Hey there everyone I hope everyone is doing ok! I am new to this forum but I am seeking help. I own a 2003 Nissan Maxima with 242,xxx kms on it (150,xxx miles). Since this COVID-19 thing started I got laid off and been staying home %95 of the time and use my car probably once a week. Today I needed to go for a grocery run and when I went to turn the car over it had a hard time starting. After turning it off and on multiple times it finally turned over with my help ( I had to press on the gas pedal). As I turned it over and let it run I went to check the oil and as soon as I pulled the oil dipstick out, there was oil to the top on the dipstick and the oil looked a little bit frothy I believe but not so much milky ( the car was still on when I pulled the dipstick out). I turned the car off after and turned it back on and it turned over normally, I took it for a quick spin and she ran alright. Not sure if this is because my car was sitting for a long while outside or is this something I should genuinely be concerned about? If anybody has solutions or questions please let me know! Thank you very much!!!

 

Well right off the bat I can tell you that you should never remove the dipstick with the motor running. Youll never get an accurate reading from that anyways since oil is being pumped all over the motor rather than sitting at the bottom, which is what the dipstick reads.

How would you describe your starting problem? Is it struggling to crank? Is it cranking fine but just not turning over? Are you hearing any unusual noises? Could be anything from a dying battery or alternator, to bad sparkplugs, or even a sensor issue. Need more info.

 

Go outside once a day, start it and let it run for a few minutes. No big deal. Nothing else you mentioned concerns me. Happy quarantine.