How Long Can I Run My Car With Too Much Oil?

Running your car with too much oil can cause serious damage to your engine and should be avoided. But how long can I run my car with too much oil before it starts to show symptoms?

While the exact amount of time you can run your car with too much oil varies depending on factors such as the make and model of your car, it is generally recommended that you do not drive your car for more than 6-7 days with excessive oil.

After this time, your engine may start to exhibit unusual symptoms such as reduced performance or unusual noises. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s recommended oil level for your engine and to have your oil changed regularly to avoid overfilling.

If you suspect that you have too much oil in your engine, it’s best to have it checked by a professional mechanic as soon as possible to avoid costly repairs.

How Long Can I Run My Car With Too Much Oil?

Basically, you can run your car with too much oil for about 6 – 7 days before your engine would start exhibiting some unusual symptoms.

Driving with slightly too much oil won’t ruin your engine, at least too sooner than you think. Too much oil in the engine can cause oil to overflow into some components that do not require oil to touch them. Examples of such components include the catalytic converter and serpentine belt.

Also, too much oil in the engine can cause an increase in friction, as well as affect the combustion process (especially in older cars). In simple terms, what happens when you drive with too much oil is, your engine would not function efficiently as it is designed to function.

Excess oil in the engine also causes more pressure; thus, the excess oil would find a way to escape the engine through overflowing from the head gasket, or any leak in the hoses and delivery lines.

Over time, too much oil in the engine can trigger several components to malfunction, and you may notice that your car’s engine is starting to fail.

Furthermore, you may see blue smoke coming out of your exhaust tailpipe when there’s too much oil in the engine. That’s a sign to warn you about excessive oil in the engine.

How To Remove Excess Oil From a Car

When you overfill your engine, you can remove the excess oil by siphoning it; you can siphon the oil through the crankcase cap or dipstick. Alternatively, you could drain out all the oil and refill it to the recommended level by your car manufacturer.

You can perform the oil change, or siphoning, yourself. However, if it looks too technical for you, get a mechanic to do that for you. The oil would be reduced to the recommended level on the dipstick. Once that is done, you’re good to go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Happens If There Is Too Much Oil In An Engine?

When there is too much oil in the engine, the oil pan’s fluid level would be so high that it may splash on other components in the engine block. Too much oil in the engine typically affects the crankshaft lobes and connecting rods (at the big ends).

When these two components experience the overflow of oil, they stop working as efficiently as supposed, which causes the engine to drop in its efficiency. It is a critical situation that could cause serious engine damages, which may cost you a lot of money to fix or replace.

Can Too Much Oil Cause Engine Wear?

As surprising as it may sound to you, adding too much oil to an engine can cause drastic engine wear, and may even cause the engine to fail fatally to the point that you will need a complete engine replacement.

Yes, this happens because too much oil in the engine can impede lubricant flow, thus, starving the engine of sufficient oil needed for the moving parts to function smoothly.

Now, as long as the engine’s components aren’t getting enough lubrication as necessary, they’d wear out pretty faster than expected.

How Much Oil Overfill Is OK?

It’s possible to unintentionally overfill oil in your car’s engine. This usually happens when you don’t know the exact size of oil your engine is meant to contain. Well, a little overfill won’t do any harm to the engine; in fact, the oil would balance once the engine starts running.

Most mechanics would tell you that up to 20% overfill won’t do any harm to your car’s engine. While that is true to a reasonable extent, it is best to refill to the exact level recommended by the carmaker; also use the dipstick to measure oil levels while refilling new oil.

How Do You Fix Overfilled Oil In a Car?

The simple process would be to drain the oil and refill it to the recommended level on the dipstick. Yeah, this may not be the best conventional method to remove the excess oil from your car engine.

Well, you may consider using a suction pump to suck out the excessive oil. There are automatic and manual oil pumps you can use to suck out excess oil from your vehicle’s engine. While sucking out the oil, always use the dipstick to check when the oil is down to the recommended level.

How Many Miles Can You Drive With Too Much Oil?

There is no particular mileage you can run with too much oil; however, it is generally expected that you can drive a car with too much oil for up to one week. That means you could drive a car with too much oil up to 1,000 miles.

Notwithstanding, it is advisable not to run with too much oil in the engine as it could lead to serious engine damages that may cost you a lot of money to fix.

Summary

Conclusively, for the question of, “how long can I run my car with too much oil?” arguably, a car with excess oil would run fine for the first couple of days, about 6 to 7 days. After that, the signs of excessive oil flow would start to surface; your car engine’s performance would start to drop.

Apparently, you should always endeavor to keep the oil in your engine within the recommended level indicated by your vehicle manufacturer.

Just as low oil is dangerous to the engine, excess oil is also dangerous to the engine. Finally, ensure to use motors oils of the viscosity grade recommended for your engine.