What Happens if You Put Too Much Oil in Your Car Engine?

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Car Reviews
  • Reading time:14 mins read
what happens if you put too much oil in your car

Sometimes you think that less oil in your car can affect your vehicle. This is because oil is essential for any vehicle to keep the engine running properly or well lubricated.

And due to this, you occasionally fill your car with too much oil. And now the question arises, what happens if you put too much oil in your car? 

This article will tell you what happens when you overfill your motor oil in your car. And how to check it and what to do about it.

3 Common Sign of Overfilled Engine Oil

Sometimes you don’t know if you or the mechanic overfilled your engine oil. However, if you have any of these symptoms then you are at risk of overfilling your engine oil.

  • Any Thick, White Smoke Fumes Coming

If you have recently changed your motor oil and have thick white smoke coming from your car’s exhaust while driving, you may have overfilled your car with oil.

To check if your engine oil is too full, drive your car for five to ten minutes to allow the engine to warm up.

  • Strange noise from the engine

The engine has many moving parts. If not properly lubricated, they will wear out and break. A single misplaced part can have a chain reaction that causes an engine explosion.

And makes it difficult for the vehicle to accelerate. This will ensure that you get an accurate reading on the engine oil dipstick. 

With your car parked on a level surface, open the hood and locate the engine oil dipstick.

  • The Smell Of Burning Oil

If you smell burning oil in the engine compartment or at the rear of the exhaust, you should immediately check the vehicle’s oil level.

Smoke comes out of the engine or exhaust system.

How to Check Your Engine Oil Level

  • It is an easy process to check your engine oil level. You just need a dipstick to check your oil level.
  • First, place the car on a level surface. Any inclination, e.g. on the way to the garage or leaning against the body with two wheels on the sidewalk, can significantly falsify the actual result.
  • Open the cover of your car and find the dipstick. It’s usually light with a round or T-shaped handle, remove the dipstick and clean it.
  • After cleaning the dirty oil from the dipstick, reinsert it until it clicks into place. If the top of the oil streak is between the min and max, the level is fine.
  •  If the level is below the middle between the marks, we recommend adding a little oil; if it is near or even below the minimum mark, be sure to add some oil.

Top 5 Risks if You Put Too Much Oil in Your Car Engine

Put Too Much Oil in Your Car Engine

What happens if you put too much engine oil in your car? Your vehicle can be affected in several potentially harmful ways.

1. Bleeding Of Oil

Adding too much oil to the engine can cause oil drops while the engine is working. However, oil leaks can also happen when you are not using your vehicle.

Check the oil level if you notice a pool of oil under your vehicle. If you notice an oil leakage, do not drive your car because it is bad for the atmosphere and your vehicle.

2. Engine Malfunction

Too much lubricant in the system can increase the pressure on the crankshaft. As a result, oil can get into the crankshaft exhaust pipe, flow through the combustion chamber.

And clog the suction hose with soot, and overload the engine. Overflowing engine oil can also cause the engine rods to bend and the valve lines to collapse.

3. Diminish the Lubricating

If too much oil is added, the oil level in the oil vessel will be too high. This provides a fast-moving cam cylinder called the crankshaft to come into contact with the oil and discharge it. 

The result is a foamy material that cannot properly lubricate the engine. Think of this as the way your engine turns cream into thrashed cream. 

Nobody wants whipped cream to lubricate their engine.

4. Greasy Spark Plugs

Defective spark plugs can increase the fuel consumption of your car or affect the acceleration of the engine.

This is why it is so important that the spark plugs are always in good condition. An oil leak can contaminate the spark plugs so badly that your only option is to replace them.

5. Too Much Pressure

An engine and its moving parts are sealed so that, for example, water cannot enter and disturb the engine’s balance or cause worse damage.

As a result, there is immense pressure in many areas of the engine. Likewise, the systems that pump oil to the required parts are also under pressure.

Increased oil volume can also lead to increased engine components and overall pressures.

Sign of Overfilled Engine Oil

How to Remove Excess Oil from Car?

Now that you know that the engine is filled with extra oil, it is time to drain the excess oil. There are two ways to do this

  • Using Oil Suction Pump

The first method is simple and less complicated. It requires an oil suction pump through which it draws oil from the access point in the cap or dipstick tube.

This method does not require you to lift your car, but you will need an air supply for the vacuum. You can use either a manual or an automatic vacuum pump.

  • Using Oil Suction Pump

The second method requires an oil pan and a socket wrench. Raise your car high enough that you can crawl under it.

Find the oil plug. Loosen the oil plug with your transmission socket wrench until oil begins to drip into the drip pan. Remove only a small amount, not all.

Tighten the oil plug, then go to the hood and check the indicator on the dipstick. Make sure the oil is in the right amount.

Find Top FAQ

Is too much oil in a car bad?

Yes, it can negatively affect your car’s engine. If too much oil is poured into the engine, various problems can arise. And the engine began to fail as if smoke was coming out. The extra oil slows down lubrication and puts pressure on the engine.

Can too much oil in the car cause a leak?

Yes, Oil leaks wear your engine down. If left unchecked may result in engine failure.

Can you put too much motor oil in a car?

No, and it can cause serious engine damage. The rotating parts of the engine inject air into the oil, like a kitchen mixer does with cream. Broken oil does not lubricate the crankshaft bearings very well and they wear out and fail very quickly.

What are the symptoms of too much oil in a car?

The first would be exhausting. On the latest models, the check engine light should flash a code. Most likely you are idle and low on power. The possible smell of oil and a mess under the hood. 

what happens if you overfill oil?

You need to drain some oil, you need to remove the oil pan. This is easy to do and only requires the correct size or socket wrench. The hardest part will be not getting all the oil out.

Can too much oil stop a car from starting?

Because this can damage the engine and potentially explode it, many cars and trucks will not start when the fuel level is high, just as they will not start when the fuel level is low.

How far can you drive your car with too much oil?

Until the engine explodes. Seriously, excess oil will likely wet the plugs, get dirty, and eventually stall.

Conclusion

Overfilling your car with oil is a major problem that can damage your engine. You must keep the oil between the upper and lower marks on the dipstick. 

Be careful not to overdo it. Always get in the habit of checking the oil level regularly, especially when your car is out of the garage. They are human and can make mistakes. Adding an extra half quart will not damage your engine. However, anything else can damage the engine. 

If you add too much oil, the excess oil is sent to the crankshaft, and when the crankshaft rotates at high speed, the oil mixes with the air and is “aerated.” Or it becomes sparkling.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. James

    Thanks for the usefull information about motor oil. It helps me a lot to change my car’s oil.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.