Hi, I have a 2016 Lexus NX 200t F-Sport and my wife has a 2017 Lexus IS 200t F-Sport. We bought both cars new and from day 1 forward, it seems almost an absurd waste to try to measure how much oil is in the car. Hot or Cold, doesn't matter, at least not much. I always pull the dipstick out, wipe it clean, reinsert carefully, push all the way down, remove it carefully and then I ALWAYS see something like what is shown in the attached picture assuming I can get the picture deal to work. It is ALWAYS massively OVERFULL, hot or cold. My guess is it is not the full but that oil is always sitting, even after letting it sit for days, at some location where it can wipe on to the stick that causes it to show so high??? Or is it really that hi all the time??? Both my wife's IS and my NX always show the oil way overfull. How can that be??? I'm been measuring oil levels in cars for a long time... It isn't that hard... But maybe you can tell me I am doing something wrong... What would that be??? There, I think I got it, the picture... I am just about due for an oil change and so it is as dirty as it's ever been. And easy to see... See where the low and hi marks are way off to the left and the oil level appears to be something like where I drew the arrow???

What's up with measuring oil levels on these 200t turbo engines??? thanks... bob

 

The dealer may be over-filling your oil. I assume you take it to them for service. I would ask your service advisor about this issue and ask to speak with your tech.
The best way to be sure it the dipstick has the correct level, and I suspect it is correct, is to do your own oil change, or watch them fill it up to see how much they pour in.
Both the 2016 NX200t and the 2017 IS200t have a 5.2 quart oil capacity.
Other Lexus models such as those with the 3.5 V6 take 6.4 quarts. I could see how they could overfill it, especially since many dealers use hoses connected to drums of oil and they set a dial for the fill amount.
If the dealer won't let you watch, take it to a local independent shop that will let you observe. Tell them your concerns about oil being overfilled.

 

While I have not had it happen with my Lexus, I have had a few places that overfilled my oil. Normally I change the oil myself, but a few times when it needed it in February and the temps were in the 20's I brought it to a shop to get done. My 2004 Honda civic was overfilled 2 times when in for oil changes. Annoying as it was, I brought it back and had them drain out the excess. Too much oil can be very damaging to an engine due to aeration from the crankshaft contacting the oil in the pan.

 

Hmmm... Interesting and scary... But both cars appeared to be filled way overfull exactly the same way when we purchased them brand new!!!! And that would be the factory fill!!!! We take the cars to the same Lexus dealership where they were purchased new, a large dealership with a big service department. Every time we've had our cars in there for oil changes, my NX twice and soon to be a third time and my wife's now like 7 times as she has about 70,000 miles, every time the oil level appears to be over the top mark by a lot. Though it is certainly possible and trust that I will ask this next time, it's sort of hard to believe that they would overfill both cars EVERY time to more or less the same level, especially since both levels look pretty much like they did when we first bought the cars and I checked the oil like the second day the cars were in our garage???

I am more inclined to believe it's the dipstick design and how oil remains in the dipstick tube such that when you go to remove the dipstick you wipe oil onto the higher part of the dipstick every time.

We also have a Corvette that I bought new in 2012 and it too, shows what one might interpret as being about 1/4 to 1/2 a quart overfull and again, it looks that way EVERY time I take it in for a 6 quart oil change and it looked precisely that same way when it came straight from the factory.

It's that "looks like it did from the factory" all of our three cars, that makes it difficult to believe they are putting way too much oil in every time we have an oil change... Any other thoughts about that??? thanks for the feedback...

 

Oh my... I now stand TOTALLY CORRECTED... I was wrong... I went back and looked at early notes and I noted that the oil in my nx 200t was SLIGHTLY overfull from the factory, maybe 3 mm on the dipstick and hard to read then cause the oil was so clean. But now, I have gone back and looked at the last two invoices from the Lexus dealership, one for the IS and one for the NX 200t and you are right. They have charged us for 6.58 quart of oil and I would say put that much in a car that at most wants 5.2 quarts... Wow... My horrid bad for not having gone back and looked more carefully at my notes eons ago. You guys gave bad news but at least your's was also correct. My wife is hunting for the Service Manager right now. I used to change my own oil but I'm 68 now and no longer wanting to climb around under cars. And I had more trust in a Lexus dealership than certainly I should have.

Anyway, forget what I said above about "factory fill". I'm usually better at this stuff than what I've now come to realize here. I'm a big embarrassed but oh well, better to learn before it blows the heads off... I know about having the oil be so deep that the crankshaft froths and destroys the oil integrity or something along those lines. Looks like they are tossing in about 1.3 quarts too much... Once confirmed, we will get them to remove the excess oil and then I think our days with that particular dealership will be over... I have all the invoices for my wife's car and I intend to go look at all of them shortly but I'll bet they charged us for 6.58 quarts every time...

thanks for your help... Embarrassed but wiser on this end...

 

this is unfortunately a common problem with Lexus service departments. I want to blame it on the odd ball "full" amounts but it isn't too hard to fill to the nearest quart and check the dip stick as you top it off. This process seems too complex for most techs thus far. I always remind them of the exact amount and check the stick before i leave. It's ridiculous, but necessary

 

thanks... And now I have even one more correction to make. What I am seeing on the invoice, the 6.58, is the COST per quart. Over at the left, the invoice DOES say FIVE as in 5 quarts (gosh even that should be 5.2 it sounds like) but anyway irrespective of what the invoice says, it's clear to me, at least on this last oil change both for me and for my wife (she has IS 200t and I have NX 200t) that they are significantly OVER FULL. We have calls into them having left messages... With Covid, it's hard to get through to a person but I'm wanting an oil change soon so you can bet I will now be checking before I leave their site. And we will take my wife's car back in soon and have them remove oil and then we will check.

I used to check EVERYTHING myself but as I've gotten older I've tried to become a bit more trusting.... Mistake... YEP!!!!

You guys are NOT giving me good news but at least you're giving me the CORRECT news and I do thank you for that... Much appreciated...

 

If you let the car sit overnight on a level surface, then there is no reason why gravity should not work it magic and have all the oil at its lowest point, including the dipstick fill tube where the dipstick goes in. So if you do what you usually do to measure the oil level as you have described, then it's truly OVERFILLED!!

I HAD the same experience at a Lexus dealership for the first two oil changes when my RCF was new. Twice at the same dealership and I brought it back both times. I have not gone back to any Lexus dealership for an oil change since ...... Only for factory recalls and spark plugs change. I have since changed my own oil.

 

Reviving and old thread here because I just saw this as a related thread. Usually I am on the LS430 forum. I recently had an overfill experience like this, twice, at Walmart, on the first two times I ever went there. The first time they clearly removed the excess, but not the on my LS430. I too seem about an inch above the maximum (cut-out circle in the LS430 case) even though he claimed to remove the excess. I will recheck on weekend after car is off a whole day. Car seems fine: smooth idle, accelerates fine, etc. I know/hope there is some tolerance for overfill, but does anyone know? I watched a youtube video from a Russian mechanoc who added an eitra quart at a time and some extra on that sample engine (with a clear oil pan, etc. added for visibility) was harmless until extreme overfill (like 3 quarts): no foaming of oil from crankshaft etc. as most oil leaves the pan when running.

Any thoughts on tolerance toward some extra? I hate ton have to go back again or go elsewhere and pay for another oil change. I suspect this happens a lot and doesn't destroy engines, but it is making me nervous. On top of that, the new oil is so clear that I question exactly where it ends. Got me thinking I am seeing 'dipstick residue" (undrained oil from engine run that will drop back down) but hoping waiting a full day with engine off before checking will help get me the "real" level.

 

I would think there is a small tolerance designed in. Engineers seem to allow a bit of room in everything they design from what I gather. I think an inch over the high mark might exceed that.
"I watched a youtube video from a Russian mechanoc who added an extra quart at a time and some extra on that sample engine (with a clear oil pan, etc. added for visibility) was harmless until extreme overfill (like 3 quarts): no foaming of oil from crankshaft etc. as most oil leaves the pan when running."
I watched that video. He is quite amusing with the things he tries, but I take it with a grain of salt. While short term there may be no consequences, I would think in the long run it is fairly unhealthy.
There would be quite a bit of parasitic drag, excess oil reaching the piston rings, and probably quite a bit of trouble from the positive crankcase ventilation system. The PCV system would probably dump quite a bit of oil mist or just oil into the intake system, probably leading to a plugged PCV valve.
I have had 3 instances of overfilling. While I do most oil changes myself there have been a few cold winters where I brought it to be done. I have had it drained back to normal level. I've known a few of people who's cars burn a lot of oil, and they purposely overfill now thinking they can go longer before having to add again, but I believe this will just increase the amount they burn.