cpepper95129

I'm sort of obsessed with checking my oil, and my gauge on the dashboard doesn't seem to be very helpful. How do most of you check your oil, dip stick or do you rely on the gauge? Do you check your level cold or do you warm up the car and check? Basic stuff but I don't feel confident in my technique and this car is too expensive to mess around with. plus this car burns a little oil as we all know which is new to me, my Acura never needs oil between changes for example. any advice? suggestions or best practices are much appreciated.

996_North

I will always use dipstick and when engine is warm. Also, best to make sure you are on a level surface. The bar reader is useful, but I prefer to see it for myself. Checking with the dip also forces you to take a look at the color / consistency of the oil as well.

SLVRBLT

Def dip method. I check mine before initial drive of the day, so cold. Not that I think warm effects the level enough to worry about.

Barn996

I try to use oil pressure, dip, and guage, cold and level. Never seems to burn any oil.

cpepper95129

I burn about 1.5 liters per 5000 miles, which is within normal from what i understand.

fivepointnine

I check my dash gauge before the first drive of the day

Macster

The digital oil level sensor/sender is quite helpful if you use it right.

I assume with your car you can check the oil level with the engine cold and off? (Like my 02 Boxster?)

If so, then check the oil level first trip of the day. The countdown time is only 5 seconds. I automatically turn the key to the on position and hook up my seat belt and the glance at the oil level. Since my 1st trip of the day starts out on known ground this lets me start the engine with a baseline.

Then during the day, after the engine is fully up to temp I check the oil level almost every engine start. All it takes is 5 seconds.

If the trip was too short to get the engine hot enough or the errand too brief to let the oil drain and the timer is any more than 5 seconds I just start the engine.

On the road, I always check the oil first trip of the day -- just like when I'm at home -- and after every fill up. The gas station aprons are level and this is a good time to check the oil level.

I never use the dipstick,... well, except when I change the oil I can't help myself and check the dipstick level. However, my other car doesn't have a dipstick only the digital oil level check system and i don't miss the dipstick at all.

Oh, don't fret too much about oil consumption. It is not that high and there's not much you can do about it anyhow.

Run the right oil. Change it at reasonable intervals and enjoy the car.

If you want to experiment to see if you can reduce the oil consumption try to avoid idling the engine and cut back on high rpms. Both of these types of engine usage tend to increase oil consumptioin.

Sincerely,

Macster.

street rod

I check it each time I fill up with gas.

SSST

I don't have a dipstick, so the only way to check it is the dash guage.

Also, The motor has to be hot before it let's you check the oil. How do you guys check the dash before the first trip of the day?

cpepper95129

SSST on the 996 C2 you can use the gauge when the engine is cold. Mine is really inconsistent thus my question here on the board. It will tell me when it's cold I am 3/4ths the way to the top, I'll drive it until the engine is warmed up. Park on a level spot, the same spot as when it was cold, my garage and the gauge tells me I am low on oil, ten minutes later, same thing, the next morning though, back to full sometimes, or a whole different level.

Macster

The variability in the oil level suggests to me that the electronic level sensor/sender is flaky.

Now there are two parts to this (I cut an old one apart...): A temp sensor and a level sensor. They both consist of small wires that run down the sensor tube and are immersed in the oil.

I believe the temp sensor is used among other things to normalize the level reading.

Now I asked my tech sources about the electronic oil level sensor/sender and only one told me he had encountered a bad one. I asked what the symptom was and he told me there was no reading even though he confirmed the engine had the right amount of oil in it.

But I suspect there's at least one other failure mode and it is my layman's opinion your car's sensor appears to have suffered it.

However, that is just my opinion. I think unless you want to go through the time/money to replace the sensor/sender you need to have the car looked at by a professional to get his well professional opinion/diagnosis.

Sincerely,

Macster.

996_North

Turbo's don't have dip sticks ? Interesting, I have not worked my way up to that level yet Learn something new every day.

vange_c4s

i agree with the use of the dash indicator. to make myself feel better about its accuracy, i have also pulled the stick and measured on many occasions. the stick and dash indicator (for me) agree very well.

Marc Gelefsky

Macster is right, I have found the electronic readout to be pretty accurate. But I do check with the dipstick now and than. I did not trust it at first when I got my first car with it (986S) but it proved reliable.

targa996

I check the electronic gauge at cold each day. If it is low, I check the dipstick and fill. Seeks to be pretty accurate to me. I'm burning a quart of Mobile 1 0W40 every 1500 miles - seems to be on the high end but other than that everything runs fine (56K miles total).