Where do you keep the oil level on your dipstick?

[Soft Cars]

My dipstick looks like this with 5 holes drilled between ADD and FULL :

ADD| . . . . . |FULL

If the oil level is down to the 3rd hole, should I add some oil to bring it up to the FULL line?

 

[Astro14]

I always do…

 

[JavierH19]

If it shows on the stick it's just fine. Even if it doesn't show on the stick it doesn't mean it's dry. It depends. If I'm close to changing it i wont bother wasting a fresh quart. But if its got a ways to go then it's obvious.

 

[Passport1]

Fill it up to the full mark. Better the oil is in the engine than sitting idle in the trunk.

 

[Chris142]

1/2 way between full and add or higher

 

[Warstud]

If the hood is already up and it's not at it's Max...... then I'll add as much as it takes to fill it up to the Max

 

[Hermann]

How long or how many miles has it taken to get to that level, from when it was full?

 

[anderson]

at the full or i wont drive and i check all my beaters once a week

 

[D60]

The question for me is who drives it??

Someone oblivious, put it AT the max

Someone conscientious, anywhere in the "safe" zone

Kinda like maxing pressure on a spare tire....then when no one checks it for 6 years it might still have enough pressure to limp along!

 

[demarpaint]

My logic is simple, if the hood is open and the oil is at the third hole as in the OP's example I'm adding oil. No point for me to close the hood w/o topping it up, especially with the stash of oil I currently have.

 

[edyvw]

Always full.
When I track BMW, 1/4 of qt over full.

 

[B1974]

I try to hit the mark that's just below the full line, so about 4/5 up between add and full.

 

[Malo83]

About a 1/4 inch above full.

 

[Kira]

EXACTLY "F" when I do an oil change.
Then I watch for oil use. It's fun.
Where we live is hilly so I check fluids when I'm in a level parking lot.
The vehicle is always warm.
Checking one's oil helps justify the 40 or so napkins I take whenever I do fast food.

Top off as needed or wanted.
Need is when I have hours to drive. Want is when I have the right amount of leftover oil handy.
It's never much.

 

[RDY4WAR]

Between halfway and the bottom of the hash.

 

[PimTac]

The Full mark is there for a reason. Keep the level there.

 

[stangguy]

The Full mark is there for a reason. Keep the level there.

I agree, anything less than full is low

 

[HowAboutThis]

My dipstick looks like this with 5 holes drilled between ADD and FULL :

ADD| . . . . . |FULL

If the oil level is down to the 3rd hole, should I add some oil to bring it up to the FULL line?

Depends for me. A couple weeks from an oil change? Nah. A couple thousand miles until oil change. I'll top it off.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

Both of my cars hold 4.2 quarts, so I always have left over oil to use.

 

[Malo83]

Both of my cars hold 4.2 quarts, so I always have left over oil to use.

One of my cars holds 4.5, but always put the 5 qts in.