I learned something about how to check the oil level on my 2016 CR-V last week.

[JimPghPA]

This is a re-post of something I posted on the Honda CR-V owners forum:

I got 2 free oil changes with my 2016 CR-V EX when I bought it in February of 2020 with 19,877 miles on it. Now in October with 23,558 miles on it the oil life went down to 20 % so I got it changed for free at the Honda dealer last week. Being a regular viewer and poster on the web site BITOG I have read about some of the horror stories other have had with oil changes done at quick lube places and dealers of other brands of vehicles. So after I got the vehicle back, before I would even drive it off the dealers lot, I drove it to a different section of there large property where there was a level piece of ground and checked the oil. I was surprised that the oil did NOT fill in the top hole on the dip stick. I checked it many times, and only one time did the top hole show oil filling it. So I took it back to the service department and went back in and spoke to the woman in charge of the service department. She asked "Did you let it sit for 15 minutes before checking it." I said no. She said "Check it again after it sits for 15 minutes." I said it is not on level ground now. She said that she would have someone pull in in to the staging area where it was flat and let it sit for 15 minutes and then have it checked. So someone pulled it in, shut it off, and let it sit. But shortly after it got in one young man said he wanted to see what the oil level read now. She said you have to let it sit for 15 minutes. But he opened the hood and checked it without waiting and said it reads low. Then about 12 minutes later he read it again and it read OK. He let me check it myself and the top hole was filled with oil when I checked it.

So, along with being on level ground, another thing you have to do to get a good reading on the oil level is to let it sit for 15 minutes without the engine running before you check it, to get an accurate reading. I did not know that before.

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Stay safe everyone.

 

[joegreen]

Yeah it allows the oil time to drop back into the pan.

 

[40w8]

Well, I have a 14 BMW X1 which has a electronic oil level gauge in dash. You have to run car for 5 minutes and push button. At 34k miles it has never read anything but full. It's basically a sensor like car has for low oil level. I don't trust it, but have drained out the 5 quarts at end of 10k miles, so I guess I'm not using oil.

 

[Whimsey]

Our 2017 Explorer with the the 2.3 EcoBoost engine also requires 15-20 minutes of wait time after shutting it off to get an accurate oil level reading. Thankfully it doesn't use any discernible amount of oil between oil changes. When on long driving trips I'll check it in the morning before we leave to continue the trip.

Whimsey

 

[JimPghPA]

On the similar thread I started on the Honda CRV owners forum someone posted that "the owners manual says to wait 3 minutes."

And someone else posted "the longer the better."

 

[DGXR]

I think 5 minutes is enough time for the majority of the oil to drain back to the pan. Won't be any real difference between waiting 5 or 15 minutes.

Just for fun, back in the day, I would check the oil level immediately after shutoff and then again after sitting 10 minutes. I thought this would give an idea how much oil was circulating through that engine, a 1972 Jeep 4.2L inline six. It showed about 3/4 down from the full mark, so about 3/4 of a quart was still up in the engine, possibly including the oil filter, I don't know for sure. But it made me happy to know there was so much oil actually lubricating my engine

 

[The Critic]

On the similar thread I started on the Honda CRV owners forum someone posted that "the owners manual says to wait 3 minutes."

And someone else posted "the longer the better."

Depends on the oil temp. 220F oil drains down more quickly than 120F oil.

On K24's you need at least 10 min to get an accurate reading, imo.

 

[WagonWheel]

I too always wait 10 minutes to get a reading when hot/operating temperature (2003 Accord K24). After 10 min there is not a significant change in level. I believe the OM says 3 min since they want to encourage you to check when refueling. Hence, it’s better to get a reading vs waiting for the most accurate reading.

Also, I don’t think it’s “low” unless it’s below the lower hole/mark.

 

[pghvolvo]

Yep, I wish someone would tell my Volvo dealer that. They over fill my car by a quart because of that same issue. My owners manual states that you need to wait at a minimum or 20 minutes after turning off the engine for a proper measurement of the oil level. It holds 5.9 qts with a oil filter change and they put 7.0 quarts in every time. Started changing my own oil three years age because I was tired of dumping a quart of synthetic a week after the dealer changed it.

At least the Toyota dealers do it right here in the Burg.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I usually check my oil after the vehicle has been sitting for several hours if not overnight. I've always done it that way unless I have a specific reason. I know it's not necessary since people used to get their oil checked every time they went to a service station right after they got there. At least they did a Walley/Goober's.

 

[Chris142]

The owners manual for my F250 says to check the oil hot and 15 min after turning it off.

 

[Kira]

I'd love to hear Goober pitch synthetic oil to "Ain't Bea".

 

[nascarnation]

Yep, I wish someone would tell my Volvo dealer that. They over fill my car by a quart because of that same issue. My owners manual states that you need to wait at a minimum or 20 minutes after turning off the engine for a proper measurement of the oil level. It holds 5.9 qts with a oil filter change and they put 7.0 quarts in every time. Started changing my own oil three years age because I was tired of dumping a quart of synthetic a week after the dealer changed it.

At least the Toyota dealers do it right here in the Burg.

If you worked that right, you could save it up and get every 6th change for free!

 

[AutoMechanic]

Yeah funny story once we had a customer get the impression we didn’t change the oil so he lifts the hood with the engine running and checks it and we all said you have to let it sit at least 15 minutes before checking it and it needs to be on level ground and he said no you don’t I’m never coming back here again and I’m calling your manager well he called the manager and the manager laughed and said that’s what you’re supposed to do. Never seen or heard from him again lol.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Wow, I have checked more oil levels than most and have been doing it wrong!
In high school, I wokred at the Mobil Station as a gas jock. Warshed a lotta windshields and checked a lotta oil levels. Pumped a lotta gas...
Sold a lotta quarts of 30w to the customers while filling their tanks. This was the best job I ever had!
All good.

 

[michael007]

Learned something new, thanks for sharing.

I brought my own oil once to a quick lube and right after they changed it, they showed me how the dipstick was low and tried to sell me a quart to top it off.

I knew we put in the amount the manufacturer recommends so I declined the extra oil and left confused.

 

[JHZR2]

In NJ, they pump your gas to this day. When I was young, in the late 80s/early 90s, gas station attendants would still occasionally ask if you wanted them to check your oil. I remember well my mother telling me about this when I asked her why she always said no... she claimed back then that it takes time for the oil to drop back down and so it will often read low if you check it right after shutoff.

I always look for full cold and settled, personally. But this post made me think of those old days...

 

[Spyderman24_7]

This is a re-post of something I posted on the Honda CR-V owners forum:

I got 2 free oil changes with my 2016 CR-V EX when I bought it in February of 2020 with 19,877 miles on it. Now in October with 23,558 miles on it the oil life went down to 20 % so I got it changed for free at the Honda dealer last week. Being a regular viewer and poster on the web site BITOG I have read about some of the horror stories other have had with oil changes done at quick lube places and dealers of other brands of vehicles. So after I got the vehicle back, before I would even drive it off the dealers lot, I drove it to a different section of there large property where there was a level piece of ground and checked the oil. I was surprised that the oil did NOT fill in the top hole on the dip stick. I checked it many times, and only one time did the top hole show oil filling it. So I took it back to the service department and went back in and spoke to the woman in charge of the service department. She asked "Did you let it sit for 15 minutes before checking it." I said no. She said "Check it again after it sits for 15 minutes." I said it is not on level ground now. She said that she would have someone pull in in to the staging area where it was flat and let it sit for 15 minutes and then have it checked. So someone pulled it in, shut it off, and let it sit. But shortly after it got in one young man said he wanted to see what the oil level read now. She said you have to let it sit for 15 minutes. But he opened the hood and checked it without waiting and said it reads low. Then about 12 minutes later he read it again and it read OK. He let me check it myself and the top hole was filled with oil when I checked it.

So, along with being on level ground, another thing you have to do to get a good reading on the oil level is to let it sit for 15 minutes without the engine running before you check it, to get an accurate reading. I did not know that before.

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Stay safe everyone.

We can always learn something new every day and that sort of thing applies to any vehicle I've ever had. As much as it was checked in that short period of time it's likely a bit low now, lmao. One thing with fluid checks is that it's always good to check more often than less or not at all like some tend to do. I can't tell you how many family members of mine don't even check fluids AT ALL as they get the dealership service every ______ miles and due to the vehicles being fairly new I suppose they think they 'shouldn't' consume anything between changes. I still check fluids/tire psi for them now/then just to be sure.

 

[nicholas]

This is a re-post of something I posted on the Honda CR-V owners forum:

I got 2 free oil changes with my 2016 CR-V EX when I bought it in February of 2020 with 19,877 miles on it. Now in October with 23,558 miles on it the oil life went down to 20 % so I got it changed for free at the Honda dealer last week. Being a regular viewer and poster on the web site BITOG I have read about some of the horror stories other have had with oil changes done at quick lube places and dealers of other brands of vehicles. So after I got the vehicle back, before I would even drive it off the dealers lot, I drove it to a different section of there large property where there was a level piece of ground and checked the oil. I was surprised that the oil did NOT fill in the top hole on the dip stick. I checked it many times, and only one time did the top hole show oil filling it. So I took it back to the service department and went back in and spoke to the woman in charge of the service department. She asked "Did you let it sit for 15 minutes before checking it." I said no. She said "Check it again after it sits for 15 minutes." I said it is not on level ground now. She said that she would have someone pull in in to the staging area where it was flat and let it sit for 15 minutes and then have it checked. So someone pulled it in, shut it off, and let it sit. But shortly after it got in one young man said he wanted to see what the oil level read now. She said you have to let it sit for 15 minutes. But he opened the hood and checked it without waiting and said it reads low. Then about 12 minutes later he read it again and it read OK. He let me check it myself and the top hole was filled with oil when I checked it.

So, along with being on level ground, another thing you have to do to get a good reading on the oil level is to let it sit for 15 minutes without the engine running before you check it, to get an accurate reading. I did not know that before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay safe everyone.

Im surprised it takes that long - - usually its 5 mins for our cars to read max level after being shut down.

 

[parshisa]

That is simply not true. Honda's procedure to check oil level is to shut off the engine and check it after 3 minutes. Your SA doesn't know the products she is advising on