Oil Cap left Off for ~2k miles, discovered while i was out offroading.

Yesterday i was out on the trails and came across someone who needed a jump for his rig and after i pulled up and opened my hood i had realized my oil cap was missing! I had a latex glove and tied that around the filler neck as a temporary fix until i could get home, held up good and stayed on/didint melt. I myself am quite ashamed for not having noticed myself however rarely drive the truck and only take it out on the weekends.

Im suspecting it was taken off at my toyotacare service interval at the dealer couple months ago and since then ive done like multiple long trips with offroading and taking it thru the automatic car was as well. The filler neck is pretty clean however which is interesting and when i checked the dipstick, the oil level was fine and appeared clean. There was also no oil spray at all on the inside of the hood which is also interesting. I will reach out to the dealer to see what they say but it was so long ago i feel like they will tell me to pound sand.

I do plan on changing the oil asap but im wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and if i should be considering any potential damage.

 

I would think it’s fine, worst case the dirt that would make it’s way down there would end up in the oil pan sump which is filtered before it goes into the engine passageways. At most I would say maybe your filter is extra dirty and maybe not a bad idea to change it now but I wouldn’t be concerned about long term issues or anything near future popping up from this. I’d just get a new cap on there and change the filter.

 

It’s possible that it was loosely put on and fell off more recently- is it wedged somewhere or on your skid plate?

 

Entertained that idea but a search yielded nothing unfortunately

 

Had the same thing happen to me. Found it 2k miles later (colorado, dusty sandy dirty environment) ran an oil analysis and found no evidence of contamination. Change the oil, replace the cap, document it with the dealer, and then go on about your way.

 

In high school my friend and I went on an epic week-long desert camping road trip with his father’s Vista Cruiser station wagon. We got it stuck in sand dunes in Glamis, CA, and bottomed it out a couple times on a dirt road we took for miles where we had to drive fast to keep it from sinking. When we got back, gravel and sand were everywhere, including on top of the engine. Guess what was also missing?
His dad sold the car not too long after the trip.

One think is for sure, I try to check my truck thoroughly before taking it off the service lot. My skid plates were put back on wrong by two different service places. One place left bolts off because they couldn’t rehang it properly- their oil filter wrench was wedged between the pan and the skid plate! The other time they put the plates on in the wrong order so edges were left exposed instead of tucked under between plates to they would’ve hung up and gotten bent if I hit a rock.

 

what a nightmare lmao, generally why i try to do my own maintenance if its appropiate.

 

If anyone is interested: i looked at the glove that i put on to cover the filler neck while the engine is running. appears to be a bit of negative pressure/vacumn in play. Interesting because there is usually oil spewing out or outwards pressure in the hondas ive seen running without caps.

 

Should be fine. At least they put oil in.....

 

well its funny because the service i went in for was the non-oilchange one. my guess is they were probably topping off oil and forgot.

 

This is why I keep a spare cap in the truck now.

 

I never understood the topping off stuff. You have a 2021. If it’s burning that much oil to be noticeable, you have other issues.

I really only see the wiper fluid as the only fluid that should be topped off.

 

Back in the 70's i came across the same problem on a dodge slant 6 motor sometime after it had the oil changed from a local shop. I heard a rapping noise from the engine. Upon looking inside i noticed the oil cap missing...must of been off for at least 3 weeks since the oil change. Turned out a rod bearing was failing, and the engine needed rebuilding. This was just from dirt/dust driving on the roads here. I guess it doesn't take much once dirt collects on various internal engine parts then gets washed by the oil. The filter can only do so much.

 

x 2 and filter too

 

I left my own cap off almost 20 years ago and it made a mess, I check all caps when the hood is open ever since lol.

 

I always ask my dealership to top off the blinker fluid every time I take my truck in for a Toyota Care service, and I demand some of that high dollar-super-bad-ass nitrogen for my tires. Oh yeah, I only wash the truck with sparkling mineral water too.

 

That's what Toyota does.

German engines rely on vacuum in the crankcase; no oil cap will make them run rough and throw a CEL.
Other engines (such as Toyota) don't work that way and can drive without noticing.

Are you implying the use of logic in a dealer express department manned by $12/hr children with 5 brain cells?

Or instead of wasting an hour in traffic paying someone else to perform basic easy tasks for you, you can quickly set the purse down and do it yourself at home for much cheaper
Or even use the purse to hit the wrench if needed to help break the bolt loose

 

I put the cap on the hood latch when I change my oil…


hard to forget.

 

Though… these super light oils they spec now (to try to up the mpg) do fry off way faster than the tar the old man used to feed the Ford Galaxy.