So i just did MY first oil change on my 09 Max.
I put about 4 litres in, which is about 4.25 quarts. I ran the engine for a couple minutes and then shut it off and let it sit for a while. Came back and checked the oil and it was half way up the length of the dipstick. So approximately 15 litres of oil in the engine...
Obviously this is impossible. So i let it sit even longer and check it again, still same problem.
So i drain some oil out. I figure i drained about 2 litres out of the engine, judging by my oil catch pan. Check the oil again, it hasn't moved... So i drain more oil out. Check it. Now on the read side of the stick its way too low, on the other side it hasn't moved.
I'm losing my mind.

Anybody else had any problems at all reading the dipstick after an oil change? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone right now...

 

I have an 02 and yeah i must be stupid or this car seems like it has the worst dip stick to read. I can usually only see the clean oil after an oil change. But after that it does seem like there is always oil touching the length of the dip stick. Guess you gotta check it several times and different ways. when sitting, after warm up etc. And alot guesstimating lol

 

only thing ive found is start the car, shut it off, and let it sit for 5 minutes before checking the oil. ive changed the oil on many VQ engines, they smear all the way up the friggin dipstick every time. ive found after it sits for 5 minutes, the smearing goes away and you can somewhat read the level

15L is waaaay too much, shouldnt be more than around 5L on a 7th gen. last time i worked on a 5th gen it was 4.25L. dont drive it with the oil level overfull, if you do you can blow seals

 

 

I noticed the same thing on my new Max. I am a diy kind of guy so one of the first things I did when I lifted the hood of the car on the lot was check the oil level. I noticed the same thing you are seeing. Dismiss this oil level that is way up the dipstick and roll the it over and look at the other side of the stick. If that oil level matches the high level you saw, then you may be overfilled. Wipe the dip stick off and recheck. Check the oil level on both sides of the stick there will only be one true level. With only 4.25 liters put in the engine, how could there magically be 15?

 

He didnt put 15 qts. he just bein sarcastic. But yeah seems only time i can get a clear view is right after oil change. Cause even after like 1k miles or less it seems so smeared or thinned out where you should be seeing the oil reading level. I never feel confident in having the proper level. I look like a damn fool every time i check the oil pulling the dip stick out like 10 times just to check the level. Gonna take time to get used to. But just keep checking it often until you start to get the hang of it

 

fudge i read that first part too fast, i thought he said he DID put approximately 15L of oil in. i was gonna say thats gotta be a new record of overfilling oil lol

as i said, just let it sit for a few minutes, and quickly insert/remove the dipstick. inb4 thats what she said

 

I really feel like the biggest idiot in the world for having posted this in the first place.

Heres what i found out after 2.5 hours of trying to do an oil change. I had do some math backwards so follow along if you like!!
My oil bucket is a cylinder so for those of you wondering what the volume of a cylinder is: Radius(squared) x Pi x Height. 5.375 x 3.14 x 5.25 = 476 cubic inches. This translates to 8.24 US quarts.
I had emptied a 5.28 quart jug (5 litres) of oil into the engine which means that 8.24 - 5.28 = 3. Which must mean that there was 3 quarts of oil that hadn't come out of the engine during the 3 separate times i drained the oil... Follow?

So i put 1.5 quarts in and still couldn't read the dipstick properly. But had to assume that the oil level was at least close.
The one side of the dipstick without the marks still shows way too high. The side with the marks is "patchy" at best but if i read the lowest "patch" its within the hashmarks.

At this point there is no real good way of telling what the hell happened. Maybe i had the level right the first time but didn't wait long enough to let the oil settle. It seems like when i add oil it splashes all over the dipstick and is still difficult to read 5 minutes later.

I'm going to leave it overnight and check it in the morning. It's gotta settle by then... Right?

 

this is what my oil change consist of, pull dipstick after sitting over night and check oil level, its good look about the same as last time I checked it, then put it back take the car for a spin, oil is warm, I change it, add 5 quarts, close the hood, take for another spin, park and forget about it, I never check the oil after I change it

 

That's what i'll be doing from now on. As far as I can tell there is no reason to look at the dipstick cause i can't get any information from that thing...
It's gotta have something to do with it being on an angle. My last car was a civic and the dipstick went in perfectly vertical. Not a single problem reading that dipstick.
That's about the only thing better about that car though. Maybe that and the gas mileage...

 

I have no idea what you are try to describe what you did......but is sounds like you are way overcomplicating an oil change.

- Drive car to get it warm - go home.
- Remove drain plug.
- Remove filter - wait 15 minutes to let it all drain good.
- Put drain plug back in and tighten.
- Put new filter in and tighten.
- Put 5 quarts of new oil in engine. Put oil filler cap back on.
- Done.

When it comes to checking the oil, do you pull the dipstick and wipe it first to get it dry and clean? If not, you are supposed to wipe it before you reinsert it to check the level.

Also, dont pay attention to the top side of the dipstick when you pull it. Only pay attention to the area at the bottom where the high/low indicator marks are.

The best time to check the oil is first thing in the morning when the car has been sitting overnight. You wont have any oil on the upper portions of the dipstick so the true oil level should be very apparent.

 

This thread is funny.

 

I agree....I cant believe I just had to trouble shoot pulling a dipstick....

 

 

To be fair, since getting a car for the first time that I actually care for, and since joining these forums, I've become somewhat obsessed with paying attention to the details. So I understand wanting to get it right with the oil level. It seems that the OP is just over thinking things. It'll be alright.

 

 

Believe me i'm very aware of how ridiculous this whole problem was and was embarrassed enough to have to turn to the forum for this. But i give a **** about my car so i wanted to make sure that I hadn't overfilled the oil. My thought was that perhaps there was still some oil trapped in the engine and that it was now overfilled.
Turns out it was probably perfect all along, but that 10 minutes wasn't enough for the oil to settle out and get a proper reading. I checked the oil this morning and it was perfect.

Believe it or not, i have a lot of experience with cars and maybe i'm crazy but after i change the oil in a car, I check the level and when its 4" above where it should i be, i get alarmed... Which is why i posted in the first place.

Anyway i'll shrug the criticism off and thank everyone for their help with my catastrophe... I don't want my sarcasm to get lost in translation again so i'll say that catastrophe is said with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

 

I hope you didnt consider my posts as criticism....i understand we all run into stupid little things when we work on a car we arent familiar with. My girlfriend just bought a new forester, and I've already asked some pretty simple questions on a subaru forum....and I havent even changed the oil yet.

I also understand wanting the oil level to be perfect. But remember, as long as the oil is between the lines, its at a level that the car is designed to run on. Its not like adding that perfect amount of water to a pancake mix so they arent too thick or too thin...

 

I can tell you this, Nissan transmission dipsticks are unreliable. You can let it sit, do the gear change thing while engine on and they still don't read accurate. Z's and Maxima's at least are this way.

 

oil level doesnt have to be perfect, ive worked on cars where there was not even a litre of oil in the engine. one time a guy said his oil light was on for a while, he didnt know it was burning oil and drove it with probably half a litre for weeks. i had to put nearly 3L in just to get it to show on the bottom of the dipstick and this is a little Honda engine that takes 4L.

as long as its somewhere inbetween the levels, its fine. even a little bit over wont hurt anything.

 

thats probably a bit excessive, with the engine fully warmed up, the engine oil will be hot and thin and drain very easy, I usually give it about 3 minutes and its good.

I also rarely check the dipstick after an oil change. Usually drain old oil, replace filter, and refill with correct amount of oil for what the engine calls for. Thats it.

 

yeah 15 minutes isnt necessary. i just put the pain bolt in when the oil stream gets really slow which is usually around a minute.

i dont check mine either, if you know how much your vehicle takes, just throw it in and go.

 

Between the 2010 and previous 2009 370z and 2007 Altima 3.5SE....they are all a PITA to check oil levels. Nissan did something weird with the dipstick. 5mins is enough for drain-down enough to see oil level on 1 side of dipstick. I have checked it after sitting for HOURS and still had oil smeared all over dipstick on 1 side. Its a Nissan thing.

Late,
Trav

 

Yep. It used to bother me. But around ten years ago, I simply resigned myself to simply pulling out the stick, wiping it clean, inserting the stick with the marked face up, pulling it out, reading only the marked side, and just accepting the lowest point on the stick not coated by oil as the true level.

No, I don't get the warm, fuzzy feeling and comfort of knowing exactly what my oil level is, but at least I have a fairly close estimate. Since my gen 2 thru gen 7 Maximas have never burned much oil, I haven't let this 'estimate' thing bother me. But I wish the reading could be more definitive, such as reading the psi in my tires.

 

True that 15 minutes probably isnt required....but I'm normally doing 5 other things around my oil change (checking fluids and tire pressures etc, yardwork, eating lunch, drinking a beer ) so the extra time doesnt bother me. If I was pressed for time it would only be 5 minutes or so.