adding oil

[StephanieD]

Why did Toyota make the oil filler hole (whatever its called) in such a way that you have to add the oil very slowly?

Unless you want a big mess, you have to pour it in super slowly.

This had to have been intentional.

Its a bit of a p.i.t.a. if you have to top off the oil at a gas station at night when the lighting is not very good!!

[Millhouse]

Its a baffle in the valve cover. It's there to help keep oil from blowing past the cap from the blow-by of the engine. You can still pour the oil in pretty quickly from my experience. Never had a problem with it.

[01loadedLE]

Use a large funnel so you can pour fast without worry of spills. Wipe it dry and store it in zip bag and keep it in the trunk with the oil if you usually top off at stations. You can get big flash lights for cheap these days if you would want a light under the hood at any dark stations.

I top off at the house before I leave so everything stays at home instead of carrying it all in the trunk but I have slow burn off where I don't need to carry oil with me unlike some others.

[bail_w]

This is the funnel i use. Disassemble the lower end part (tube) and then screw the top to the engine. No mess and flash light is not required.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0027&ppt=C0166

[fishexpo101]

Pretty much all the cars I've owned had their oil fill holes pretty similar in size. I understand the baffle could be causing some backup, but I haven't run into an issue.

Could be the plastic engine garnish has gotten warped or come loose on you? Sometimes I notice that it can pop up a bit after you removed the filler cap - if that happens, you have to contend with the distance between the top of the engine garnish and the hole in the valve cover - lot harder to pour oil straight into the hold in that case.

I agree with the other posters here - if you like to keep your crankcase topped off (and you should), just toss a funnel in the trunk with your spare oil - or use a bottle that is only 1/2 full, as I find those much easier to pour with precision.

[StephanieD]

Great, thanks for the help..

I am nowhere near "on top of things" enough to have ever kept a funnel, oil and flashlight in my car trunk (along with the rest of the 'junk in my trunk' ) but maybe I'll run out right now and do that now that you have mentioned it.

My last car was a Mazda Protege and that oil-filling area was wiiide open. The oil could pour in as fast as it could pour out of the bottle. I would basically just insert the top of the bottle into the hole and come back a minute later to retreive the bottle.

Thanks again guys..