harm. Cheers

[MrTbee]

And Corolla Mike--you rocked it. Your tip got us to doublecheck and you were right. I thought the transmission drain plug was the oil drain plug! The second most stupidest thing I have done with a car. Thanks a lot for the tip.

[Corolla Mike.]

2 hours ago, MrTbee said:

And Corolla Mike--you rocked it. Your tip got us to doublecheck and you were right. I thought the transmission drain plug was the oil drain plug! The second most stupidest thing I have done with a car. Thanks a lot for the tip.

At least now has fresh oil in both engine and transmission. Transmission needs the level to be checked hot. 👍