My Max went in for an oil change last Thursday, put in the Mobil 1 synthetic as many have around this forum. The next day I noticed that oil was leaking out onto the ground when backing up. So I took the car back to the shop and it turns out they used the wrong oil filter on it!!! They put on the correct oil filter and now all seems good but a few questions have arisen...

First a total noob question, which side of the dipstick is it best to take a reading from? Both are marked with H and L but one side has a cross hatching between the two. I'm going to guess the side with the cross hatching because otherwise it appears there is too much oil in the pan.

Also, is the Maxima equipped with a low oil level monitor that comes on when a small amount of oil has to be added?

 

Dude! That totally suxs!!! This is why I change my own oil. Glad you were able to catch it before you had major issues. I'm a new Maxima owner here too, so cannot comment on whether there is a low oil level monitor.

 

I also do my own oil changes cause of things like this. You seriously can't trust anybody with your car.

 

When the oil level drops to where the system is having trouble keeping the oil pressure up, a warning light and message appear on the dash.

The oil problem I always worry about is overfilling to where the oil level reaches the bottom of moving engine parts, and those parts begin churning the oil. Churning the oil leaves it almost like a foam, and no oil pump can properly lubricate the engine with foam. Fortunately, the oil level has to be well above the full mark for this to happen.

The proper side of the dipstick to check is the side with the crosshatch. I usually check several times, as I consider this dipstick setup to be less accurate and less user-friendly than those in previous Maximas.

 

Changing your own oil is the way to go.

Lightonthehill-thanks for posting, I'm guessing it's a very bad idea to rely on the warning warning light and message! How often will you check your oil?

 

You definitely do not want to rely on the warning lights. A quick check of your fluids once a week is often enough. I make it part of my washing ritual.

 

Do you check your oil when the engine is cold or do you turn it off and check after 15mins?

 

I just go to Good Year. They always do a great job with my car. a bit expensive, but hey..you get what you pay for (most of the time).

 

I remember many many years ago, my parents were out somewhere and had a lot going on that weekend, so while they were out my dad stopped in an oil change place (nameless to protect the stupid). Now mind you, this was the first time he ever took a vehicle to such a place as as far back as I can recall, he always changed his own oil. Anyways... The oil change place filled the entire engine up with oil. Luckily, they realized it before the engine was started. Drained it and filled it properly. Needless to say, he NEVER went to another oil change place again.

 

So what is the diff in price between Goodyear and the nissan dealer,

 

I check it after I take the car for a quick spin to get the residual water out of the crevices on the car. So, we're talking about a 5-10 minute drive.

 

Never took it to Nissan, so I wouldn't know! I think Good Year runs me about 27 or 32 maybe..with a 5 dollar coupon I get off everytime I go. But the Good Year by me is very, veryyy clean. They are nice too..half the battle is customer service, I think we could all agree on that. I don't put synthetic oil in because it doesn't require it.

 

I check my oil level after the car has sat at least 15 minutes, and usually longer. This is to allow oil time to drain off all engine parts, in order to get a correct reading. I always completely wipe the dipstick before I begin. I check only the side with the crosshatch, and I usually check twice, cleaning the dipstick betwen checks, making sure the dipstick is fully inserted (I know, obsessive compulsive).

I always check the oil while the car is on essentially level ground. If the car is not reasonably level, the reading will not be exact.

When checking the oil at a gas station while travelling, I don't wait, but do it while filling up, as, in that situation, I'm not as interested in an exact reading as simply insuring the oil level is somewhere close to where it should be.

As to my oil level checking frequency -

I check my oil level right after I get home from an oil change, again the day after I get home from an oil change, then a week after I get home from an oil change. I do all this just in case the oil was not filled to the correct level, or the drain plug was not installed correctly (leaving either a fast leak, medium speed leak or slow drip), or something else was not properly done.

After an oil change (or any other underhood service), I also check for tools, etc, that the mechanic may have left under the hood. Surprisingly, they do leave things there.

I had an oil change place overtighten the drain plug and cause a crack in my Datsun oil pan back in the late 1970s. Had to replace the pan. I had an Oldsmobile dealer cross-thread the drain plug in a 1966 Delta 88 in the late 1960s. Leaked oil slowly. A Chevron station in Arizona did not tighten the drain plug on my 1953 Chevy, and the oil gradually seeped out.

Once I have determined the oil change was done correctly, I usually check the oil level only once or twice each month, depending on how much driving I am doing. Fortunately, although I have owned at least one of every Maxima generation except the first, I have never had one that needed oil added between changes.

I always check the oil level (and tire presure, wiper fluid level, brake fluid level, radiator overflow level, etc) before every out-of-town journey, and usually check the oil during each fillup if on a long journey.

I could probably get by just fine by paying very little attention to my Maximas, but those high-maintenance American brand cars I drove during my younger days instilled habits in me that I will always follow.

 

I had a place leave my wife's Audi oil cap off and there was oil everywhere. Boy was I pissed

 

This. I wouldn't trust any shop with my ride! Sorry bout your nightmare!

 

Lightonthehill - You seriously have this down to a science, thank you for sharing all of your techniques. Believe it or not, your words may end up saving me a massive amount of hassle/money in the future!!! +1

Trailer-I'm really thinking about getting a jack and some stands to start doing the oil changes on my own.

 

All you really need is your scissor jack from the trunk and some blocks of wood. You only need to lift the car high enough on the passenger side so you can get the oil catch pan under the oil pan, and get your arm to the filter. I typically dont even get the passenger side wheel off the ground.

You just raise the car with the scissor jack, then put some blocks of wood up tight under the control arm so that if the jack slips, the wood will catch the car.

Of course this is the cheap way to do it. Personally, I just got a new 3 ton jack and jack stands from Harbor freight, but I did it the way explained above for years.

 

I have done mine own oil changes for years. For a quick way to do it and less chance of the jack getting knocked over or such. Just get a pair of heavy-duty ramps at your local auto parts store.



I also use K&N oil filters with the 1 inch nut on the end of the filter, just in case the heat bakes the filter a little too tight over time.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^
X2 on the above.

I bought a set of ramps and they make it easy to get under the vehicle. I used the K&N filter with my Charger as it was difficult to get to the filter and that 1 inch nut welded to the bottom of the filter makes it very easy to get the old filter off.

 

I like that 1" nut idea. I remember getting my oil changed in Monticello, Utah (Canyonlands National Monument) while on vacation around 1961. After working unsuccessfully to get the old filter off for around ten minutes, the mechanic simply took a big hammer to a crowbar and jammed the crowbar through the filter and wrung it off as a piece of twisted metal. Oil went everywhere.

I changed my own oil through the 1950s. I remember driving up to Mule Pass (on a mountain between Bisbee and Tombstone AZ) where I liked to straddled this deep ditch, which left lots of working room under the car. I drained the old oil into the bucket as usual, put on the new filter as usual, poured the bucket into a container and put the lid on as usual, and opened the trunk to take the cans of new oil out as usual, and found I had left the oil back at my apartment.

No cell phones back then. And not a soul for miles around. Fortunately, hitchhiking was a very common means of travel back then. I hitchhiked many thousands of miles while in college. Every other weekend, I hitchhiked from Chapel Hill NC to be with my fiance, who was teaching school in Bel Air MD, between Baltimore and Philly. I could tell some very weird (and scary) stories from my hitchhiking years. But I ramble as usual.

 

This made me LOL!......that sucks.

The closest I've come to this was when I was changing my girlfriends oil in her jeep. She had just moved into her new town house with a garage. So I bought and oil catch pan, filter, and oil. Her jeep was high enough that I didnt need a jack at all. So I drained the oil.....then went to take off the filter.......crud!...... No filter wrench. Of course this was at 11pm so of course no stores were open. I tried getting it off by hand, no dice. After a bunch of cursing, I thought of something. I took a thin piece of rope, wrapped it around the filter about 15-20 times quite tightly. Took some vice grips, clamped it on the end of the rope and used that as a wrench. It actually worked! I was so proud of myself. I thought I was MacGyver.....my girlfriend thought I was a moron for forgetting the filter wrench in the first place.

 

Yes, the 1 inch nut on the bottom of the K&N oil filter was great. I've crushed filters before and had to jam a screwdriver through and twist to get a filter off. In the 6 years I used the K&N filter, I never had an issue.