ok, im due for an oil change in 100 miles or so.. earlier tonite, i decided to check it to see how it held up this past 3,000 miles. i dont do it myself so i dont usually see what the oil looks like before i change it.. anyways, i pop my hood and.. my whole engine bay is covered in oil, my oil cap is gone and my dipstick indicated that i had very little oil left!!!.. wth?!? i hardly ever open my hood so im not sure how long ive been driving like this.. i had no warning lights on, no strange sounds, no real difference in the way the motor was running, so i had no reason to check under the hood. im not too good when it comes to this type of stuff, so i have no idea what kind of trouble im in now. im going to bring it to the shop first thing tomorrow morning but im paranoid to even start it back up again. can someone please explain what kind of damage something like this could cause.. i need to be able to sleep tonite.

 

If it seemed OK when you ran it last (from what you said it did), it should be fine, no damage. Add oil to proper level, put cap back on, or buy new one before running it any more. Clean engine bay carefully, and take it in for the normal change when it is due. It will be OK. Make sure the oil cap is put on securely in the future.

 

You should be ok from what you've said. You should be checking your oil level once a week anyway. You should also check your tire pressure, coolant level, transmission fluid level if you have an automatic, as well as a few other little things as part of a weekly checkup. Your car will love you for it.

 

if your oil cap popped of then there should have been two warnings , 1. burning oil smell coming from the engine bay 2. i am sure the engine would have been hot enough to cook any oil that spilled out unto the head, manifold, or block

 

First of all, and I'm not scolding you, you should be checking your oil every time you gas up. Start making that a habit for starters.

Second, who ever changed your oil last, didn't put the cap on right or tight enough.

Thirdly, if there's still some oil left, chances are the engines fine. Oil has components in it (mainly zinc) that don't burn off as quickly and stick to the components in the engine. Zinc is the LAST line of defence from metal-to-metal contact, once the Zinc wears off, then you're screwed (and it won't take long).

If you're really concerned about the condition of your engine, you can by an OIL ANALYSIS KIT from here: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/Se...?CategoryID=98
Basically, you take a small sample of the oil from within the car (you will need the a pump, also available on the website) and put the sample in provided tube and mail it out to a lab where they will test it and send you the results of the contents of your oil.

 

Just make sure to fill the oil up to full mark before Toyota dealer sees the car and don't let them see it covered with oil either. It should clean up with some Simple Green and water.