Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Yesterday, I went outside to change the oil of my recently purchased 2004 Corolla LE for the first time. From what I could read off of the sticker from the last oil change, the next scheduled interval was supposed to have happen at 85,000 miles, whereas by the time that I got it, I changed the oil at 93,000, utilizing Castrol's 5w30 Full Synthetic.

As per usual routine, I had drained the oil until the pan was completely empty, followed by installing a new Fram oil filter, prior to refilling the crank case with 4quarts of new synthetic motor oil. That's when I first noticed that something weird appeared to be happening.



Just when I had filled the crank case up to about 2.5 quarts, the dipstick appeared to have read as "FULL". This confounded me, due to that fact that the manufacture specs for a 2004 Corolla indicates that the car takes 3.7 quarts of oil. I'd even confirmed this by information off of the internet along with calling several auto parts stores to be certain. In addition, I was told to run the engine for a couple of minutes, before adding more oil. At this point, I had added another 1/2 quart of oil, ran the engine, and then added in the remaining last quart. From this point onward, everything appeared to be functioning normally.



As as side note, for all who are reading this, I can assure everyone that this was indeed oil that was drained out of the pan, given that I had to wipe the oil itself off of my hands after removing the drain plug.



I work 3rd shift, so later, I took my car to work, which is about a 45 minutes drive each way without any incident. The next day as I was leaving work, I noticed that the car appeared to be running a little sluggish. At this point, I had driven roughly the length of three houses from work, when I'd notice the needle from the RPM gauge hovered slightly as I was on the accelerator. The other thing that I'd noticed, was that the car was not getting the usual amount of power that I would expect, for the amount of pedal that I was applying on the accelerator.



Eventually, everything appeared to level off, and the car began to operate normally, until about 1.5 miles later. That's when the car appeared to become sluggish again, at which point, I decided to turn the car around towards work. Shortly after wards, the "check engine" light came on, whereas I immediately pulled over to the shoulder and turned the car off. I then popped the hood, checked the dipstick, whereas the level still read as full. I then got back in the car and turned the engine over, just before looking at the end of the tail pipe. The car turned over fine without any struggle, knocks or hesitation, whereas there wasn't any ominous smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Like before, the needle on the RPM gauge, did hover up ever so slightly; but not past 1000 RPM's, before leveling off again.



Given the circumstance, I had to pull the car further over to the shoulder. So then, I tried to put the car in drive and pressed down slightly onto the accelerator and that's when the car behaved as though it was set into neutral. Simply put, the car would not move, despite the fact that the engine engaged normally, and with the exception, that the "Check Engine" light was on. The car only moved when I had half of the pedal down, with the RPM gauge reading at about 4-5000 RPM's. In addition to checking for leaks on the ground, I once again checked the tailpipe for any smoke. There was no smoke coming out , nor any leaks on the ground. Finally, I had a co-worker pick me, and had the car towed to the nearest garage. At this point, I won't know what's wrong until Monday. In retrospect, I'm starting to think that something related to the transmission went, given the way that the car was behaving. Any theories out there?

Reply 1 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Very strange. Sorry to hear about the issues.



I am a big believer in synthetic oil. I have been using it on my car for the last 6 years. It is intended to prolong the life of the engine and reduce wear and tear.

Reply 2 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davo53208 Yesterday, I went outside to change the oil of my recently purchased 2004 Corolla LE for the first time. From what I could read off of the sticker from the last oil change, the next scheduled interval was supposed to have happen at 85,000 miles, whereas by the time that I got it, I changed the oil at 93,000, utilizing Castrol's 5w30 Full Synthetic. As per usual routine, I had drained the oil until the pan was completely empty, followed by installing a new Fram oil filter, prior to refilling the crank case with 4quarts of new synthetic motor oil. That's when I first noticed that something weird appeared to be happening. Just when I had filled the crank case up to about 2.5 quarts, the dipstick appeared to have read as "FULL". This confounded me, due to that fact that the manufacture specs for a 2004 Corolla indicates that the car takes 3.7 quarts of oil. I'd even confirmed this by information off of the internet along with calling several auto parts stores to be certain. In addition, I was told to run the engine for a couple of minutes, before adding more oil. At this point, I had added another 1/2 quart of oil, ran the engine, and then added in the remaining last quart. From this point onward, everything appeared to be functioning normally. As as side note, for all who are reading this, I can assure everyone that this was indeed oil that was drained out of the pan, given that I had to wipe the oil itself off of my hands after removing the drain plug. I work 3rd shift, so later, I took my car to work, which is about a 45 minutes drive each way without any incident. The next day as I was leaving work, I noticed that the car appeared to be running a little sluggish. At this point, I had driven roughly the length of three houses from work, when I'd notice the needle from the RPM gauge hovered slightly as I was on the accelerator. The other thing that I'd noticed, was that the car was not getting the usual amount of power that I would expect, for the amount of pedal that I was applying on the accelerator. Eventually, everything appeared to level off, and the car began to operate normally, until about 1.5 miles later. That's when the car appeared to become sluggish again, at which point, I decided to turn the car around towards work. Shortly after wards, the "check engine" light came on, whereas I immediately pulled over to the shoulder and turned the car off. I then popped the hood, checked the dipstick, whereas the level still read as full. I then got back in the car and turned the engine over, just before looking at the end of the tail pipe. The car turned over fine without any struggle, knocks or hesitation, whereas there wasn't any ominous smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Like before, the needle on the RPM gauge, did hover up ever so slightly; but not past 1000 RPM's, before leveling off again. Given the circumstance, I had to pull the car further over to the shoulder. So then, I tried to put the car in drive and pressed down slightly onto the accelerator and that's when the car behaved as though it was set into neutral. Simply put, the car would not move, despite the fact that the engine engaged normally, and with the exception, that the "Check Engine" light was on. The car only moved when I had half of the pedal down, with the RPM gauge reading at about 4-5000 RPM's. In addition to checking for leaks on the ground, I once again checked the tailpipe for any smoke. There was no smoke coming out , nor any leaks on the ground. Finally, I had a co-worker pick me, and had the car towed to the nearest garage. At this point, I won't know what's wrong until Monday. In retrospect, I'm starting to think that something related to the transmission went, given the way that the car was behaving. Any theories out there?

No oil pressure light. No smoking or knocking or oil leaks. Crankcase full of oil. You do not have an oil related problem. You probably have an electrical component issue with either the ecm( they go bad all the time on this model) or a transmission-throttle electrical issue. Donot pay for a new ecm computer as these are under a nationwide recall.

Reply 3 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

It could be oil related, but I don't think so. Most people who go to oil change place probably put the cheapest bulk oil in the engine and if they remember to change the oil on time, then it was a good day. It is possible that the synthetic oil you put in could have loosened up sludge in the engine, but you did not mention the low oil pressure light coming on. What did the oil look like when it was draining? I assume you checked the oil level on a flat surface?



The ECU recall did not effect the mechanical throttle on the 03 and 04 engines. Sounds like the tranny is slipping. Do you know the service history of this vehicle? Any warranty when you bought it used?

Reply 4 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

I had an '89 Corrola that I junked at 279,000 miles, an '05 'Rolla that got 182,000 before it too was junked. Both these cars had nothing but Mobil 1 synthetic oil used and Fram filters (I now use Wix). I now have a "new" '05 10G's on the clock and intend to use synthetic motor as well as synthetic tranny oil. I had the transmission replaced on the '89 at 90K. Same sitiuation as yours. There are a lot of knowledgeable folks here. All I can do is say that synthetic oil is great for those of us in cold climates.

Reply 5 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Check your transmission fluid.

Reply 6 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

After reading this again, is it possible you drained the tranny fluid and not the oil? They stupidly both take the same size plug. That accounts for both of your issues of the level being incorrect and your driveability issues. Was the oil you drained black or dark red? Did you remove the plug from drivers side or passenger side? this wouldn't be the first time this happened and won't be the last.

Reply 7 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikered30 After reading this again, is it possible you drained the tranny fluid and not the oil? They stupidly both take the same size plug. That accounts for both of your issues of the level being incorrect and your driveability issues. Was the oil you drained black or dark red? Did you remove the plug from drivers side or passenger side? this wouldn't be the first time this happened and won't be the last.

That could be it too. I don't think he's got an oil related engine failure. Usually they go with a bang with noise and smoke. He says the engine is quiet. Noticed he says check engine light on. Could be solenoid pressure not high enough cause he drained out trans fluid instead of oil. Good hypothesis.

Reply 8 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

It does sound like the automatic transmission fluid was drained. Transmission is on driver's side, and engine is on passenger side as you can see when you open the hood... You'd need about 3.25 quarts of Toyota Type T-IV ATF to refill. Start with 3 quarts. Check auto tranny dipstick level with engine idling. There are cold and hot levels on dipstick. Also, make sure engine is not overfilled. May as well drain engine oil completely and refill to proper full level, since it never was drained in the first place.



What was your engine oil level at before you attempted to drain it and added 3 quarts to it? Is it not much higher than the full mark now??

Reply 9 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

when in drive and you push the pedal down, does the engine rev? or are the rpms still low? check the MAF sensor since there's the check engine light. unplug it and try to drive. it will be in limp mode so you can't accelerate over 3k rpm. if that's the case then you just need a new maf sensor.

Reply 10 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

The thing is the oil drain plug is different from transmission drain plug. You need a hex key to unscrew transmission drain plug.

Reply 11 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Quote:

Originally Posted by blumonster The thing is the oil drain plug is different from transmission drain plug. You need a hex key to unscrew transmission drain plug.

Not according to this DIY... You need a 14mm socket to pull the drain plug.



http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=325325



OP: You may want to click the link as it has pics of the tranmission being drained, which should clear up exactly which pan you drained.



Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but IF you drained the transmission and drove it around, I'm almost 100% certain that catastrophic damage has occurred to it and you will need it replaced or rebuilt. And if that wasn't bad enough, this would also mean that you have overfilled the engine oil since you added pints without draining. In one fell swoop, you may have wrecked your entire drive-train.



This is my first post (well second after intro) on TN and I hope I'm wrong for your sake.



ToyoLuv

Reply 12 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Any update?

Reply 13 : Did Castrol Synthetic Kill My Corolla?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToyoLuv Not according to this DIY... You need a 14mm socket to pull the drain plug. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=325325 OP: You may want to click the link as it has pics of the tranmission being drained, which should clear up exactly which pan you drained. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but IF you drained the transmission and drove it around, I'm almost 100% certain that catastrophic damage has occurred to it and you will need it replaced or rebuilt. And if that wasn't bad enough, this would also mean that you have overfilled the engine oil since you added pints without draining. In one fell swoop, you may have wrecked your entire drive-train. This is my first post (well second after intro) on TN and I hope I'm wrong for your sake. ToyoLuv

I have not done a drain&refill.But the Haynes manual for 1993-2002 Corollas say you would need a Hex key/allen wrench for the drain plug. Newer models must have used a different plug then.