ANCO 56 Posted February 15, 2022 Posted February 15, 2022 I purchased a new 2022 RX350. The manual states oil changes with 0W20 synthetic oil every 10,000 miles. I have had the car for 5 months and drive very conservatively. I decided to check the oil level this week for the 1st.time. assuming a new car would not have a low oil level. Never had a low oil light or warning buzzer. Much to my surprise the oil level was at low level on dip stick. I was shocked, so I went to auto parts store and purchased a quart of Mobil 1 0W20 synthetic and added to crankcase filler.I rechecked stick a few minutes later and again it was showing low on dip stick but was only halfway btwn low and full. I went to manual and read where it stated that to fill from low mark requires 1.9 quarts. So I went back to store purchased another quart and added to crankcase. This brought the level to full. My God I was really shocked that a car so new could consume so much oil in such a short time! I called dealership and they have scheduled a service to have a consumption test on my vehicle performed, Is this normal and has anyone else out there experienced this? Should I have cause for concern? Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, ANCO 56
RX400h Posted February 16, 2022 Posted February 16, 2022 My guess is that it was low from the dealership before you purchased it. I would think that using 2 quarts in 5 months is not normal unless you have an American or German vehicle. Even then that's quite a bit. How does your tailpipe look on the inside? It should be fairly clean.
ANCO 56 Posted February 16, 2022 Author Posted February 16, 2022 Thank you Rx400h for your reply. My tailpipe is clean and I've never noticed black or blue smoke and engine has always been quiet. If it was low from dealer wouldn't warning light ad buzzer come on? I'm really puzzled. I pray it's what you say it may be. 7 minutes ago, RX400h said: My guess is that it was low from the dealership before you purchased it. I would think that using 2 quarts in 5 months is not normal unless you have an American or German vehicle. Even then that's quite a bit. How does your tailpipe look on the inside? It should be fairly clean.
ANCO 56 Posted February 16, 2022 Author Posted February 16, 2022 Thank you for your reply RX400H. If it in fact it was low from dealership would not the low oil warning buzzer and light come on? I'm really at a loss. Tailpipe is clean as far as I can tell, and I never noticed black or blue smoke from tailpipe. I'm really worried.
Les Lex 2018 Posted February 16, 2022 Posted February 16, 2022 OK, I see you did get it new. No, I have not seen that before either. May have a ring turn on you but you could tell if that happened. You have free maintenance on that... Lower right side of your window sticker.
ANCO 56 Posted February 16, 2022 Author Posted February 16, 2022 Yes thank you for your responses. I was at dealership today and when the service tech showed me problem I almost fainted and I was so grateful. The crankcase was 2 qts. overfilled. Reason being I didn't push dipstick all the way down the dip tube. I was getting a false low reading and added 2 qts. due to my ineptitude. They drained and replaced oil and filter and problem solved. What an Idiot I am. Thank you, Lexus service. Outstanding!!! You can be sure I won't make that mistake again!!!
Les Lex 2018 Posted February 16, 2022 Posted February 16, 2022 You got one more free full service oil change / checkup and tire rotation. It's not cheap if you had to pay out of pocket. I know cause they tried to bill me before they realized I was one day short of the 18 month cut off. Enjoy the 350, Anthony....
ANCO 56 Posted February 16, 2022 Author Posted February 16, 2022 Thank you! Iwill. I really enjoyed driving it back home from dealership today. What a relief!!
RX400h Posted February 16, 2022 Posted February 16, 2022 Ah, I had a feeling that Lexus would not allow the oil to be low like that. But to answer your question about the warning light: My experience has been that in older vehicles, an oil warning light wouldn't illuminate until there was just a couple of quarts in the pan. Sometimes by the time an oil "pressure" light illuminated, the valves were ticking. So I would never wait until any oil light illuminated before checking the oil unless the filter were loose and most of the oil had already left the engine. In that case, shut the engine down, immediately and investigate any obvious issues.
Bykfixer Posted February 16, 2022 Posted February 16, 2022 Great to hear it was user error. We've all done something we ended doing a face-palm over. In older vehicles with only an idiot light (ie no pressure meter) it would not light until there were incidents where pressure dropped below a point. A sensor under pressure would have a plus and minus that stayed apart. If pressure dropped it allowed them to touch and complete the circuit to the idiot light bulb. In other words if there was enough oil inside the engine to provide a pretty steady pressure level no lamp would light. Perhaps newer vehicles work similar. If it had a pressure guage one could watch the needle at idle and see changes enough to make you say "hmmm, perhaps I should check into the matter"…… Sometimes new engines have piston rings that don't seat proper and allow oil to get past them. It's rare but it happens. Glad it turned out well.
ANCO 56 Posted February 17, 2022 Author Posted February 17, 2022 Thanks to the people who took the time and concern.Many miles of happy motoring to all. I will be sure to keep checking and possibly helping others in return. I’ve worked as an aircraft mechanic in the past as a member of the US Air Force and for a time as an Oldsmobile dealer mechanic many years ago. I should have known better, any info I can provide in the future I will be happy to share. 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now