New Corolla Oil Levels ?

May 29, 2003

If the car is left to stand for a day or so, and the oil level is checked (on a level surface) , it is above the full level on the dipstick. Not by a lot but about a quarter of the distance from the low to full marks ABOVE the full mark.

The dealer says that this is normal, as given time, the oil from the filter drains into the sump, thus taking the reading above the full mark.

I dont dispute that this MAY be true, but as the filter points DOWN, how can the oil drain UP and then into the sump ???

Any thoughts anyone ? should I believe the dealer or not ???

May 30, 2003

Hi! First - it is not good for oil level to be above FULL mark. It can make a foam and excessive wear on the engine, because too much oil will "choke" the engine. If it's too low you know what happens. Oil filter on my Toyota Corolla (but it's the old one from 1990, but I think that they are usig the same technology) has the valve which is holding about 200-300 gramms of oil in the filter which is very, very helpfull during cold starts. Some other oil filters (not genuine Toyota) don't have that valve. So, check with the dealer again. Anyway, in my 2E engine if you replace the filter you put 3,1 - 3,2 liters of oil and it's on the FULL mark, and if you don't change oil filter - only 2,7 or 2,9 liters to be aproxx 5 milimeters BELLOW full mark, because there is 200-300 gramms still in the oil filter. And, for that engine IT IS NOT recommended for oil level to be above 5 milimeters bellow the FULL mark if you don't change the filter. When you change oil and filter and pour the oil to the full mark, it will drop 5 mm bellow full mark after engine start and it will stay on that mark - filter is sucked oil inside (When you change oil filter you will notice that it holds oil inside). But, my Toyota dealer is recommended that the oil level is best to be (again FOR MY ENGINE TYPE) on the half between the LOW and FULL, because Toyota engines are extreme sensitive for too much oil (above FULL). And don't let it get down bellow LOW mark.

For 13 years of driving, and 100.000 miles with regular changing oil and filter I had no problems. There is no sludge in the engine (oil cap and valve cover are clean as a new one) - everything is dry and in good condition.

Regards,

Ivan :thumbsup:

May 30, 2003

Thanks for that Cozmo.... so what I'm gathering here is that you don't believe that oil in a downward facing filter, as in the IZZ-FE engine, can actually drain upwards, and then down into the sump, especially as the Toyota filter has an anti drain valve.

So I'm guessing here that the dealer has slightly (200mls) overfilled the oil when changing it.

Does everyone agree here, or could there possibly be another explanation...???

June 2, 2003

Hi!

I think that the best solution is to talk to dealer again. I know that my oil filter is holding up oil inside, and I never fill oil to the maximum - even when I am changing the filter. It happened to me two times in the beginning and everytime I overfilled (let's say 100 gramms), engine burned that oil in matter of 10-20 miles! So - it is not good. From my experience (I have many friends with the same Corolla, from year 1990, they always put oil little bit above half between LOW and FULL, and never let it get down to LOW, lowest is, from our experience 5mm above LOW - this will not damage engine in any way). Maybe your dealer didn't changed your oil filter, so there was oil left in it? I've change oil and filter every 3000 miles, even if my car is burning about 1 litre of oil per 1,000-1,500 miles due to old valve seals. Always change oil - even if you add it every day - I know one guy who drove Corolla for almost 300.000 miles - he added almost one litre of oil per two days - but regulary changed the oil and filter - and he changed only valve seals and head gasket and engine is like a new one! (Mirracle, isn't it). That's a record in this country. He even had, for 13 years ORIGINAL Toyota cooling fluid in system - he never changed it for 300.000 miles, and the head gasket only went down when his thermostat stuck. And he is doing now almost 350.000 miles. Crazy stuff. :eek: