For the last 30 + years i have checked the oil level on the 20 + cars i have owned with the car on level ground and with the engine cold, ie in the morning before its been started.
However the handbook for my Ceed states that you should run the engine to normal working temperature, switch it off, wait 5 minutes then check the oil level on the dipstick.
Anyone got ideas why they say to do it that way ?
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It's the same on my Subarus. The manual suggests doing it at fuel stops. It makes no odds, the dipstick is calibrated to take into account the oil held up in the engine. Just don't have a fit when it appears overfull if you check it cold as I did when I first bought my car.
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Same on all the jap cars i've owned
I often get confused as it looks over full too.
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Perhaps it's an acknowledgement that most people don't bother, but may do at say a filling station, as nick says.
How often have you thought ' I'll check the oil before the start of the journey' - perhaps first thing in the morning? Be honest!
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I'd prefer to have the dipstick calibrated for 'cold' because the oil is thicker and easier to see on the dipstick than when it's hot and less viscous.
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I'd prefer to have the dipstick calibrated for 'cold'
Trouble is that people doing the "filling station" check would then tend to think the oil level was too low and would overfill it. That's not something that should be done on a modern engine.
Edited by Bill Payer on 25/04/2009 at 00:04
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You have to wonder what damage might be done if the oil level is dangerously low? If you're not supposed to check the level until the engine is warm, then by that time the damage is done if the level is too low.
The same recommendation to check when hot is for my Vectra-C as well. I do check the oil level as per the recommendation, but I also check it from time to time when the car has been parked up overnight. There is no difference in the level whether the engine is cold or hot.
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Thats something i forgot to put in my OP, i too have checked it cold, and hot as Kia say too, and the readings are exactly the same, thats why i was puzzled as to why they were telling you to do it like that.
Edited by andyp on 25/04/2009 at 08:27
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I prefer to check mine after it's been stood overnight because there's then no oil in the dipstick tube to blur the reading. I also just pull the dipstick out and read it straight away. Cleaning the dipstick and re-inserting it (as generally recommended) causes oil to be dragged up the tube, and this blurs the reading.
Edited by L'escargot on 25/04/2009 at 08:06
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I wonder just how many 'normal' drivers out there..ie those not in the BR, we're hardly normal..ever check their oil anyway, i'd bet there's a fair percentage don't know how to open the bonnet.
I too prefer a cold reading for easy viewing, but can't say as i've found a great difference 'tween hot and cold.
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VAG dipsticks are hard to read with being made of black plastic, Honda is a paragon of clarity with its steel dipstick.
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I'd prefer a cold reading too and there is a huge difference between hot and cold on mine. When checked cold it appears hugely overfilled. I suppose a lot depends on the engine design.
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you always measure in the correct amount during a oil change , then once its filled the filter and cold the next morning mark the dipstick with a hacksaw blade or whatever so you have your own mark
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>>i'd bet there's a fair percentage don't know how to open the bonnet
I was asked to look at a car someone was thinking of buying.
The owner said he'd looked after it very well.
He didn't know how to release the bonnet!
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I don't think that the dipstick indicated oil level is intended to be accurate anyway. Just a guide, plus or minus a pint or so.
I've lost count of the number of times I've drained the oil of an engine with the dipstick not even reaching the oil, to find that most of the refill amount was still in the sump, but unindicated by the dipstick. Some manufacturers have recognised the 'dipstick' problem, and produced dipsticks that show full on one side, and empty on the other.
Edited by none on 26/04/2009 at 00:22
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......... dipsticks that show full on one side and empty on the other.
I don't understand the logic of that. Mine seems to cover all eventualities by having maximum and minimum marks.
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