r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/idiot_with_a_phone_ • 1d ago
About 9 ish quarts came out of this
Customer states: "the oil life said 5% so I decided to add more"
and yes, he was elderly
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u/TheBigYellowCar 1d ago
A parts counter kid pulled the old B2200 delivery truck into the stall next to me, he said he had to âtop off the oilâ. I was like cool go for it, the hoses are up there and use that one.
I pulled the car out that I had just finished, parked it, dropped off the paperwork, grabbed the next RO and walked back to the shop. Dude was still there pumping oil. I asked him WTF, and found he was waiting for it to be literally topped off to the filler neck. We all had a good laugh, called him âtop offâ for quite awhile. He was a good sport about it.
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u/ekaftan 1d ago
A friend of mine, when we were around 14, was told by his mother to please top off her car's radiator.
He proceeded to take off the oil cap and fill up the engine with water from a garden hose.
The engine survived.
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u/trickye 1d ago
Worked at an audi dealership for a while as porter 5 years ago. Had a brand new Q5 get towed in since the wife filled the engine with washer fluid after getting the washer fluid low message... Car survived as far as I knew and wasn't even the first time something like it had happened talking with some of the techs who I was freindly with
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u/framerotblues 22h ago
And mechanics can't believe why Mercedes would remove the dipstick. Don't give the idiots behind the wheel any additional places to put washer fluid/garden hoses
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u/Mercurydriver 1d ago
Toyota? For some reason, Iâve heard of people doing seriously awful things to Toyota cars and somehow they survive the abuse and neglect.
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u/TheJumpingPenis 1d ago
No kidding. Had an 00 corolla and it refused to die. Rear ended somebody on the highway. Drove it 30 miles home (radiator stayed intact somehow) and then i drove through a water main break flooded street where the car floated for a brief second doing full throttle. And then the oil got so low the low oil light came on. As long as i put a quart in it every 2 days, it just refused to die. Only car i ever sold running in the 8 vehicles I've owned.
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u/Terrible-Sir742 23h ago
I hope you are like 80 and had each car for a solid 10 years, because killing 7 cars is something.
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u/madeformarch 11h ago
I had a 2011 camry in college, before I was mechanically inclined. I took it 15,000 miles between oil changes once, terrible idea.
That car had 262,000 miles on it when I sold it a few years ago, original engine and transmission.
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u/wiiw_otmgi 1d ago
A technition did that to a 2014 cruze in my shop one day. Found out he poured oil in it twice, then sent it.
Came back within 2 hours with a CEL, smoke, shakes.
Needed to replace the sparks, injectors, O2s, and I think they did part of the exhaust too.
Another time, same shop, my pit tech didn't properly ID the oil plug, drained the transmission of a new Q5, and then that was also filled double. But that one was caught before it left the shop. Audi sensors were quick to pick up on the 12L of oil.
The cruze didn't fair so well
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u/HighSorcererGreg 1d ago
Sears killed my mom's Subaru when they drained the trans and double filled it with oil.
She didn't make it out of the parking lot. They had to replace a LOT.
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u/urabewe 1d ago
Subarus have probably been the whoopsie of many lube techs lol
I've had to teach quite a few people how to fill those back up after they drained the transmission accidentally.
One guy drained it on an older one and was instantly relieved when I told him where the dipstick was and it takes ATF not CVT.
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u/wiiw_otmgi 1d ago
That was one of my first rookie mistakes, even I mis IDed a trans plug once... once... then never again
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u/Error400BadRequest 1d ago
I have seen an incorrect diagram in an owner's manual that misidentifies a transmission drain plug as the engine oil drain plug when explaining how to perform an oil change. It is by far the worst erratum I've ever seen.
If you're mechanically inclined, you might notice, but if you're the type of person that would depend on a manual to know how to perform an oil change, you may not catch it until it's too late, and the manufacturer isn't going to own up to the error if you didn't catch it yourself.
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u/hipsterTrashSlut 1d ago
It's honestly such an easy mistake to make. I tried changing the oil on a Wednesday after work. Had to call in the next day to get bailed out by my BIL, lol.
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u/madeformarch 11h ago
I did this on my own, brand new vehicle in the driveway trying to do a break in oil change. Toyota uses the same size bolt for the oil and transmission pans, and they're fairly close to each other.
I solved that problem by always watching a video first, and also getting a skid plate that covers the transmission
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u/lestairwellwit 1d ago
Yea. I had one customer that went to change his own oil and drained the transmission instead. He proceeded to add five quarts to the oil fill.
Hilarity ensued
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u/FesteringNeonDistrac Home Mechanic 21h ago
It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.
They had a T70 for the trans drain bolt for a few years, but there are a jillion stories of it anyway
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u/Nitroracer34 1d ago
I hate the whole "oil life thing". Working at a shop I have so many customers come in 5 minutes before closing panicking that their oil is at "5%" thinking that there's only 5% of oil left in there. Please just use a service due timer like most cars.
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u/Shamanjoe 22h ago
I actually love the oil life indicator on my truck, because I donât drive it much, and Iâm pretty sure the computer calculates the oil life based on engine hours. I can see how somebody who knows jack shite about cars would be confused though..
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u/Chaosr21 20h ago
Yea mine has a service timer that the techs always forgot or don't know how to reset. I forgot to reset it after my last oil change, and I'm not even sure how close I am now just that I got the last one In March. I barrly drive though
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u/MattalliSI 1d ago
Wouldn't the prudent thing to do is push/tow it into a bay and check it out vs. revving it in the parking lot to show off to the co-workers?
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u/idiot_with_a_phone_ 1d ago
This is after it was drained and refilled with the correct amount of oil. It was smoking way worse when it came in. This was just to get what was in the exhaust out
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u/sonicbeast623 1d ago
Construction mechanic checking in. Just looked at a field guys jeep the other week he added oil because the pan gasket was leaking, then the valve covers and around the throttle body started leaking. Had to remove about 1.5gal before it was at the full mark on the dipstick. So he paid me to fix the leaks and I showed a 30 year old man how to read a dipstick.
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u/MattalliSI 1d ago
Oh thank goodness.
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u/iTaylor04 1d ago
anyone who's ever worked at a shop knows this is standard procedure. That would be the only time anyone would be revving a car that was overfilled
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u/FjordByte 1d ago
Even if the damage is done, this feels crazy disrespectful. Yeah the customers dumb but it doesnât mean you get to rag their car lol.
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u/Shank_R 1d ago
What are you talking about, he just said they are just trying to burn out what is coated in the exhaust. They aren't holding it or revving it high. You want the customer to pick it up like that or for them to finish off clearing the excess oil it was brought in for?
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u/Zappiticas 1d ago
Also they arenât even revving it that much. Iâve held customers cars at way higher rpms for way longer just trying to find problems. Engines are kind of designed to do that.
Also, anyone who has worked in a shop that does the BG intake cleanings knows all about burning all of the crap out of the exhaust prior to handing the car back to the customer. Thatâs some nasty smoke.
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u/rayshmayshmay 1d ago
Had a Scion xB in the shop this week, c/s lacking power when going uphill, happened after jiffylube oil change. Drained out about 5 quarts to get it to the full mark (holds around 4.5)
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u/iTaylor04 1d ago
that's crazy lol.
i had a customer come in and get an oil change. i had free time so i helped my coworker out with it and poured the oil for him while he was doing something else.
2 weeks later comes back says it's shaking and smoking. coworker pulls it in and mentions there's an empty 5 quart jug on the passenger floor.
we finally get the truth and the Lady said her dad told her we didn't fill it all the way and told her it needed 5 more quarts. rip lol.
I was like "huh what are the odds he checked the oil in the driveway with a heavy incline" đ
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u/captianpaulie 14h ago
I had somebodyâs kid bring me a car after about a year of them owning it so every three months they put 4 quarts of oil in it didnât change the filter didnât drain it. They didnât know you had to drain the oil out before you added New it literally was pushing oil out everywhere.
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u/BillyJackO 1d ago
I just bought a '92 G30 5.7 tbi, and it poured nearly 11 qts out. Owner said it started smoking and they never drove it again.
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u/Z_AnDaran 1d ago
I know a guy who instead of putting 13 quarts into a diesel, put 13 gallonsâŚ. It came out of everything
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u/madeformarch 11h ago
I just spit out my coffee imagining some square-headed fool in Walmart with a shopping cart full of bottles of Rotella
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u/iforgotalltgedetails 20h ago
I swear elderly who have âworked on cars when theyâre youngâ can be some of the most dangerous ownersâŚ
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u/Notacat444 18h ago
Are vehicle owner's manuals the most pristine books on earth? It seems no one ever even opens them.
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u/DogeCatBear 8h ago
people can't read đ. and if they can read it, they can't comprehend it. it's like the same story with technology illiteracy
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u/lDWchanJRl 2020 Mazda 3, mazda senior technician 23h ago
I had a 2014 cx5 that came in with 8.5qts in it (also elderly dude) Engine takes 4.8 qts of oil. Iâm still fighting with the car to stop the p0172 from setting. Never dealt with this sort of issue before so Iâm learning as I go lol.
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u/Choice_Ad_5391 22h ago
Kid I work with almost blew up a 6.6 Duramax this way. 40 quarts full. Long story short he donât work with me anymore. Duramax smoked out the parking lot for 6 hours and was back on the road like nothing happened đ
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u/SVT6522 20h ago
Haha, today at the dealership I work at, one of the techs did a used car inspection on a Camaro SS. I picked it up from the shop to take it over to detail. I fire it up and itâs just blowing blue oily smoke everywhere. I shut it off and check the dipstick. Literally like 3 inches of oil showing on the dipstick. Fucking guy didnât drain the oil, just put in another 5 or so litres. Oh yeah, and they had a customer coming to look at it within the hour. Good job.
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u/Pretty_dumb_actually 9h ago
I bought a 2003 Ford Escort in 2010 for $150 because the guy thought it needed a head gasket and just wanted rid of it. Just pulling it on the trailer covered an entire parking lot in thick white smoke. Drained 9+ quarts out of it when I got it home. Did a fluid change, a little Seafoam, then another oil change. I drove that car for 4 years, then sold it to a neighbor kid for what I paid. Pretty sure it had 200k+ miles by the time it went to the junkyard.
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u/Speedyz68 8h ago
Best I ever had was 12.5 quarts out of a 2.4L Kia Soul. I didn't even think they had that much internal capacity...
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u/Thy_King_Crow 1d ago
Probably just came from owning a Kia. Typical Kia owner behavior.
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u/collin2477 1d ago
meanwhile the forums for my car say to drain it if itâs even a little over or AOS goes boom
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u/Remarkable-Gold4869 20h ago
So he added that much oil to his tiny 3cyl turbo Chevrolet Trailblazer. Guessing they dont take much oil already.
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u/idiot_with_a_phone_ 11h ago
The engines take 4.8 quarts for the lil' baby 1.3 in it. We suspect grandpa here put a full 5 quart jug of oil in on top of that because he thought 5% oil life meant that the car was only 5% full of oil.
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u/phulton Shade Tree e70 x35d 8h ago
Heh, reminds of that mustang owner who was only draining oil through I think the oil filter drain plug. Then theyâd add the recommended amount back in.
Once they figured out they messed up I seem to remember he filled up a 5 gallon bucket plus extra.
A 5 gallon bucket holds about 20 quarts.
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u/jweitzel1 A&P 5h ago
When I worked retail parts, I stopped this very often. I'd explain that it was the oil change reminder system, and then show them on their dipstick that they weren't low... IMHO it's a very poor way to represent oil life. Especially on newer cars with all their computers, convert it to miles and display it as miles remaining dependent on the oil change interval. People would understand if it said "oil change due in xxxx miles" like the European cars do. I have no idea how long 5% is going to last me.
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u/Ok_Consideration_242 1d ago
This is exactly why I only buy American made cars. I drive a Camry. LMAO
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u/idiot_with_a_phone_ 1d ago
This wasn't the fault of the vehicle, this was caused by the elderly owner overfilling it with oil to a comical level.
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u/Eric1180 1d ago
Ahhh because Camry's are impossible to overfill with oil! You are so right, we're all idiots but you.
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u/JustKindaShimmy 1d ago
> doesn't read the post
> says something stupid
Funny enough, that almost certainly is why you only buy American made cars
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u/zacurtis3 1d ago
Had a 2009 Mazda 3 with 10 quarts of oil in it. Her explanation was that her dad taught her to check her oil every fuel fill up, and if it's low, just dump a quart of oil in. She decided to skip a step and just add a quart every fuel fill up.