So I got a 5th gen maxima (2003) got it about a year ago 3rd time i've changed the oil and every time only about 1.5qt drains out even though specs say it holds about 4.5qt
Is this normal ?

And now before you ask it's not mixing in with the coolant and there doesn't appear to be any leaks.

(update filled with 2qt new oil and after sitting several hours) it's now overfilled according to the dipstick registers slightly higher than the H mark though the engine is cold.

 

You should be draining out approximately 4.4 quarts per the specs. If you are only getting 1.5 quarts, you are either burning mass amounts of oil, or it is indeed leaking out.

 

Any chance a bad VVT solenoid could be trapping the other 3 quarts.and still cause the dipstick to register as full because not a single drop has hit the ground and I generally only drive maybe 5 miles a day. the car spends more time idling during my lunch breaks at work than it does moving.

 

So you're saying that right before you do an oil change, you are checking the dipstick properly and it's reading "full" ?

 

Yes that is exactly what I am saying, I don't add a drop between oil changes either, it's not needed.

Was thinking there could be a blockage stopping the oil from pouring out even when the oil is hot because this last time I changed it I only added the 1.5qt that came out and no oil light lit up on the dash. Dunno where it would be though.

 

Oil has to be checked when engine is cold. Precats say hi. RIP (or you're doing long OCI with normal burning)

 

Early 3.5s are know to burn oil. I have changed oil where only 1.5 qts came out. The oil light did not come on and there was a knocking sound. It happened again within a few months, it's burning oil big time. It is usually a sign the catalytic converters are falling apart and have scored the cylinder walls. The dip stick also gives false readings. You have to wait and let the oil completely settle.

 

yea i check my oil after it sits over night

 

Well as I said before I drained 1.5qt (everything that would come out by removing plug/filter. I then proceeded to add 2.5q and now that it's had a few hours to settle the dipstick shows well above the full mark (about a centimeter above the H (on a cold engine)

 

are you sure you have the correct dipstick in the car?

 

Not entirely It looks like the Nissan Maxima dipsticks I find on Google images, but who is to say.

 

I hope you've been putting in over 4 qts lol

 

Go measure your dipstick (the one in your car) from where the edge of the tube is to full mark, the low mark, and to the tip. Post a picture next to a tape measure and I'm sure someone on the forum with a 5.5 gen can help you out. Or perform an oil change with filter and fill with 4.5 quart, start and run car to fill filter, shut off engine, let oil settle for half and hour, and read the dipstick, wherever the level is, that should be your full mark, score or grind a mark and use that as your reference going forward.

previous owner could have just picked up any nissan dipstick and shoved it in there, they all look the same but could have different lengths

 

Man, if this was true I wonder how people who work at oil change places do their job.

aka me.

 

They don't. They dump in 5 qts and call it done. You cannot check it reliably unless you sit there and wipe it off 15 times. It doesn't work warm or after pouring, EVERYONE knows this.
Nor would the EVER check the level. That's wasted time.

 

5 quarts per oil change with a new filter and check it once a week after it has been shut off for like half an hour. my car is at 297,00 miles, consumes a ton of oil, and still runs like a champ!

 

LOL you said it brother! My father went to a lube place with his Honda and somehow came back with a cracked engine block!