Oil on cap?

[mamboman777]

Got oil change today... The tech showed me the cap and it looks like this. Anyone know why?

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[NoVaJimmy]

Looks like condensation mixing with oil. Think about if you were to boil water in a pot with a lid on it. When you take the lid off you'll find condensation under the lid. Now think about a valvetrain operating in that pot splashing oil all over the place and that oil mixes with condensation under the oil cap and you get the milky mixture you see. Short trips leave a lot of moisture inside the crankcase and engine itself. That's even further exacerbated on your hybrid where the engine may be run very minimally making it unable to burn off all the moisture inside the engine.

 

[Saul T Knutz]

Drive longer distances or harder short distances to fix that "issue". I don't think it's that big of a deal, I have the same milk on my Crown Vic's oil cap underside sometimes because I only drive 12 miles to work (one way). Just have to remember to give her the beans occasionally

 

[mamboman777]

Looks like condensation mixing with oil. Think about if you were to boil water in a pot with a lid on it. When you take the lid off you'll find condensation under the lid. Now think about a valvetrain operating in that pot splashing oil all over the place and that oil mixes with condensation under the oil cap and you get the milky mixture you see. Short trips leave a lot of moisture inside the crankcase and engine itself. That's even further exacerbated on your hybrid where the engine may be run very minimally making it unable to burn off all the moisture inside the engine.

Am I hearing "not an issue fora hybrid"?

 

[pigsareus]

Got oil change today... The tech showed me the cap and it looks like this. Anyone know why?

sometimes that is a sign of an internal coolant leak (i.e. blown head gasket), antifreeze getting into the engine and mixing with the oil. Could be something else of course but I have personally seen that before on a couple of my old cars and both times it was a leaking head gasket.

 

[NoVaJimmy]

Am I hearing "not an issue fora hybrid"?

I don't think it's an issue. Someone else mentioned a possible head gasket issue but that's doubtful as the tech probably would have noticed coolant in the oil upon getting an oil change. Do a quick google search for condensation under oil cap and you'll see thousands of photos just like yours and some much much worse. What are your driving habits like? Daily mileage? Like someone else said, an engine needs to be run hard once in a while to get it up to proper operating temps and burn off moisture like that.

 

[Mightybeast]

Got oil change today... The tech showed me the cap and it looks like this. Anyone know why?

Where do you leave? I had the same when my daily driving was 5-10 min long. Enough for engine to produce oil vapors and not enough to burn in cold temperature. If you driving distance is short and you leave in a colder location totally ignore margarine.

 

[Motorjunkie]

Got oil change today... The tech showed me the cap and it looks like this. Anyone know why?

That is usually, but not always indicative of engine not getting to and remaining at operating temperature long enough. My wife drove a Mercedes C240 wagon for over 200,000 miles with a cap that looked that way. We sold it 3 years ago and it is still going strong. I wouldn't worry but would make a point of reducing short trips if practical.

 

[r100gs91]

It's Mayo under the oil fill cap season.

 

[TRUCKHEF]

condensation or an internal coolant leak that is, since its such a new vehicle i doubt the internal leak, but its still a possibility. to get rid of condensation get it up to operating temperature and try and keep it there, a 20 minute drive should do it.

 

[Decayed]

Drive longer distances or harder short distances to fix that "issue". I don't think it's that big of a deal, I have the same milk on my Crown Vic's oil cap underside sometimes because I only drive 12 miles to work (one way). Just have to remember to give her the beans occasionally

Yeah it might seem counterintuitive but you should drive your car at full throttle once in a while. Merging onto a highway is a good spot to floor it.

And once it's at operating temperature, run it at highway speeds for about a half an hour. The high internal pressures at full throttle help keep things clean and the higher temperatures burn off the fuel and moisture in the oil.

You have to use the full range of motion in the mechanicals or they can freeze up. I have an 05 explorer where the previous owners literally never turned on the 4x4. Once I got around to doing it the drive shaft seal started leaking because the shaft hadn't turned in years.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Consider a catch can which is inexpensive and easy to install.

 

[Saul T Knutz]

You have to use the full range of motion in the mechanicals or they can freeze up. I have an 05 explorer where the previous owners literally never turned on the 4x4. Once I got around to doing it the drive shaft seal started leaking because the shaft hadn't turned in years.

I've heard the same in the Taco FB Group. IIRC, according to the manual, owners need to engage the 4X4 system once a month just to keep things okey dokey

 

[mamboman777]

Consider a catch can which is inexpensive and easy to install.

Isn't a catch can for something else?

 

[Bad Actor]

As long as the oil on the dipstick is clear and not milky, no worries.

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