Is thick smoke normal?

[lana del rey]

I did an oil change at an unauthorized dealer... yes, that's my fault. So since that overfill, it took a toll on my Outback. I got a 2012 model so it's kind of crumbling down already and I had spent thousands for the refill. When the dealer did an overfill, my car immediately had extreme vibrations and blew thick black smoke. After all the repairs at the trusted dealer, the vibrations stopped but the smoke remained, although at irregular intervals.

Question now is... is this normal? Let me know if I need to sell it already and if that's the best option because honestly, I find it difficult letting it go now. Because I spent much already and believe the value has decreased even lower.

 

[SVEN]

Nope not normal at all. Given the age, past damage, and money already spent, it should be more practical to sell if issues and repairs just keep piling up, but if its got some, say sentimental value to it then just be prepared for more potential costs.

 

[High.tension]

This usually means it's running rich (burning too much fuel), or the combustion chamber is still dealing with oil residue from the overfill. If it's only happening occasionally now, it might just be the system burning off leftover stuff, especially if the car sat or wasn't driven much during the whole ordeal. But if it's consistent, you could be looking at long term damage like piston rings or valve seals that didn't survive the flood.

 

[p13guy35]

Question now is... is this normal?

no, thick black smoke at irregular intervals is NOT normal after an oil overfill, especially after getting it 'repaired.' When a gas engine like your Outback's blows thick black smoke, it mostly points to one of two things

 

[Subiesareblue]

Unauthorized dealers aren't particulary bad always, but things like this can happen and it's sometime our fault trying to save a few bucks. The black smoke isn't normal at all, but the thing that confuses me is that black smoe means that it's running rich, but it has nothing to do with the oil change. Did you run a scan to see if there are any codes?

 

[Lexie]

Is it possible the PCV is clogged?

https://www.ahgautoservice.com/what-is-the-problem-with-the-pcv-valve-on-a-subaru/
See item 3.