I left for a 21-day vacation with my oil level gauge showing 2/3 full.

Upon return, my oil level was at the very last/bottom "thin" line. The line is also blinking (the blinking is new to me). Note that I did not an ADD OIL type of message on the dash.

Knowing that I had left with 2/3 before vacation, I restarted the measurement process for a 2nd time, and .... VOILA! The gauge showed 2/3 full again.

My point here is that when unsure, take a 2nd measurement before adding oil. In my case, had I added a QT or more of oil in my first measurement, I would have OVERFILLED my car.

As carpenters say, "measure twice and cut once."
Cheers!

 

Much easier to check if there's a dipstick. Could some vendors please come up with one. I mean how hard is it to design a metal stick running down the oil fill neck.

 

A quart at one time without measuring in between would most likely overfill .. I noticed that the gauge is very sensitive to how long it s been sitting and even the slightest of the car not being on perfectly level ground.
I ve never had to add oil but knowing from doing oil changes I only add very small amounts before re checking level. Good Point!

 

when i change the oil i only install 8.5 qts instead of the 8.7 the boook calls for. However, if the cars sits for 3-4 days without being driven the idiot guage shows full to the top. If it only sits a day, it will be just a fraction below full. whoever had the brainstorm to use a guage rather than a dipstick should be taken out and dragged.

 

Hey, I am like you and prefer the dipstick.

But think about it for a minute.... Do you expect wealthy Porsche owners to dirty their fingers (picture heavy gold rings) with a dipstick and a rag? Not in a million ($) times. So, Porsche had to follow what all others manufacturers are doing: electronic gauge.

We should all be grateful that you can remove the oil from the bottom of the engine. On some cheap cars, you can only pump it out through .... the dipstick.....

Yves

 

wife use to have a mercedes slk 280. a forum member advised that vacuuming the oil was more efficient than a drain plug at the bottom. Makes you wonder how some people survive to adulthood.

 

I find this gauge frustrating. I added a quart just before an auto-x at the beginning of this month as it was showing low. Been checking it periodically for the past two weeks. The other day, the gauge read at the lowest mark, which of course made me nervous. Then I checked it again the next day and it was 2/3rds full. I assume it might have to do with how long it was driven or how warm the engine is?

I know dipsticks aren't exactly precise but I at least like to see the damn oil on the dipstick; it comforts me to know that it's there! Considering the clock on the dashboard can't even keep accurate time, I don't like trusting a $20k engine to a little digital display.

 

Yes mine is all over the place, going from full to the 2/3 and back all the time and occasionally to 1/3 and back up. I wonder if the slight angle of my garage or other parking spots effect the measured level of oil. Or how it measures at 175 degrees versus 200 or higher??? I have theories but... meh.

 

I have asked the question before about the lifespan of the oil metering unit. Will it eventually fail? Is it lifetime? Should it be replaced after x-thousand miles?

Just imagine this unit getting stuck and failing at full reading and we continue to drive without oil!!!!!

 

For sure the slightest angle on what looks like level ground makes a difference on my reading. Also , How long I wait after heating up the car, and then maybe shutting down for a few minutes also makes a difference on my reading. I guess anywhere on the gauge is good enough .
That s how I use it because the difference between top full and the last bar at the bottom is not much oil at all.

 

I tried to stick an old speedometer cable down the oil filler neck and it would not go so forget doing it that way.

 

The problem is the engine isn't designed in a way that a dipstick could work. There is no central place the oil drains down to that would give you a reading, that is why you have to read the oil level with the oil system (engine) in operation and at operational temperatures.

Porsche would like respond with "Do you want to use a 50 year old measurement technology or do you want a modern motor with great power to volume and low emissions?"