Carrera51

I have found on mine that under acceleration, the gauge is in the red. That's when the oil level mid way between the marks on the dipstick, and at 3 o'clock on the gauge at idle and the car at operating temperature. When the oil level is closer to the top mark on the dipstick when at operating temp, I have seen the gauge hover near 3 o'clock while cruising at 70 mph in 5th gear on the highway, then go up near the top at idle, or drop down towards the red under acceleration.

August West

Okay, this is exactly how my car behaves. Oil level near top mark of dipstick, gauge needle at 3 o'clock at highway speed, goes near top at idle, down in red under acceleration.

That's two of us subscribing to this philosophy...anybody else?

Unkle

My gauge is never off the bottom mark unless it is hot and at idle. This is what the book says and i didn't mention it as i thought it was common knowledge. I only use the car a couple of times a month so hamah was right to correct my dipstick guess from memory.

But it really doesn't move when driving and from what i understand it shouldn't

Richard Curtis

I agree with 911Jetta, Ginch and Unkle... gauge always in the red except when the OIL IS HOT, car is on level ground and idling for 20-30 seconds. Then the gauge needle is at 3 o'clock. The only time I've seen the needle above the red while at highways speeds is when it was overfilled. If the needle is at 3 on level ground at idle, my dipstick then registers exactly halfway between the two notches on the dipstick. If the needle is in the red at idle on level ground and the oil is hot, then it usually only takes about 0.5 quart to put the needle to 3 o'clock. It hasn't been mentioned here, but the oil must be HOT, HOT, HOT; certainly not "warm." For me at this time of year with temps around freezing all the time means driving the car at a constant 70 mph for at least 30 minutes, possibly longer. Extra revs will help get the oil hot enough to open the thermostat. The oil temp needle must move above the 8 o'clock position and then drop back slightly below the third mark (signaling that the oil thermostat has opened and oil in the engine has flowed to the oil cooler).

TR6

It is a challenge to determine the oil level from the dipstick because my oil is always so clean that it is almost clear on the dipstick. So I bought a second dipstick (used) and cut a bunch of fine, shallow hash marks into its surface with a drimmel tool between the Min and Max marks. The hash marks make the oil "cling" to the dipstick better than the stock dipstick so it is easier to see where the oil level really is between Min and Max.

Regarding whether the oil level gauge should ever read anything but empty while driving, my thoughts are that if you are driving at a steady speed (neither accelerating or decelerating) on a level road at reasonably low rpms and the engine is fully warmed up, then what's the difference between that and sitting still in your driveway. The only difference is rpms. But if you are in 5th gear and the rpms are only at say 3K, I think you would get some kind of steady state reading even while moving, provided that you are neither accelerating or decelerating. In other words, the oil in the tank isn't moving around. Anyway, that's just my thought on it. I'll have to try it and see what mine does under those conditions. My problem is that I never seem to be at a steady state of acceleration at reasonable rpms...

R6XTERRA

+1 here, mine acts the same way.

Unkle

has everyone got/read the manual? I just had a quick read, If you haven't got one i have quoted from the manual to clear up any confusion. ( only one way to properly check this according to Porsche)

Oil Level Gauge:

Movement of the needle while driving are of no significance. if the oil indicator begins to drop as engine speed increases when the car is stationary (engine at normal operating temp) this indicates that the gauge is functioning properly

If the oil gauge reads at maximum when the ignition is switched on (engine off) there is a fault in the gauge or the oil level sensor. in such cases check the oil level with the oil dipstick before driving off. Have the fault corrected at the nearest Official Porsche Centre


Oil Level Dipstick:

The oil level is always measure with the car on a level surface with the engine idling at the normal operating temp. Do not remove the the filler cap when the vehicle is not level otherwise oil may run out.

Before measuring , the engine must be allowed to idle for thirty seconds to allow the oil to level out in the reservoir. This applies to readings on the gauge in the small instrument cluster as well as the measurements with the dipstick.

Pull out the dipstick, wipe it with a clean lint free cloth and reinsert it all the way into the tube, then pull the dipstick back out and read off the oil level,

The two marks on the dipstick indicate the min and max oil levels: the level must never be allowed to exceed or fall below these marks. The difference between the two marks corresponds to about 1.7 litres.

always make sure that the dipstick is carefully inserted with the handle downward and that it is not hitting the engine compartment lid.


I hope this helps as i would hate for anyone to over fill or read the gauge wrong. it very easy to do

ronone10

So based on the manual for reading the dipstick, is normal operating temp when the oil temp is hot enough to open the oil cooler? I assume yes but want to be sure...

TR6

Just for grins (and since I drove my RSA to work today), on the way home this evening I experimented with watching my oil level gauge based on steady state driving at different rpms. I had to get the rpms down to around 1600 or below (which is about 45 mph in 5th gear) before the needle would come up to half way on the level gauge. Anything above 2K rpms even at steady speed and the needle dropped to red. Just thought I'd share that for what it's worth as a data point for those that were mentioning that their needles read half way while driving.

August West

What does your dipstick read for that needle position?

perlfather

Exactly right. (Movement of the needle while driving are of no significance!!!)

In addition keep in mind that the oil level gauge indicates the correct oil level ONLY when:
the car is stationary,
on level ground,
the engine is very warm (thermostat opened and all the oil has warmed up) and
the car is idling.

TR6

On the dipstick, it's about 3/4 towards the top between Min and Max.

John Boggiano

Remember the gauge is only registering the top section of the oil tank, not the total oil amount. It's of passing interest only what it shows when you're on the move. Hot and at idle is the only time it really means something important.

Carrera51

When I have seen the gauge at 3 o'clock its an extended highway cruise in 5th at about 65-70mph. If I dropped down to 4th gear kicking up the RPMs it would drop to down to the red. Last year I drove the car to Watkins Glen and when I stopped for lunch, I checked the oil because I was worried I had overfilled it. It was a few ticks below the top mark on the dipstick. It burned off some by the end of the trip and was a hair over halfway between the marks on the dipstick and the gauge will hit about 2 o'clock at idle and at operating temp.

Sultan

I'm telling you it's more complicated then explaining E=mc2... LOL