2018 3.5 DipStick oil level.

At 45,000 miles I had the valve issue show up on passenger side head at which Toyota replaced the cylinder head. Up to that point I would perform an oil change at 5K and put in 6 QTS in oil fill and pre fill the filter housing with new Toyota filter. Always showed full like it should top dot. Since having the cylinder head replaced I started noticing oil going down like I was loosing oil down to between the two dots consistently. No leaks at all. I drained the oil getting over 6 Qts like I should get. Did the same thing I always have done put in 6QTs in oil fill with pre filling filter housing with new Toyota filter and it shows low between the 2 dots on dipstick. I have since done this 3 more times to make sure I am not looney, each time same thing shows between the 2 dots on dipstick , measure what I get out of the drain and its almost 6qts on the nose, drain the filter housing and get the rest out which is about 1/3 quart. put back in 6qts pre fill housing shows in between the dots like its low. I talked to the dealer who performed the work, it's now at almost 70k they want to charge me to investigate. Dip stick looks normal and the number on it is correct for the motor. Is it possible the dipstick housing was not installed correctly or pulled out some?
Either way I know it only holds 6.2 Qts and always drains out really close to that so I know I am not low showing in-between the two dots.

 

Doubtful the tech didn't get the dip stick tube back in all the way. It's bolted to the head, and you wouldn't be able to get the bolt hole in the tube to line up on the head. Have you flipped the dip stick to look at the other side when checking the oil level. I know one side will show in between the dots and the other will be right a the top dot.

 

I have looked at both sides , same thing in the middle of the dots. I always take out the dipstick , wait about 5 mins or so to check so the oil in the tube thats wicking on the dipstick gets drained and I get a clean level line.

Picture is the back of the Dipstick , both sides look identical on level and dots. At this point I know I am not low I would just like to know why. Think I am going to take my Dipstick to the dealer and compare to just see.

 

1. Are you burning any oil? Timing cover leaks? Spark plugs loose?
2. Between the dots is not low. Dots denote the range oil can be in safely. Lowest dot means the Lowest possible level, top dot means Max possible level of oil.

 

Possibly the current dipstick isn’t the original? I suspect something changed that does not allow the stick to achieve the same depth of penetration.

 

damn this is an interesting one..

 

you could check with other tacoma owner and barrow a dip stick to see what happen.

 

Problem solved went to the dealer they didnt have a dipstick in stock but pulled one from a 2019 Tacoma on the used lot , somehow they swapped my dipstick with another vehicle. They let me keep it , shows full now. The one I had in my truck was only 29 1/8 inches where the one from the 2019 Tacoma was about 29 9/16. They seem to think it was for a 3.4 L 2003 truck.
either way I am happy its solved.

 

Looks like I guessed correctly. Woooohoooo!

 

So whoever got your original dipstick will be overfilling their car.

 

WTF!! "somehow they swapped my dipstick with another vehicle"

 

I don’t think so. So long as it is a 3rd GEN there shouldn’t be a problem.

 

Does the bad one have a part number on it? I'd be curious to see where it's supposed to go. Hopefully they didn't swap anything else when they did the original job...

 

how in the hell could they get your dipstick mixed up with another. Really kind of gets me to think and what else did they screw up? Incompetence and lack of responsibility is really annoying.

 

More than likely, you got somebody else’s dipstick and they don’t have one in their truck. They forgot to put it back in. That’s absolutely a terrible situation that their service techs are that bad. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I usually open my hood before I leave the dealership just to check the oil myself before driving off.