Digital Level Sensor.......and not overfilling

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Jul 17, 2003
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New York
One fleet in the chassis we may be keeping past 36 months so I've been doing mid cycle oil changes.
I'm 2000 miles in. On the dipstick, it showed full and the -digital- reading it showed max mark upon OC

Noticed on the digital recently , it seemed a 1/4 low even though dipstick did not seem to suggest that.
So I topped it off about a smidge....dipstick show's it's just a hair on max and the the digital gauge, does not read at full mark.
I'm doing this measurement under the same conditions as when I did the original OCI, if not doing the -digital- reading under the same exact spot outside of garage (geography wise).

Posting this as I'm somewhat glad by luck or whatever reason I have I dipstick on this....just baffled on not getting the digital sensor to recognize it at the max mark.
 
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One fleet in the chassis we may be keeping past 36 months so I've been doing mid cycle oil changes.
I'm 2000 miles in. On the dipstick, it showed full and the -digital- reading it showed max mark upon OC

Noticed on the digital recently , it seemed a 1/4 low even though dipstick did not seem to suggest that.
So I topped it off about a smidge....dipstick show's it's just a hair on max and the the digital gauge, does not read at full mark.
I'm doing this measurement under the same conditions as when I did the original OCI, if not doing the -digital- reading under the same exact spot outside of garage (geography wise).

Posting this as I'm somewhat glad by luck or whatever reason I have I dipstick on this....just baffled on not getting the digital sensor to recognize it at the max mark.
How long are you waiting between topping up and checking the digital dipstick? Most cars with digital dipsticks require the engine to be at full operating temp then shut down on a level surface and left for ~15min before they’ll give an updated reading.
 
How long are you waiting between topping up and checking the digital dipstick? Most cars with digital dipsticks require the engine to be at full operating temp then shut down on a level surface and left for ~15min before they’ll give an updated reading.
My ex wife’s 2010 BMW 328i had a digital display for the oil level and the only way to get a reading was once the engine was fully warmed up but still running. I really liked that digital reading actually, I hate trying to read the level on most dipsticks.
 
I've been tinkering with the readings. Whether its @ temp from a 8 minute spirited drive from a cold start. Same for 1 hr commute. No indifference. It's full on the stick yet 1/4 low on the digital. It was -full mark- right after the OCI - but even after that smidge of top off and multiple readings, not seeing it on the digital anymore. I suppose as long as it's 1/2 at min- max on the digital

Now if I did not have a dipstick on this as well, I'd probably top it even more than where it is
 
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Dont add oil until its at the add mark
I disagree with that. Why would you want to wait for it to be a quart low? I think it’s better to top it off as soon as you see the level go down, even if you are only adding about 1/4 of a quart. In a 5qt system if it’s one quart low that’s 20% of the capacity that you are missing 😳
 
I agree. I keep my oil at F.

I'm also glad I don't have the digital thingy. I prefer checking it manually, and usually it's hard to read ... then I get mad and let it sit over-night and check it again. Sometimes I take the dipstick out and cover the hole with a little paper towel (you'll never know what the spiders might do) and check it several hours later. I don't like oil sticking to the sides of the dipstick! Only do this after the dealer oil changes. A lil crazy, I know. :ROFLMAO:
 
I disagree with that. Why would you want to wait for it to be a quart low? I think it’s better to top it off as soon as you see the level go down, even if you are only adding about 1/4 of a quart. In a 5qt system if it’s one quart low that’s 20% of the capacity that you are missing 😳
Because the min level is where its designed to be ran safely. Then wait till its 1/2 qt low. no reason to top off with a few ounces.
 
Because the min level is where its designed to be ran safely. Then wait till its 1/2 qt low. no reason to top off with a few ounces.
There’s plenty of reasons to keep it at the top level. Better contract of oil temperatures, less chance of oil starvation if you are driving it hard (especially with a track car) and more oil keeps the contaminants at bay a little better. There are really no benefits of running the oil level at the minimum point.
 
Because the min level is where its designed to be ran safely. Then wait till its 1/2 qt low. no reason to top off with a few ounces.

Define safe first. You have a margin of error above and below.
Could easily argue more oil is safer. Excessively high level might increase fuel consumption some though.

 
What kind of vehicle is this? I know on some Stellantis stuff you actually have to do an oil level sensor calibration after an oil change and it’s ANNOYING.
 
You replenish some of the additives with a top off of new oil.

Maybe some save the lawnmower oil for top offs??????
 
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