No Motor Oil In The Engine?

coolwater · July 16, 2004

Well, I just bought a 2000 ES300 with 52.5K miles from a local Suzuki dealer a month ago. I was looking to buy a 2001 Acura TL since the beginning of the year, but I couldn't find the color I wanted (white) at the price I wanted (low). I didn't even consider buying a Lexus at all. Then, I couldn't pass up a good deal on this 2000 ES300 Platinum Series and I decided to buy it.

However, after my second test driving, I decided to pop the hood and at least wanted to check the engine oil. Man, I was shocked to see that there was no engine oil visible on the dipstick, instead, I saw some dried brown (what seemed to be) engine oil particles. I wiped the dipstick clean and checked again and no engine oil on the dipstick again. But, I didn't notice any sign or smell while I was test driving. So, I pointed it out to the sales person and he had his service department do the oil change and some other inspections which got me free new front brakes.

I was concerned about what I saw (or didn't see) on the dipstick, but I really liked the car and the price was very reasonable so I ended up purchasing it. Actually, I read about oil gelling problem on ES and Camry the day before on internet and wondered if this car is one of those gellers. :P

According to the owner's manual supplement, the previous owner had the car checked by Lexus dealer religiously--every 5,000 mile maintenance until 50K miles--which makes the fact that there was no (well, probably significantly less) oil in the engine only 2,500 miles after the last oil change very strange. The Suzuki dealer bought the car at an auction--if that means anything.

Nonetheless, I have driven the car over 1,000 miles since the purchase and do not notice any wrong sign or smell from the engine. But, the image of dry dipstick still lingers in my mind and that still makes me concerned.

SKperformance · July 16, 2004

it should concern you

i wouldnt have purchased the car without further investigating "then"

Get a compression test to see if the car had been run for a bit without oil causing excessive wear

try and find out why it had no oil, was it they did an oil change or they just got it and it was like that before they got it?

I guess the oil light wasn;t on?

get it checked for gelling while your at it.

coolwater · July 16, 2004

Well, I think it's too late to find out why it had no oil--I'm sure the dealer doesn't know why either because they just bought the car at an auction only a couple of days earlier and they were yet to do their own inspection on the car. If they had done the inspection prior to my test drive, they probably just did the oil change and no-one else could have known if the car once had no engine oil. And, the oil light was not on for sure.

Now, what's a compression test and where can I get the test done? Do I need to go to the Lexus dealer only?

amf1932 · July 16, 2004

I was checking the oil level on my friends '03ES and it looked like there was a low oil level. It turned out that there is an O-ring on the dipstick that prevented me from pushing in the dipstick all the way down. I than lubricated this O-ring with some oil and then it went all the way down. It then showed the level was low, but not empty. If there was no oil, the indicator light on the dashboard would be illuminated showing low oil or no oil pressure. This is assuming that these sensors are working.

tundra-lover · July 16, 2004

Even if it didn't read any oil, you still have oil. In some cases you can be only a quart 1/2 low when the dipstick reads low or nothing at all. I hope it was only briefly or just the fact it wasn't in all the way, but if the engine light didn't come on your probably fine.

I just get in the habit of checking the oil everytime I fuel up.

dcfish · July 16, 2004

Back in the day and today checking the oil at fuel fill is a good habit , Some drivers disregard this [ or are not concerned , or too busy or ????????????? ] Like myself I check all fluid levels once weekly if I fill fuel or not . My 2 cents.