2012 RT - Oil Overfilled Now Noisy

Good morning. My wife had the oil on her 2012 RT changed by the dealer two weeks ago. I started it up this morning and it had a major engine rattle like a stuck valve or noisy cam chain. My first fear was that they did not put enough oil in but upon inspection it appears to be overfilled. Did the proper engine warm up and checked the level and well over the full line.

Question - would that cause the noise I am hearing. Can it do damage? Going to call the dealer Monday but not sure if I want to ride it in. You

Over fill will usually lead to getting oil in the breather / air filter area. may cause smoke roughness misfire. Other then that I'm not sure. I sure someone else knows more about that then I do.

Continuous noise happening or did it last about a second and go away? Did it previously sound ok since the oil change or is this the first startup since. Did your low oil pressure light go out on startup or stay on?

Mine did that to me once last year. The noise, I mean. Lasted about a second. A WTF moment for sure but never happened before or since. No ill effects. Oil level was not related. But if it eases your mind, get a turkey baster and suck out some oil. A good level to shoot for when cold is just over the bottom of the dipstick. Start it up and see. If it’s a continuous loud noise, I’d have to think twice before I rode it to the dealer. If the noise goes away, there’s not much for them to check.

noise remains after startup and it was not there previously. That is what concerned. Significant rattle on that first start up following the change and it remains.

Oil pressure light?

So, first startup after oil change by dealer? How did you get it back home? Ride it or trailer it?

At this point, it would point to something that got screwed up with the oil change in some way. No reason to list all the ways right now. Doesn’t matter unless you want to work on it yourself. It doesn’t really matter what the noise is right now. It matters that you know that something isn’t right. I doubt it’s high oil level, but you can adjust that and test. If it was me, if you have to go back to the dealer, I wouldn’t ride it.

Calling them Monday to discuss. I let it cool this afternoon. At resting temp, the oil is right at the the full line. I let it idle to operating temp and the oil level blows way past the full line.

Regarding the oil light on startup, I honestly did not notice. I am so used to the light show on startup from my bikes that I did not notice anything peculiar. Can check tomorrow.

This is not a help, I realize. But I always recommend checking your oil level after getting an oil service. It is more common than you might expect to get an overfilled or under-filled situation. The time to deal with it is right there at the dealership. I don't know why this happens. But I imagine that it is either lack of care or lack of understanding how to correctly check the oil level. But regardless the reason, it's not good.

I hope your issue is not serious.

Ron, that is a great reminder. I have a Buick Regal Turbo. The turbo engine takes 1 more quart of oil versus the standard 2.4L engine. On 3 of the first six oil changes, the dealer underfilled the oil by 1 qt. Obviously no longer my service dealer.

The final straw was when they changed the oil one very hot summer day. I reminded them when I checked in that it was the turbo and got a sarcastic, 'we know'. That afternoon was a near 100 degree day and the oil light came on. I knew what to expect. I was about 2o miles from the dealer in a farm area. I was livid and phoned them...it was now 4:30 and near closing time. They said to drive it in and they would wait. I said I would not drive in 100 degree heat with the engine so low that the light went on - and told them to send a tow truck.

When I got to the dealership the Service Manager, Mechanic and General Manager were waiting and it was past closing. They double checked the dipstick and confirmed what I told them - no oil showed. The mechanic then said, 'I did not know it was a turbo - I never saw one." Well, the GM pointed to the engine / manifold cover and right next to the oil fill cap is the word "Turbo" in chrome and big letters. Cannot make it up. Last time I went there....

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Originally Posted by Raknid

Ron, that is a great reminder. I have a Buick Regal Turbo. The turbo engine takes 1 more quart of oil versus the standard 2.4L engine. On 3 of the first six oil changes, the dealer underfilled the oil by 1 qt. Obviously no longer my service dealer.

The final straw was when they changed the oil one very hot summer day. I reminded them when I checked in that it was the turbo and got a sarcastic, 'we know'. That afternoon was a near 100 degree day and the oil light came on. I knew what to expect. I was about 2o miles from the dealer in a farm area. I was livid and phoned them...it was now 4:30 and near closing time. They said to drive it in and they would wait. I said I would not drive in 100 degree heat with the engine so low that the light went on - and told them to send a tow truck.

When I got to the dealership the Service Manager, Mechanic and General Manager were waiting and it was past closing. They double checked the dipstick and confirmed what I told them - no oil showed. The mechanic then said, 'I did not know it was a turbo - I never saw one." Well, the GM pointed to the engine / manifold cover and right next to the oil fill cap is the word "Turbo" in chrome and big letters. Cannot make it up. Last time I went there....

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Happens way more than people realize. I've had a number of customers call me, panicked that their Spyder is using way too much oil. Being that it was showing way low after only a few hundred miles after a dealer serviced it. Once I confirm that they are checking the level properly, I tell them that it may not be a usage problem, but instead, it may have been under-filled at the dealership. Add oil to full and check again in a few hundred miles. I don't always hear back from them. But when I do, almost every time, the 'Low Oil' problem has magically gone away.

I have a VW Diesel. It takes 4.5 quarts. I got 4 free oil changes with my purchase. But every time I got it back from the dealership, it was 1/2 quart low. I'm a bit anal about such things but the service was free so I just added 1/2 quart. But to me, this is not good service.

If at all possible. Check the work before you leave the dealership. Oil changes are no exception. They may be 'Experts'. But it's YOUR Ride!