Reading a Dipstick

[HowAboutThis]

17 Corolla has the hardest dipstick to read with new oil. 4.4 qts, had a 5qt jug, trying to tell where it's at, and it gets smeared above the holes, empty in the middle but oil above and below the dry spot. Ugh. Annoying. In about a month and thousand miles the oil should be dark enough to see if I need to add more...or maybe drain some off.

Why are some dipsticks so frustrating?

 

[Okcafe]

Ive always had the same problem

 

[Krieg]

You should be able to feel it. Like that on my F-150!

 

[RooflessVW]

4.4 quarts? I'd probably pour in 4.5 or even the whole 5 and call it good.

No point in trying to be exact.

 

[Warstud]

Lay the dipstick....markings down on a blue shop towel and roll it over in place and line the wet spot up with the markings.

 

[PimTac]

Just keep practicing. You will finally get the hang of it.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

The dipstick on our Infiniti M35 is made by devil himself... So I'm learning to tell the oil level by valvetrain and timing components sound, and so far being quite successful. Always verified with that devilish dipstick, obviously. But it's just fun to have a trained ear for something like an oil level... I can instantly tell when it's a quart low by sound alone, and top it off.

 

[paulri]

I'm done trying to read toyota dipsticks the way they recommend in the manual. I had the same problem you did. Someone here recommended this--just pull the dipstick out with the engine cold, and read it before sticking it back in, not after you run the engine and then shut it off. First pull on a cold engine. Never failed me yet.

 

[BAJA_05]

4.4 quarts? I'd probably pour in 4.5 or even the whole 5 and call it good.

No point in trying to be exact.

DITTO

 

[Hall]

Someone here recommended this--just pull the dipstick out with the engine cold, and read it before sticking it back in, not after you run the engine and then shut it off. First pull on a cold engine. Never failed me yet.

I only check the oil level on a cold engine (when I have the option).

 

[DougR]

My 4Runner has a long dipstick tube with two bends almost 90 degrees each. When the dipstick is withdrawn, it leaves a streak of oil along the tube length which is subsequently smeared over the dipstick when it is reinserted, thereby making the level hard to read. I can get a much better level reading if I leave the dipstick out for 10 minutes before reinserting it, which allows oil in the tube to drain back. When new oil is clear, I lay the dipstick flat on a smooth paper towel, which absorbs the oil, and slide the dipstick 1/4 inch sideways to read oil level by a smear left behind on the paper.

 

[Passport1]

I got a pretty old dipstick. Check it once a day. Hot or cold it never changes.

 

[Warstud]

So I'm learning to tell the oil level by valvetrain and timing components sound

 

[Graham Piccinini]

View attachment 60137

Yeth thir! Everytime the valve train is slightly more audible - dipstick confirms the "quart low" condition, and I top it off.

 

[xgmad]

17 Corolla has the hardest dipstick to read with new oil. 4.4 qts, had a 5qt jug, trying to tell where it's at, and it gets smeared above the holes, empty in the middle but oil above and below the dry spot. Ugh. Annoying. In about a month and thousand miles the oil should be dark enough to see if I need to add more...or maybe drain some off.

Why are some dipsticks so frustrating?

I added a whole jug of castrol 15w40 my last oil change in my jetta, its overfilled, but not burning at all.

 

[xBa380]

Fill to what the manufacturer recommends and be done with it. They know the capacity, no real use in checking oil level after a change except to be sure you didn't forget to place the plug and you put oil in.

But as miles increase and you are checking for burn, then I have found the oil gets dirty enough by then and it's easier to read after sitting overnight. Never had much issue, personally. Don't sweat over a quarter of a quart in either direction, no need to.

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

Get some of the Schaeffer's green stuff.

 

[ATex7239]

4.4 quarts? I'd probably pour in 4.5 or even the whole 5 and call it good.

No point in trying to be exact

But OCD...

 

[Nyati]

my Porsche and Mercedes don’t even have dipsticks. Crazy.

 

[Creekside]

Put some ATF in for the red color!

In all seriousness, I do add a couple quarts of ATF to the hydraulic systems in the yard tractors I service to make the fluid visible. The system specs either/or.