Hey all

I just picked up my 2013 Mazda 3 after an oil change. It has 200,000km on it. However when I checked it in my driveway, is overfilled by about 0.5 quarts orvso.. Pics attached

I know overfilling an engine is bad, so should I be worried about this much?
Thanks

 

Well yes and no….

Did you wait a full 24 hours or overnight and check it before starting the engine.

I also see sign that the dip stick was not wiped with a paper towel? Not that I want to get into great debate but paper tolwes most often clean the dipstick better than a rag.


If after you reconfirmed the oil level as I suggested and it is that full it would be a better idea to remove a small amount for peace of mind .

Before you or others start jumping the gun and panicking your engine has a balance shaft assembly and it takes just over a full qt from the top mark on the dipstick to fill the sump close to the oil pan flange . That’s all I will say for now about that.


Hot engine @175f oil temperature and just shut it off about 10 minutes ago. Last oil change took exactly 5 qts from a drained engine of 45 minutes or more before new oil filter and oil.

 

 

Thanks for that response. I will be checking it again tomorrow am when fully cold and will be using a paper towel to wipe the dipstick. Mazda usually puts the level just a hair above the full mark on my oil changes..... This one seems to be out of the ordinary for them.
Thanks again

 

Here is something that even mechanics have trouble rapping their head around. The dip stick on Most Mazdas from about 2011 (not absolutely sure of the year) the 2 marks on the dip stick mean the normal range of oil. It no longer meant low and add and full .Anywhere at the first mark traditional old school known as low and the other mark traditional known as full. For me when I have DIY shirt on I personally still use the top line to fill. Some information is hard to break the decades used habits . lol.. Now with customers vehicles I instruct my techs always go slightly below the top mark or on some platforms full mark when adding oil. This way it will compensate for oil expansion and still be considered full.

Not to suggest it’s the right way to do it but some service shops including dealership service bays use bulk oil in 55 gallon drums and a calibration oil pump station. They look up the specifications for and oil and filter service see what the OEM states is the fluid amount and adjust the pump for that amounts. Then it is a simple task to hit fill or pump on and it automatically fills the engine to the exact amount set on the pump station .

So based on all my responses you can see that there can be over and under fluid amounts, But in your case that amount someone was not paying attention or failed to double check the fluid level after the oil replacement.

 

Makes sense.... Maybe it wasn't fully drained?
So I checked it this AM when sitting overnight. It looks just a hair less than my other pics and compared to your pic of the dipstick, a little more than your level..
I guess the question is is that ok or does some need to come out. I'll have to take it back to Mazda if that is the case..
Thanks again for your advice

 

Overnight sitting completely cooled off. This early morning before my coffee...lol

 

Much appreciated for those pics Yeah based on that mine is about 3 or 4x more above the upper hole than yours this morning... For my sanity I'm going to get them to drain some out lol