I recently purchased an 03 911 TT. The past couple of times I've been driving the car, the check oil signal comes on. While I'm driving the level is usually between 3 and 5 and when it idles it's consistently at 3. I went to take the cap off and didn't see any stick to measure. Should I just add some oil and see what happens? Any help would be much appreciated. I did some research and saw this was a common issue on 2001 911's...

 

First, the indication you see on the gauge is a pressure indication in bar not a level.... The level can be found with your on board computer, only with the car level, engine warm at idle and the car not moving. See pics...

 

per jpflips advice, you need to better familiarize yourself with the stalk on your steering wheel that controls all of the settings and features of the onboard computer.

there you will find the feature that allows for oil level check. also, if you have the manual it helps to at least skim through it to better get to know the features of your car. do NOT add oil without knowing the current level(s).

 

HI,IMO you should be at between 1.5 and 2 when your engine if fully warmed up...
That can be confirmed when you do your dash check for oil level,,I have found out when it takes 5 secs. for the level reading,the oil is fully warmed up...When the oil is not fully warmed up it takes longer for reading..

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but did you not get an owners manual with the car??

 

Unfortunately I didn't get the manual when I bought the car. I did read up on the stalk. When I ran the oil test, it looked pretty low. Was on the last level from the bottom. I put in a quart and a half and the level went up all the way to the third level from the top.

 

I believe there are some issues reported with the oil sender / pressure sensors that can give you incorrect readings... Also, on the manual. There is a softcopy 996T repaire / maintenance available on 6speedonline. Search for it. It is free ( at least it was at one time ) to download.

 

that doesn't sound right ( the levels ). you should change your oil and start fresh. i add a 1/4 to 1/2 a qt regularly, with oil changes at about 5k miles. a 1/4 qt is btw one - two lines on the digital readout. there is a divided camp on when and at what level is "best" to top off at. i find my cars run smoother ( read quieter ) when i'm never lower than a 1/2 a qt.

topping off should be a regular occurrence. if you're like me ( and many of us ), it may become obsessive; playing with the stalk at stoplights

the best part is when it's ticking down and measuring and you get to 4 seconds to oil level readout and the stoplight goes green

 

Just for a heads up the timer is based on how long the car has been at idle not oil temp. Sit at idle for 10 sec once it's warmed up and the timer will usually start at 5 seconds when you check oil level, after it's done rev your motor and immediately after it drops to idle check again and the timer will take longer as its waiting for the oil level to settle.

 

Hi,I dont think so..My oil level check will never take 5 seconds at idle when the car is not fully warmed up and when it is fully warmed up it will always only take 5 seconds at idle......
IMO..It goes by the thickness of the oil,as it heats up it gets thinner,flows quicker, in which it takes less time for the level reading...
Just sharing what I have saw on my car..

 

Huh mine won't even check oil level until its fully warmed up otherwise it'll display "oil level not possible engine not warmed up" I have an 01 so maybe different from newer years?

 

So what level do you guys try to keep you oil at. I assumed right in the middle was best, but I put a bit too much this last time and the level is 2 above the middle. I guess I can do another oil change. I was told it was changed 300 miles before I bought it and I've only put 55 miles since.

 

I'll usually fill mine up to 1-2 bars from top when I do my oil changes and then not let it get lower than 2nd bar from the lowest.

 

+1.

@johnspeed; you should have it checked, always taking less than 5 seconds is not right. It does not go by thickness of oil but by engine temp. If oil is not hot enough it will display message "oil level measurement not possible, engine not warm enough" as TTurbRon says.

 

I fill mine to max. This means one bar above the max mark is showing empty. That's optimum I was told by tech at Stuttgart. I than top up when I am down 2-3 bars from max.