As I just arrived from Ottawa this weekend from Toronto, which is about 500km (310 miles), the low oil light came on. We parked and checked the oil, and sure enough it did not even appear on the dipstick. I got my uncle to take me to the nearest gas station in his car and grab 1L of oil to throw in. Even after adding it still did not appear on the dipstick...however after starting the engine the oil light was off. I am a complete moron for not checking my oil level before this long trip, however I did not expect to lose that much oil, as there was no smell or any leaks apparent, and there was still some kms left before my next oil change. What do you guys think? I believe that the stealership just did not change the oil the last time it was brought there. Now I am going to start changing the oil my self. Do you think there was any damage done to the VQ with only 1L of oil?

 

you'll be all right....just watch your level from now on.

 

i doubt there was any damage. i would however check for leaky seals/loose filer and anything else that comes to mind. you should not loose that much oil during normal operation, especially at this mileage. actually you shouldn't loose any oil and i've put ~746 miles in one day (personal record) on my '95 with 120k+ and had no problems.

 

If nothing happened and the engine runs smooth youre ok...if your losing that much oil you make want to do a compression check...how many miles on the car anyway?

 

Well the engine ran smooth before/after I changed the oil again. There are 81000 miles (131000 km) on the car.

 

Just make sure U check your oil level frequently.
If there is no oil loss in the next 1000 Km's you got screwed by the place that did your oil change.
Happens a lot.
Dealers use HS dropouts to do that kind of a job.

 

Like every time you gas up.

 

hey Phil...you're wise to start doing the oil changes yourself

honestly, i keep my car away from the dealership as much as possible
i went once, when i just got my car cause the battery died and never went back...needless to say i didn't let them replace the battery either with their ridiculous pricing (got an optima yellow for cheaper)

i've done suspension, spark plugs, ignition coils, engine oil, gear oil, brakes, lights, etc myself just so dealerships don't screw around with my car....and i had no previous experience.

if you need any help, im sure one of us in the T.O can give you a hand anytime

 

But remember when your car has been running a while, oil heats up and expands, so the reading will read higher than where the oil level is while cold...i check mine every week or two right before i take my first drive of the day, so i get an accurate reading

 

Thanks for the offer man. It has been a few thousand km since my last oil change now, and I just checked it again. The oil is below low...though no light as come on. There is no visible leaks in my engine bay, and no blue smoke coming out the exhaust under hard accelleration. The good part however is that the car is still under warrenty for the next year and a half or 30,000 km (whichever comes first). Anyhow I may as well bring it to the dealer and have them look at it...because if they f*ck it up, they will have to fix it over again and again and again till they get it right...that is until my warrenty runs out

 

Yeah I figure it is better to do this on a nice even level when the engine is cold.

 

Did u look under ur car?

 

Well I did when it was on the hoist for the last oil change...however I did not look carefully enough to find any sort of leak. Also when parked for extended periods, after moving the car there is no puddle of oil formed beneath it.

 

I noticed today I could see some oil physically under the car and it seems to be leaking from the front valve cover gasket area. Does this seem logical that there will be a few drips under my car from a leaking gasket? I am very concered. 95 Maxima SE 5spd. Please give me some feeback.
Thanks,
-Nick