Reading engine oil level

I have never needed to add oil between changes.

 

At 24,000 miles and 3 oil changes, I've not needed to add between.

 

We find it useful to immediately upon withdrawing the oil stick to hold it sideways and horizontal so the oil gathers on the low side making the end more easily seen. Sometimes the side you choose to view is important for visibility as well.
good luck. cheers.

 

I have been taught the following:
Take the dip stick out and wipe it clean with a rag. Reinsert it, wait a few seconds or a minute and take it out again. It should be clear what is wet and what is dry. I think it is better to do this when the engine is cold and the oil has settled.

Anyway, a new car will likely have nice, clean oil (clear so it will be difficult to see) and not burn or leak oil (no need to add more).

 

I do as above, but I do find it really hard to see the oil on this car.

On older cars I've driven the dipsticks used to have cross-hatched grooves in the OK area, meaning oil had more chance to "stick" to this area, but regardless even on my most recent car prior to the c, the oils used were so much darker and didn't seem quite so thin.

With the c I find myself angling the dipstick around trying to catch the light in different ways, searching for signs of how far up the oil got. I feel Andrei's pain.

 

If you check the oil level in the morning when everything has cooled off, the oil film on the dip stick is considerably thicker and easier to see. 0W-20 at ambient temperature is thicker than straight 30 was at operating temperature.

 

Never in my life, no. I still check though because if the level decides to start going down, I want to know about it.

Worth noting that mine is changed every six months - I don't normally hit the 10,000 km so I get it done based on time (and ours is not specified for every second service as it appears to be in the US).

 

Aren't you supposed to check the oil after driving when everything is warmed up though? Or indeed they normally say 20 minutes after driving but *ahem* I normally just do it after I've spent five minutes fuelling up and going into the shop.

 

Try both ways and compare. Just don't check it immediately after you have stopped before the oil has had chance to run back into the pan.

Edit: I was on my way out to breakfast earlier, to add something useful.....

The bulk modulous of thermal expansion of engine oil is 0.00070 per degree C. So if you go from a 20C ambient ot a 100C oil operating temperature, that is a 100-20=80C increase in temperature.

0.00070/C x 80C = 0.056 Assuming a 4 US qt oil capacity....
0.056 x 4 = 0.22qt

That is rather surprising, I have never noticed that much difference in oil level. If reading the dipstick with hot oil is difficult, it would be worthwhile comparing oil level at operating temperature and cool engine temperatures, then mentally adjusting for the cold oil level when you check it cold.

 

yeah i had quite a difficult time. Not sure if its just my prius c, but the oil seems to coat the entire dipstick! never seen that happen before.... so i thought i overfilled it and the oil was all the way up the dipstick tube. I worried for a few weeks and then today decided to drain some out and double check if it went down or not. It did go down.

well now i can tell its half way up the add mark, as you can see from the picture. But you can hopefully also see how the whole dipstick is covered in oil too.