Oil level on dipstick...
 

I've been checking my oil and seeing, I think, some drops in my oil level on my dipstick.


Right now, checking it when pulling into a gas station, it's right above the low mark. I imagine letting it sit for 5 minutes or so would bump that up some but that still seems low to me for a new car (18,000 miles).


The dealership has been the ones doing my oil changes (I got a free service plan with the car) so I'm not sure where the oil is when they've topped it off, but I would assume they'd fill it to the top mark?


Anyone else's oil normally run that low?

It rarely gets filled to the top mark. As long as it is between the marks all is good. It will indeed go up after sitting a few minutes. It needs to flow back down. If you don't know where it started you certainly can not know if it has dropped.

I'm not sure I agree with this statement.

The distance between the two marks is one quart. When I do an oil change and fill with 5.8q, the oil level is shown at the top mark when the car is on level ground and the engine is cold. Thus, the level of oil in the pan is being accurately shown on the dipstick.

I semi-regularly check the oil level and if it's at the half way point, I'll add a half quart to bring it back up to the full mark.

I don't understand the owner manual's suggestion of checking the oil level when refueling at a gas station, as the engine will be hot with a fair amount of oil stuck up in it, so the level shown on the dipstick at that time will not be giving you an accurate representation of the amount of oil in the pan.

The point I was making was that if you don't know where it started (he said as much) then you don't know how far it has moved if at all. It doesn't have to be to the top mark to be OK and we don't know if it started there or not. Wasn't trying to say it is OK to drive around with low oil.

Ok sorry, my mistake. I took the bold and italicized portion of your original comment out of context.

Yes, if he is checking the level while the engine is hot, then it's definitely OK for it to not be at the top mark.

...Which goes back to my confusion of why the manual recommends checking while hot... It doesn't seem to be of any value to check while hot haha.

Usually, they fill it up to the top mark.

Some remarks ...

You should have a hot engine when you're checking. Additionally, you'll need to wait at least 5 minutes. If you are measuring immediately, then a lot of the oil is still inside the engine. In general, modern engines burn some oil. This is by design.

Actually this is better practice.

If you check when the engine is warm, you are fine as far as oil level as long as it is between the marks since there's enough oil in the pan for purposes of engine protection.

If you check when the engine is cold, you may end up below one of the marks when the engine is warm.

Some people make the mistake of checking oil when cold, and thinks it's okay to have it between the marks when cold. The owner's manual avoids this problem by having you check when the engine is hot, so as long as it is above the low mark you have enough oil for the engine.

-alex

You can tell how much oil is blown by with a catch can. Burnt oil is... well... burnt.

This is true. I didn't check it right after they gave it back to me. But I did start checking it periodically a few weeks ago and back then it seemed to be more at the halfway mark. So while I may not know where it was when they did the oil change, I do believe it's dropped some since checking it a few weeks ago.


Really, there's not much to say until I get the oil changed again this weekend and I can start again and have a better benchmark.


I do try to check it in similar conditions each time.


I was just hoping maybe it was a common thing for the oil to be that low with these cars and everyone could tell me not to worry, lol.

If no spots on the ground where you park the car then you are not pissing it out and all is good. I take my oil changes right to the longest mile and have never even moved it on the dipstick so unless you are tracking or really giving it hell there should not be any huge change in levels between changes.

Interesting, I did not consider it from this perspective. Thank you, sir!

I've had three oil changes done at the local dealership (Toyota) so far. In every case, they've overfilled it, and my level reads a good 1/2" above the "high" mark. The bill always reads "6 quarts of 0w20 full synthetic." The car doesn't take 6 quarts. Granted, they probably wouldn't bill for 5.5 or 5.8 (or whatever the car actually takes.. I forget off the top of my head). The last time I went in, I specifically asked them not to overfill it. Sure enough... same thing... 1/2" over. Oh well. Any problems are their problems until July of 2019 or 100,000 miles. I tried.

My levels haven't moved appreciably between oil changes, even with cam coverplate leaks (seems to be fixed on the second dealer's attempt. Funny story... the last time I had them fix it, the tech said that the repair wasn't done properly the first time and wanted to know where I had it done. It was fun saying.. "I had it done here.").

I make it a practice of checking the oil level after an oil change, before I drive it off the lot. Why?

* to find out if in fact, they did change the oil

* to make sure they put oil in the car

* to determine how much oil they put in the car

I also mark the old filter, so I can make sure it was changed.


humfrz

Exactly :)