w204nyc

The light came on while my father was using my car and without calling me he tried to do it himself and put in 10w40. What can go wrong and should I get an oil change?

tfthach13

I doubt it'll cause any problems. I use 10w50 from Redline in my car and no problems. You might need to have the car warm up a few seconds more when you start it up. Just so the oil can warm up properly.

m a x i m u s

i assume it was just a small top off? if so, i wouldn't worry about it, as long as it matched what was in your engine as far as synthetic goes.

ghiaguy

It is always good to let the car warmup a bit at start up - that's great advice. I usually wait another 15-20 seconds after the idle settles to normal in the morning if its a cold start. Also, wait a few miles before you kick the hell out of it, you'll be fine!

olszowa12

0w40 and 10w40 will work just fine.

Merc63

Depending how much he added, the oil will be slightly thicker at start up now.. Nothing to worry about unless over 2-3 liters was added.

w204nyc

Thanks for the quick responses. I think he only put a liter so i hope it will be fine.

w204nyc

I was a bit angry because of some nucklehead salesman telling me my warranty will get voided if i use the wrong oil so i was a little worried.

DuaneC63

Not going to hurt anything if it's just a quart. Your salesman couldn't tell the difference between canola oil and astroglide. If it bothers you, just drain the whole pan and fill it up with 0-40.

w204nyc

I found out that my father had the car in the dealership before, they topped off the oil but the light didnt go off so he put another bottle of 10w40. Does that change anything

CoolBDPhenom03

tfthach13

So your father put in another quart after the dealership topped it off already (assuming they really did top it off)? If so, I would recommend a bit of WOT's just to burn some of the excess oil.

But if the car is running normally overall, you have nothing to worry about.

w204nyc

Yea he told me after the dealer topped ff he put another bottle so the light can turn off. I haven't been hope and I should be home to take a look at it in about two hours. Hopefully my baby is ok

AMG9

10/40 is not a problem but too much oil could foul your plugs and cause other problems. I would Check oil level and drain some of it if its more than 1/2 or one quart too high.

w204nyc

I just checked the dip stick an there is too much oil. Another finger over the top mark. I turned the car on and white smoke is coming from the exhaust. Any ideas what I should do now?

ghiaguy

ok, at this point just change the oil. Too much oil is never good - very stressful to your engine!

CoolBDPhenom03

+1. I'm not sure why your oil light was still on after you had already topped the oil. When you take it in, I'd ask about that. Perhaps, they'll look at it and MAYBE redo the oil change for free. It's worth asking, or maybe they'd split the cost with you.

w204nyc

so you guys think I should change the oil or just drain it and add new oil?

m a x i m u s

just siphon off some of the oil. if you dont have a pump, then go ask a shop to do it for you.

m a x i m u s

perhaps he was referring to conventional oil vs. synthetic?

w204nyc

maybe not really sure but I didn't want to take the risk. Is a 10mile drive to the mechanic ok for the car?

AMG9

If you have to drive, Make sure you keep the RPMs as low as possible.
Use "C" mode and go easy on the throttle.

w204nyc

I just drove down to the dealership and im getting an oil change. Just to be safe

ghiaguy

best solution for the car and for piece of mind!

mvp2765

+1. Can't go wrong with playing it safe.