renvagn

Has anyone figured out how many qrts of oil change these cars require while changing the oil. Did mine 2 weeks ago, drove the car twice for 45 minutes both times let it sit for 30 minutes and checked the oil level and it showed low, added oil. Now I think I have over filled it and plan on collecting it and refilling it. My new manual "01 projects for your Boxster" shows a range of 7 - 10 qrts.
Give me a break, I want a dip stick.

Macster

I've been without my 08 Cayman S too long to remember, but isn't the engine oil capacity in the owners manual?

Or I might have gotten it from my local Porsche dealer service department.

You need to know the correct/exact amount.

Why?

Well, when you drain the oil then refill the engine you refill the engine with the stated amount of oil. Then you check the oil level. I do not have the details for the 987 but for my Turbo the factory manual says that after letting the hot oil (and it gives a temperature) drain for 20 minutes, one then puts in 7.8l (8.25 quarts) of oil. Then the oil level is checked. The oil level should show the lower 7 segments of the oil display lit.

IOWs, the oil level is at the max line but not above it, or below it.

If the oil level display shows more or less oil then this calls into question of the function of the oil level measurement/display system.

The solution is not to ignore this and add more oil because the display shows the oil level low or remove oil because the display shows the oil level too high.

You have added the correct amount of oil to the engine. The oil level displayed should be whatever the manual (factory) says it should be.

IOWs, The oil level display system is faulty or perhaps needs recalibration.

At every oil change, for engines with no dipstick (and even with those that have a dipstick) verifying the system used to measure/report the oil level is critical to know which ever system is used (and my Boxster has both a dipstick and an automatic level measuring system) the system works right, displays the correct level of oil for the correct amount of oil that is known to be in the engine.

Sincerely,

Macster.

lithium1330

My Boxster S, 7.5 qt will put the read out 1 block shy of the full. 8qt will put the read-out at full. In your case, when you say low... what's low? I've never seen that warning. Is it oil warning light or like 1 or 2 blocks low on the digital read out?

Dino944

Pursuant to Macster's advice I had the oil changed early at around 800 miles last year, and I just did it again at 1,825 last week. Both invoices from the oil changes at 2 different Porsche dealerships indicate 10 quarts.

Best regards,
Dino

gerrygug

I have an 05 Boxster S. Takes 8 quarts to put mine dead on the full mark.
Your dealer may be creating a little extra profit by charging for 10.

lithium1330

10 qt is too much. The 3.4l needs no more than 8 qt. to fill. Hopefully, that 10 qt is just on paper and not in your engine. As Gerry mentioned... 10 is easier math for dealers to figure out what to charge you for oil.

Dino944

Maybe its a standard billing practice for Porsche dealerships, as I was billed for 10 quarts at 2 different dealerships (one in CT and one in MA).

Best regards,
Dino

Macster

What does the owners manual say about the engine oil capacity? I'd get this info and then confront the dealership regarding the charge for 10 quarts vs. the actual and I assume the lower number of quarts actually put in the engine.

Be calm, but I'd get this straightened out. While I'm a fan of dealer service I'm not a fan of a dealer service charging for time or material/supplies or parts that aren't used in the job.

If you get any pushback mentioned -- but don't throw in anyone's face that is don't be hyper-confrontational -- that you feel being charged for material not used in the job could be consumer fraud.

The dealership owes you reasonable skill, care, and experience in servicing your vehicle. Not being able to accurately measure and bill for the amount of oil used in an oil/filter service is proof you are not receiving that reasonable skill, care and experience. That's fraud then.

Sincerely,

Macster.

renvagn

Macster, excellent suggestion on checking the electronic calibration of the oil level system. When is the best time to check the level, with a cold engine or hot engine?

Strange thing is I checked the level cold and theoretically the level should be at it's highest with moisture ect. at this point. It was low and I added 1/4 qrt and rechecked, it was full. Drove for 45 minutes with revs never less than 2500. Parked it for 30 minutes and re checked as we were heading out and it was at the bottom bar. Added 1/2 -3/4 of qrt and it came up to full level. Despite not remembering how many qrts total I had purchased, I have to be over filled from what I am reading.

Plyman438

In the owner's manual, it does state how many quarts of oil is needed and on my 2001 standard Boxster it's a little under 9 quarts. It lists for the S model also and I believe they are very similar. And for checking electronically, you have to be on level ground and the engine has to be warmed up or you won't get a reading. I check mine after every drive. I also check my coolant level through the see through viewfinder after every drive. I also have a dipstick and check that maybe once a month.

gerrygug

The manual for a 987.1 3.2L engine is 7.75L or 8.19 US quarts, but the catch is that it adds "aprox"
so this is an approximation. However, 10 quarts is obviously too much oil. The dealer is either overfilling your car or over charging for the oil or both. My independent shop orders 9 quarts and gives me the unused portion to take home for top offs.

Macster

The best time to check the oil level... Well, my time with my 987 Cayman S was short (approx. 4 weeks) and my memory of this experience is getting fuzzier/more indistinct by the day but generally if you can check the oil cold check it cold. This way you know the oil level is ok, or not, before you leave the garage or wherever you are.


At least this is how my Boxster works. (My 996 Turbo only allows an oil check with the engine hot, running at idle, and the car must be relatively level.)

However, I sometimes check the oil hot, and this includes after I fill up the gas tank. On the road I may have been driving for hours and covered hundreds of miles, non-stop. After I fill the gas tank I like to check the oil level to keep track of the oil consumption (very low thankfully) and confirm the oil level is ok before I head out on the highway again.

If you check the oil level with the engine cold if the level reads a couple of bars below the max line that is ok because if you warm up the engine and check the oil again with the car in the same place the oil level will read a bar or two higher. The oil expands when hot and the level increases.

I do not know how sensitive -- if any -- the 987 oil check system is regarding levelness of the car. My 02 Boxster I can check the oil level upside down I think and the system would not complain.

All other things being equal (mainly the car's levelness) a cold oil level reading will show the oil level lower than a reading taken with the engine and oil hot.

A hot reading taken as soon as the engine oil level system allows it will read lower than a reading taken with some time after the engine was shut off. This gives a bit more time for the oil that can drain back into the oil sump to make it there.

But if this wait is long enough that the oil cools sufficiently then the oil level can drop as the cooler oil shrinks.

Also, you want to be aware of the car's orientation, that is is the car level and if not how is it not level? The oil level will almost certainly read different if the car's nose is lower than its rear compared to if the car was turned 180 degrees and parked in the exact same spot. Side to side out of level conditions or some compound out of level condition can really provide wild oil level readings.

You say you checked the oil level cold and it was low, but you do not say how low. Was it a bar or two low from the max. line or was the oil level shown to be at the low line or somewhere in between?

IIRC the range of volume of oil represented by the 7 segments of the oil level display represent 1.6l or approx. 0.22l or 0.24 quarts so adding 1/4 quarter guart of oil should only have raised the oil level by 1 bar.

Thus for the oil level to go from being low to being full suggests the oil level was only a bar low. But if you tell me it was lower before you added the 1/4 quart and then the level increased by more than a bar's worth.. that suggests to me the engine oil level measurement system is faulty.

However, as I touched upon above there is the issue of the levelness of the car, and you may be chasing a phantom oil level issue due to the car not being level and being out of level in different directions. One time the car's not level in one direction so the oil level is misread as lower than than it actually is. The next time you check the oil level the car's not level in yet a different direction and the level can be misread as high.

Check the oil level with the car level and once you have that bit of info you can decide what to do next. Of course, if the level is low, down close to the low line level then oil should be added. If any oil is showing at all add just a half a quart. But wait some time after adding this oil before you check the level again. This should raise the oil level 2 bars. Remember the engine still has quite a bit of oil in it since the oil level sensor only measures the last 1.6l of oil on the engine.

If the oil level reading doesn't read a bar or two higher than when the oil level reading taken when the oil was cold or if the oil level has stayed the same or dropped or if there is any other perplexing readings from the oil level reading info, then the oil level measurement system is suspect.

This needs to be checked then to nail down the reason for the inconsistent readings.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Dino944

You guys are right, the manual says for a 3.4 2008 Boxster S = 7.75 Liters, which is about 8 quarts.

Macster, thanks for the advice about confronting the dealers. I'd probably be more concerned about being charged for oil that I didn't get, except for the fact that the service I had last week was discounted by $85, since I had it done before May 1st (they were running a promotion). However, I will definitely keep an eye on the amount of oil I am charged for in the future, and tell them I'm not paying for oil I didn't get on any full price services.

As for the 1st dealer who serviced the car last year, yea I was ripped off. Especially considering they charged roughly $393 including tax and harzdous disposal fees (and they were charging $10.30 per quart, last weeks dealer charged $8.25 per quart prior to the discount). I simply won't return for service at this dealer.

I wonder if other people are finding Porsche dealers are charging them for 10 quarts of oil on cars that can't accept 10 quarts? So far that has been my experience at 2 dealers in different states.

Thanks for pointing out these cars don't use 10 quarts of oil. I don't change my own oil, so I didn't give that much thought to checking the manual to see how much it could accept.
Thanks again and best regards,
Dino

Plyman438

Wow! $393! The Porsche dealers in Metro Detroit charge $189 for Mobil 1 oil change. Even one extra quart of Mobil 1 synthetic shouldn't change that price significantly. You need to find an independent shop that has worked on Porsche Flat 6's.

Dino944

$189 that sounds like a real bargain to me! Count your blessings. Even a friend of mine that had his Cayman S serviced at a Porsche dealer in NJ got charged around $350. The car is on warranty for 4 more years so I'm sticking with the dealers for now.

Best regards,
Dino