# Oil overfill - How it happened and results



## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Well, despite my meticulous efforts to be careful, I managed to overfill my oil the last time I changed it. Sounds like an idiot move, right? Well, not exactly. I've changed the oil in my Cruze several times so far and never had that problem before. This time, i did it the same way i always do. I put exactly 4.75 quarts back in after I was finished. The thing is, it's a bit hard to tell the level on the dipstick. I checked it and it looked fine, just covering the crosshatch on the dipstick. No problem. There is always a bit of a smear of oil above that, worse on one side than the other. After my oil change, I noticed a bit of a drop in my MPG. Nothing severe, just a couple MPG. I also noticed the car was behaving slightly differently under very specific driving conditions. I had a sneaking suspicion that I maybe had managed to get too much oil in there, but how?

The best theory I have is that probably I didn't wait long enough for it all to drain out. I drove 1000 miles like that with no apparent ill effects. I drained out one cup (8 oz) of oil and rechecked. Now the level was ever so slightly below the crosshatch. Still the same smear above. Driving and fuel economy returned to normal. 

The moral of the story? A little bit of extra oil probably won't damage anything. It's easy to do. It will make the car drive very subtly differently. It will cost you a couple MPG. It is easy to correct.

My PSA as a result of this experience? Fill 4.5 quarts and then check the next day when cold to verify the level.

(diesel Cruze for those of you who can't see the section of the forum)


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## kmacleod (Oct 15, 2010)

Having the dealer overfill on the first oil change like mine did...10 quarts caused all sorts of issues. My luck it acted up as soon as drove out of the dealer ship so I drove right back in. No permanent damage thank goodness.


Ken


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

kmacleod said:


> Having the dealer overfill on the first oil change like mine did...10 quarts caused all sorts of issues. My luck it acted up as soon as drove out of the dealer ship so I drove right back in. No permanent damage thank goodness.
> 
> 
> Ken


I remember your posts from a while ago about this. Good to hear it's been fine!


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## cruze2011white (Feb 2, 2011)

If you are putting 4.75 quarts in you are overfilling. The owner's manual says 4.25 quarts.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

The dipstick on my car is really hard to read. It's orange plastic so even old oil is a challenge to read properly. I now fold a paper towel into a 4 - 6 inch square, hold it horizontal, and lay the freshly removed dipstick directly onto the towel. Then I roll the dipstick (its round) off of the blot spot. This gives an exact view of where the oil was on the dipstick. Bit of a fiddle, but it works.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

cruze2011white said:


> If you are putting 4.75 quarts in you are overfilling. The owner's manual says 4.25 quarts.


can you not read?


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

cruze2011white said:


> If you are putting 4.75 quarts in you are overfilling. The owner's manual says 4.25 quarts.


I am talking about the 2.0 liter US version.


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## cruze2011white (Feb 2, 2011)

That makes more sense. I missed the part the it was a diesel and not a gas engine.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up. I usually put 4.75 exactly in every time. Every time I check the dipstick it's chalk full but not over. Maybe next time I'll shoot for 4.5 and see where it lands. Probably a smarter idea to leave a little room for error, can always top off but it's a PITA to take out.

Although this drainplug is about as good as it gets to just take a little bit out at least!


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