How Full Is Your Oil?
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How Full Is Your Oil?
Those of you that have had your engine oil changed at a Porsche dealer; question: how full, as displayed by the oil level indicator, did they fill the oil? When I had my oil changed at the dealer recently, it was only filled to exactly mid-level on the indicator. Is this a normal situation? Is that SOP for dealers to only fill to that level?
Reason I am asking is that when I discovered this, I topped up the oil to the ‘full’ mark (not over filled!), and shortly after got the “engine is too hot, stop and let the engine cool” warning. I’m still chasing this problem, and I wanted to put in as much oil as I could to dissipate as much heat as possible. Will be returning to a dealer to diagnose the overheating warning as soon as I can schedule things, but was wondering if somehow the Mid-point oil fill was performed for a Porsche specified reason?
Reason I am asking is that when I discovered this, I topped up the oil to the ‘full’ mark (not over filled!), and shortly after got the “engine is too hot, stop and let the engine cool” warning. I’m still chasing this problem, and I wanted to put in as much oil as I could to dissipate as much heat as possible. Will be returning to a dealer to diagnose the overheating warning as soon as I can schedule things, but was wondering if somehow the Mid-point oil fill was performed for a Porsche specified reason?
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From: Canada
Those of you that have had your engine oil changed at a Porsche dealer; question: how full, as displayed by the oil level indicator, did they fill the oil? When I had my oil changed at the dealer recently, it was only filled to exactly mid-level on the indicator. Is this a normal situation? Is that SOP for dealers to only fill to that level?
Reason I am asking is that when I discovered this, I topped up the oil to the ‘full’ mark (not over filled!), and shortly after got the “engine is too hot, stop and let the engine cool” warning. I’m still chasing this problem, and I wanted to put in as much oil as I could to dissipate as much heat as possible. Will be returning to a dealer to diagnose the overheating warning as soon as I can schedule things, but was wondering if somehow the Mid-point oil fill was performed for a Porsche specified reason?
Reason I am asking is that when I discovered this, I topped up the oil to the ‘full’ mark (not over filled!), and shortly after got the “engine is too hot, stop and let the engine cool” warning. I’m still chasing this problem, and I wanted to put in as much oil as I could to dissipate as much heat as possible. Will be returning to a dealer to diagnose the overheating warning as soon as I can schedule things, but was wondering if somehow the Mid-point oil fill was performed for a Porsche specified reason?
So, I don't add oil to the top fill line as per the dealer. The SA says as long as the green bar is between the two lines, my engine has enough oil and not too much or too little.
As for the engine too hot message, it seems this would be related to coolant (or a coolant sensor) but it is curious it appeared after you added oil. I'm not sure there is an easy way to siphon the oil out though. Not sure which model you have but on the V8 engines, the oil follows a curved corrugated tube from the fill cap to the engine so not easy to snake a siphon tool down there.
Last edited by kayjh; Oct 12, 2021 at 02:31 PM.
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Coolant level is fine; coolant temperature never climbs above 194 Fahrenheit, and never has. One would think that the design of the engine and it’s oil level indicator would take into consideration any expansion of oil once heated to normal operating temperature—and any condensation or moisture that would boil off with this temperature. The temperature per the digital readout has reached 241 degrees indicated, though the bar graph indicated no where near the ‘danger’ zone. i really think an oil temperature sensor is goofy— I have gotten the over heating warnings at an Indicated 189 degrees—not even close to previously normal operating temps of 200-210 degrees. Will be taking the vehicle back to the dealer and saying “Fix It” in the next week or so, and reporting the results here.
Thanks for the responses.
Thanks for the responses.
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I'm not sure what you mean by this. The indicator simply reads what the oil level is. If you fill it to the top line and then take a bunch of short trips, you may find your oil level above the full line. That isn't the fault of the car, that's the fault of the person who changed the oil and filed right to the full line. Your dealer knew that, but you didn't. It's an easy mistake to make. Your high temp has happened before so it may just be co incidental to you topping the oil up. I'm sure if you take the suv to the dealer and ask them if they can have a look at the problem, they will . Walking in the door and commanding them to "Fix It" might not win you any friends, but everyone has their own way of conducting business. Good luck.
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so I'm waiting for my Cayenne order and will be my first Porsche. Coming from BMW and have had Mercedes and Audi and Lexus as well. I'm surprised by too many threads discussing oil levels on Porsche forums and I don't remember seeing any oil level discussion on those cars forums. Does the car burns oil? Do I have to monitor/worry about it?
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so I'm waiting for my Cayenne order and will be my first Porsche. Coming from BMW and have had Mercedes and Audi and Lexus as well. I'm surprised by too many threads discussing oil levels on Porsche forums and I don't remember seeing any oil level discussion on those cars forums. Does the car burns oil? Do I have to monitor/worry about it?
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Coolant level is fine; coolant temperature never climbs above 194 Fahrenheit, and never has. One would think that the design of the engine and it’s oil level indicator would take into consideration any expansion of oil once heated to normal operating temperature—and any condensation or moisture that would boil off with this temperature. The temperature per the digital readout has reached 241 degrees indicated, though the bar graph indicated no where near the ‘danger’ zone. i really think an oil temperature sensor is goofy— I have gotten the over heating warnings at an Indicated 189 degrees—not even close to previously normal operating temps of 200-210 degrees. Will be taking the vehicle back to the dealer and saying “Fix It” in the next week or so, and reporting the results here.
Thanks for the responses.
Thanks for the responses.
Mine is at the full mark as well. When the dealer did my service, they filled it to the full line. There is an overfull indication in these vehicles as well, so unless you have that, then you probably didn't overfill the oil. The manual also says to fill the oil up to the full line, but not over. It doesn't mention leaving room for expansion. It also says if you get an add oil message, you should add the amount that is stated, not a lesser amount to allow for expansion. While you don't have to fill the oil to the full line, you just need to make sure that it is between the minimum and full oil line, I don't think there is any harm in filling to the full line. Like you said, why would they design it with a full line if that line really resulted in an overfilled situation.
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From: Canada
Mine is at the full mark as well. When the dealer did my service, they filled it to the full line. There is an overfull indication in these vehicles as well, so unless you have that, then you probably didn't overfill the oil. The manual also says to fill the oil up to the full line, but not over. It doesn't mention leaving room for expansion. It also says if you get an add oil message, you should add the amount that is stated, not a lesser amount to allow for expansion. While you don't have to fill the oil to the full line, you just need to make sure that it is between the minimum and full oil line, I don't think there is any harm in filling to the full line. Like you said, why would they design it with a full line if that line really resulted in an overfilled situation.
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As I stated above, it was my Porsche dealership that did the oil change and filled it to the full line. I'm sure they don't know what they are doing and should be asked to contact your SA for the proper oil filling procedure. (Eyeroll)
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From: Canada
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So now you turn to calling names, not surprising. I don't know what your problem is, but you seem to have issues. You complain on another thread that a CEL isn't a big deal and that the owners with this issue should just live with it rather than pursue their legally available options if the issue isn't resolved quickly. If someone makes a complaint about something on their vehicle, you tell them to go buy a Mercedes or BMW. Now, your all knowing SA has told you that you shouldn't fill the oil to the full line, despite how the cars come from the factory and despite what the users manual says, and anyone who disagrees with you is a dick. Well, look in the mirror buddy. Now, I'm looking for the ignore button, because you obviously have issues.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,612
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From: Canada
So now you turn to calling names, not surprising. I don't know what your problem is, but you seem to have issues. You complain on another thread that a CEL isn't a big deal and that the owners with this issue should just live with it rather than pursue their legally available options if the issue isn't resolved quickly. If someone makes a complaint about something on their vehicle, you tell them to go buy a Mercedes or BMW. Now, your all knowing SA has told you that you shouldn't fill the oil to the full line, despite how the cars come from the factory and despite what the users manual says, and anyone who disagrees with you is a dick. Well, look in the mirror buddy. Now, I'm looking for the ignore button, because you obviously have issues.
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It sounds to me like your dealer is saving 1L of oil on your service and giving you a “reason”. Multiply that by all the oil changes your dealer does and it’s a pretty good profit-center.
Btw, I’ve just had 30k service. All oil changes have been filled to top, and I’ve never had an “overfilled” indicator.