im trying to read my lexus dipstick. when I pull it out to check it has a very distinct dark color near the low mark but there is a faint drop of oil near the high end of the dipstick. which one do i rely on?
I’m not a mechanic but I do my own oil changes. My dad always told me the drop on the high end is excess and to not rely on that. I always rely on whatever smear of oil starts at the bottom and continues all the way up, wherever that smear ends is the oil level. Also wipe off the dipstick then put it back in for a second and take it back out, that usually gets rid of most of the excess.
@rqlk I think that smear that u mentioned that gets to the top is the same excess oil at the top that he’s talkin about. So again which one should be relied on?
@@zoesh2441 where it's solid across is the oil level. if there's still excess smears that make it uncertain after the first wipe and dip, feel free to wipe and dip again as needed. until it's a clear reading. should be a pretty much solid oil bubble.
doesn't hurt to check it at every gas fill up. and there's usually paper towels at the gas station pumps with the squeegees. but if you don't fill up, and just get gas sporadically. once a month should be sufficient.
I have a 2013 prius c. It uses the same dipstick design as the one you show on the first clip. But one side shows a lower reading than the other every time. Do you have any tips on accurately reading the level?
Close up enough to actually see the stick and where it's wet, and the light and dark parts of the oil on the stick. Listed symptoms of overfill at end, helped me figure something out with my car. Thank you
eee i changed my oil 2k miles ago and now it has the check oil light thing sayings its 15 percent. Does this mean its burning oil? it hasnt happened before
The dipstick in my van shows a solid block of oil about 3/4 bewteen the markers but and sort of messy streak of oil going up to the top marker. Should I read it from the solid block line or from where the streak ends? The oil level light is on but I just had a full service on the van, so did they not fill it up all the way? The oil is black already but I read that this is common with diesel engines. I suspect that maybe they didn't change the oil
I'm trying to read the oil level on my dipstick but I'm being thrown off. I can clearly see the "bubble" and where the "bubble" ends on my stick but there's a slight film of oil above it. It's definitely not as profound as the "bubble" and on the back it's repeated but there seems to be indents where the oil doesn't touch and where exactly the "bubble" begins coming from the top end of the stick. Am I fine as long as I can see the "bubble" right where it should be and disregard that slight film of oil above it?
yes, the film above is most likely just oil that it had on fill tube and rubs up against it..the bubble would be where the actual oil level would be, especially if it matches on the other side.
My dipstick has a top and bottom dot but between them there is a hash mark that goes up 3/4 of the way between the dots, the last 1/4 before the top dot is blank. WHICH LEVEL DO I FILL IT TO?!🤷♂️
My dipstick is streaking oil and I can not tell where the level is. What to do? Leave it sit a while then check? Reading is easy if it did not streak.(The oil is new and clear, just changed it)
The oil level on the dipstick goes straight across at a lower level then covers only half the dipstick coming up to a higher level. So is the actual level at the lower or higher reading?
I have a 2000 camry. I can put the stick in 2 different position both poristion shows totally different levels of oil? How do i know which one is the right position?. The stick head got one side 2 dots and the other 3 dots..
Yes, itll normally burn a certain amount of oil...while higher performance engines will burn slightly more...but as the engine gets older itll begin to burn slightly more over time or yes itll start having leaks past the seals or gaskets
Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Is he saying that the space between the two dots is about 1 liter of oil? So if my oil result is at the lowest dot, then I should add 1/2 or 500 mL of oil, to bring it to the half way mark?
On my 2020 Toyota Camry , when I pull the oil dipstick out . There is oil smeared on one side , but the other a distinct line . I've used judgement that the side with the line is ok , no issues .
just figured out the trick with toyota/lexus dipstick as those really hard to read (the yaris style the author showed) after oil change. When you look at it - oil is all over the place way above the high mark even if the car set for 15 mins. You want to look at the side of dipstick that has the indentation, pointy part near the high mark ( hard-to-read-side ">" easy to read side ). That pointy part removes an excess of oil above the high mark and makes it easier to read. I think one shouldn't freak out (like me) if the pointy part full of oil - it's just cleared excessive oil to allow more accurate reading. don't forget the ground level. an easy slope can give 0.2 quarts of a misreading.
you dipstick up to bottom | - up of a dipstick | | < - the pointy mark on dipstick pointed to the left side - left is easy to read | X - high level mark/dot | easy-to-read side | hard-to-read side | X - low level mark/dot | I hope it helps :)
My Jeep is a diesel one and the manual says that oil should be checked ideally 5 minutes after shutting a warmed up engine. It uses 5W40 oil and when the oil is hot (170F after 5 minutes), it is very thin and runny - hard to read on the dipstick. If I check in the morning when the oil is 60F, I get a clear reading of it being right in the middle point between low and high marks. Does it really show a different level if the engine oil is hot versus cold sitting overnight? If so, is the dipstick showing a higher level of oil cold than the reading from a warm engine?
Only difference is that all the oil that was circulating engine has had time to settle in oil pan..some people actually prefer to wait til morning to check it for that reason so they can get a clear level of how much oil is actually in engine oil pan
Question for you. I had a my axel replaced and the guy said some transmission fluid came out with it and said it was about a quart. I checked my levels when the car was cold and it was above the high level. What's the reason for this
Yea when u pop out the axle if the vehicle is tilted a certain way when u remove it, some transmission fluid will come out..it could be that it was overfilled before even replacing the axle
I'm about a ¼in. above my full mark. Distance between my two dots on the dipstick is 1.5in. meaning a quart. I don't think a quarter quart is gonna hurt anything, at least I hope not.
If its a newer car i would take it back and use the 5w30 cause they tend to have smaller oil ports and especially since its colder weather right now..in the summer it wouldn't be so bad
