So got my 20,000 mile service and get home and had this feeling. So I checked my oil level and it's a quart low! Dealer tells me that they never fill it to the top. So I call another local dealer and they stated that of course will top it off! Based on the service ticket they put in 8 quarts of Mobile 1.

 

 

What dealer did you go to? When I got my 20k oil change done it was full. This was Circle.

 

They never top it off????

What the???

 

Yeah I called Newport Porsche and they said of course we top it off! I may end up going back to them in the future. The excuse was when it is cold we really don't want to take chance to overfill and only fill to the middle line. Well how did you know is was supposedly at the middle line if you didn't warm up the car enough to do the Oil Fill Test? And it wasn't at the middle line which would be a half quart low it was almost at the bottom. And the service ticket says they used 8 quarts!

 

You haven't done your oil change for 20,000 miles and your worried about being a quart low after your recent change. Funny logic.

Go buy a quart of Mobil 0W40 at WalMart, and add 1/4 at a time, over the next 4 days, until you are 1 bar below the max fill line. Not worth your time to drive to the dealership, IMO.

 

LexVan not sure what you mean by not changing my oil for 20,000? They actually did the 30,000 and I only have 18,000 on the car. I have taken it in for every service and a few more. The prior time I took it in for the PDK issue I mentioned it was using a bit of oil (No Big) and to check it. When I got home it was below the lower level. Of course I'm not going back to dealer already topped it. It's just the point of the stupidity!

 

Overfilling the oil is more harmful than a little less, so they are right but they need to put in the stated amount. Not good service IMO.

 

See... we can't read your mind and we didn't know all that because you never mentioned it in your first post.

I think LexVan was speculating that if 20K was your first oil change (or 18K for that matter) then you have other problems more serious than being a quart low. But I don't want to speak for him. I'm just guessing.

 

Yes, that's what I thought.

 

He said he got his 20k mile service ("So got my 20,000 mile service"). Nowhere in the post did he state or even imply that this was the first oil change he ever got and I don't know how anyone would infer that. You guys need to work on your reading comprehension.

Now, back on topic. If the OP just got his oil changed and as soon as he got home, he was a quart low, that's an issue. It's not a mind-blowing, go back and raise hell with the service manager issue but for an expensive car like this, it's notable. Even if the dealership doesn't warm up the car and check the level using the PCM (do most dealerships even do that?), they should be adding enough oil to get the reading awfully close to full.

Either that or the OP is burning alot more oil than he thought.

 

Was the oil change performed by Power Porsche in Newport Beach, CA? Are they still charging $995 for an oil change? If so then they shorted you ~$125 for each qt they shorted you for that service ($995 divided by 8 quarts). Even a 1/2 qt short = $62.5 at those service prices. I purchased my car from P-Porsche... had them replace the leaking RMS as a condition of sale. Their service department has a short attention span when it comes to those small but essential details. In my case they forgot to re-install several bolts holding up my hard coolant lines after the RMS service. No big deal unless that singular bolt holding up the coolant line fails and I lose the engine due to overheating.

So I'm not surprised if P-Porsche or any dealer rushed your oil change and did not wait long enough for the oil to settle to get a proper reading on the e-gauge then add as required. As an FYI each .4 qt of oil = one bar on the e-gauge. It's ideal to wait for the oil to settle after a heat cycle(drive and cool down) to get a proper reading on the oil e-gauge. Repeat until the desired level is reached. Time consuming so the dealer likely skipped this final step. I prefer my oil level one bar below max as it will fluctuate +/-1 bar when you're on the bubble. Although this is a fill process you can easily perform yourself to level it to whatever level you desire... it's understand why you're miffed. They charged you for services which were not properly rendered to it's optimal condition. BTW, an email to the SA with what level you expect may help next time to avoid any positioning on their part. The reality is that the p-dealers have the most junior of techs doing these oil changes... we've seen postings from other members with overfilled oil changes and/or improper torque settings. That is why many of us have resorted to DIY oil changes plus it's only ~$75 in material cost per change vs. whatever the stealership charges. So inexpensive that it's affordable to maintain/service the car more frequently then the Porsche recommended minimum of 12K miles between changes. Plus there's value in knowing that it's done properly... not to mention the time saving aspect of not having to run back and forth to have the p-dealer address their own short comings. BTW, overfilling is a much more serious issue and could potentially damage the engine... easily resolved by removing the oil filter housing. This will remove a small amount of oil each time w/o draining all of the oil. GL and let us know the outcome.