when checking your dipstick causes a heart attack

[mpvue]

So I was attempting to change my springs and struts in my VUE on saturday, made a good attempt at it (until I realized I didn't have the tools needed to complete the job), I went to check the oil. car had been sitting for about an hr, I figured it was cooled down enough to check. did the pull/wipe/reinstall/check again that we all do and THE DIPSTICK IS DRY. I f%&#*in freaked. how could this be!?! there is NO WAY I could have run that low. this car NEVER is low! I have about 9K on the oil now, was going to take it to between 10 and 15K before I changed it, but it's GONE!
so, I went to get a filter, got my drain pan expecting to see a qt drain out, thinking what a moron I was for not checking it more frequntly. well, the drain keeps going, and going, and going. the ECOTEC 2.2 takes 4 qts, and went I put the used oil in a gallon jug, lo and behold, it filled the gallon. it was at this point my heart setteld back into a normal rhythm.
I figured either the car was still jacked up when I checked it (I honestly don't remember) or I hadn't reseated the dipstick all the way. either way, I've got some fresh amsoil in there, she's all happy now, and I've calmed down.
btw, I never did get the struts installed. I've done struts before, but on this VUE I didn't have the right size sockets to get it all apart, so it's time to go to my mechanic.

 

[Barkleymut]

yeah never a good feeling. On my brand new Mustang I checked the level the same day as an oil change and it was really close to the low mark, I went back to the trash can and counted all 6 quarts it made me feel a little bit better.

 

[ChiTDI]

I drove home a new Avalon and checked the oil next morning. Bone dry dipstick. Two and a half quarts later it read right on the full mark. Dealer prep, riiiggghhhttt.

 

[ChiTDI]

Update - a year later when I tried to replace the cabin filter, the tray was empty, no element.
Dealer prep again I'm sure.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: ChiTDI
I drove home a new Avalon and checked the oil next morning. Bone dry dipstick. Two and a half quarts later it read right on the full mark. Dealer prep, riiiggghhhttt.


I never drive any vehicle more than one block to the nearest service station and check the fluids when picking up from a dealer or any mechanic shop. I have just had that same thing happen too many times.

 

[PT1]

This post reminds me when our former babysitter came home on break from college and stopped by the house in her 2 year old corolla. She is no mechanical whiz so I gave her car the once over. Pulled the dipstick and ZERO oil.

So I add a quart...still ZERO..

add another quart just about a drop on the end of the stick. It took 3 quarts to bring it up to full.

SO I ask her how often she checks the oil. She said her Dad checks it every Summer when she comes home..

Not sure what the sump capacity on that engine was but it had to be running on 1-2 quarts of oil. ANDshe had just driven it 200 miles home...

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: PT1
This post reminds me when our former babysitter came home on break from college and stopped by the house in her 2 year old corolla. She is no mechanical whiz so I gave her car the once over. Pulled the dipstick and ZERO oil.

So I add a quart...still ZERO..

add another quart just about a drop on the end of the stick. It took 3 quarts to bring it up to full.

SO I ask her how often she checks the oil. She said her Dad checks it every Summer when she comes home..

Not sure what the sump capacity on that engine was but it had to be running on 1-2 quarts of oil. ANDshe had just driven it 200 miles home...


I just don't understand that sort of . . . I was going to say "thinking," but obviously there wasn't any of that going on.

When my first wife bought her car, the '75 Ford Maverick which became my first car too, I read the owner's manual cover to cover. The next thing I did was to ask my friends, who'd been driving for a few years, about maintenance, and I learned to change oil, air filter, fuel filter, check the tires, etc.

It was an easy car to learn on, but even if it had been more complicated, I'd have learned! I was so happy to have any kind of car to drive, let alone a new one! I wanted to keep it running!

Maybe if the girl in the story above had to ride the bus/train to and from school for a while, she'd start checking the oil in her (by then) precious car. . . .

 

[01rangerxl]

A lot of younger people just don't learn about maintenance these days. With some, almost everything about their car is a mystery to them, and they don't seem interested in learning.

I think a lot of that has to do with cars becoming more complex and harder to work on. My dad used to do all of his own maintenance until he got his first FWD car in 1990 (a Taurus). By the time I was driving in 2004, he hadn't done any real maintenance himself since getting the Taurus and didn't really think to teach me. The only reason I learned was because I had always been into cars and wanted to know. I know a lot of people my age (I am 20) who never did learn from their parents and never tried to / knew to learn on their own. They don't have a clue about how a car works, just that they have to shift to D for it to move and put gas in it.

Relating to the original topic, I remember when my dad removed the trans fluid dipstick on the previously mentioned 1990 Taurus to find chunks on it.

 

[Cutehumor]

my wife doesn't know how to do anything on a car, I just hope I live long enough where I'll have kids to take over the maintanence duties.

 

[65cuda]

My oldest boy's idea of checking the oil was when the oil light came on. I believe that he still does it that way. He had a 86 B2000 that had over 200000 miles on it and how it ever made it I'll never know. It should have siezed up so many times as to be pathetic.
My youngest boy is a lot better and actually tries to keep up on checking his oil and stuff.

 

[oilyriser]

Many people don't understand what the oil does, and think of it as just another fluid to be added like gasoline or windshield washer fluid.

 

[mpvue]

when I was selling Saturns, part of the 'walkaround' was to show them the bright yellow dipstick handle. the trans was red.esp w/ a saturn, you NEED to know this right away; w/ an S series, you go to a gas station to check the fuel and add oil.
as for the 'light coming on' someone said earlier, I've met many people who think that is there to tell you when it's time to add, like a level indicator. it doesn't help when it's called an oil light, not an oil pressure light. inexplicably, saturns came stock w/ an oil pressure gauge the 1st 2 years, but in '93 they removed it.

 

[Donald]

I bought a Suburban from a guy who when he saw the oil pressure go to zero and the "check gauges" light come on while driving on a highway tried to get to the next exit. He ended up putting in a new engine and tranny before he sold it to me.

 

[datsago]

Originally Posted By: PT1
: Not sure what the sump capacity on that engine was but it had to be running on 1-2 quarts of oil. ANDshe had just driven it 200 miles home...

And at what point does the Corolla's ECM warn the driver that she is low on oil? When there is only one quart left?

 

[datsago]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
A lot of younger people just don't learn about maintenance these days. With some, almost everything about their car is a mystery to them, and they don't seem interested in learning.

I think a lot of that has to do with cars becoming more complex and harder to work on. . . . I know a lot of people my age (I am 20) who never did learn from their parents and never tried to / knew to learn on their own. They don't have a clue about how a car works, just that they have to shift to D for it to move and put gas in it.

Amen to that. I personally think that it is a dependency issue and a tool/technology issue. People don't have the time nor the inclination nor desire to diagnose and fix things on their own, so they become dependent upon the expertise of other people (i.e. mechanics, even posters on website forums like BITOG) to help them. Also, our society is becoming faster paced; people want things done "NOW" and instead of later, they want things done as fast as possible -- and sometimes as cheaply as possible -- so it encourages the proliferation of "big box" auto parts stores (Kragen, Schucks, Autozone, PepBoys, NAPA) instead of mom-and-pop stores and chain auto repair stores places where speed is emphasized over quality, and where customers can build long-term relationships. The automotive repair industry and its supporters realize that dependency means $$$$$, so they continue to encourage the unsuspecting (clueless?) public to continue being dependent on outside help all the time, even for simple things. For example, I recently read an issue of the AAA American Automobile Association magazine where AAA's resident battery guy recommended that car owners NOT replace their batteries themselves but let the "pros" do it, because doing to could screw up their auto electronics. Discouragement against do-it-yourself results in people not knowing hardly anything about the vehicles they drive, just like they seem to know less about their homes, computers, etc. So they rely upon outside experts to do the work for them. And, of course, expertise costs time, and time means making money for these experts, so they can rightfully charge customers. What is the average hourly charge for auto repair in this country? Around where I live, $80-90, and some dealers charge $100 per hour.

Another reason for this reliance upon experts is that many cars have become so complicated, especially with complex emission systems, transmissions, and electronics, that most people don't have the knowledge nor the tools to fix things like. Good quality tools are expensive. But, some auto parts chains loan them out (Autozone), and in some towns, there are "tool-lending" libraries where people can check out tools just like they check out library books.

This is not to say that drivers and car owners have to do everything themselves, but at least people should know the basics about how cars work, especially the cars they own. Why don't high schools make it mandatory that all graduates learn about cars? And at least how to do simple things, if not more complicated stuff.

There are some of us who are throwbacks to an earlier generation where people were more self-reliant. We do most of our own auto and home repairs, and yes, we have busy lives and families, but we simply get a lot of pleasure (and save money) in doing it ourselves when we can. This doesn't mean that we don't rely upon professionals from time to time when we need it, but we use them less often than the average car-owner or home-owner.

 

[ikarus1]

This is exactly the reason why I bought my kids dirtbikes at an early age (despite my wife's protests at first....she now rides with us

) They hopefully will have some semblance of mech ability and the ability to troubleshoot when things happen.

I teach them why things work the way they do and what you have to do to keep them in running order. I'm not raising 3 people who have to worry about the $3500 30K mile checkup on their 2015 Prius' battery pack or why their hydrogen car won't start etc.
If there's a gallon of 87 octane somewhere on earth hopefully they can fire up their 2-wheel backup and boogie on out...

But if I have it the way I want, we'll be converting ourselves to biodiesel at some point this next year

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
did the pull/wipe/reinstall/check again that we all do and THE DIPSTICK IS DRY.


Dr. Ruth says you must dip it in properly. Get that motor running!

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: ikarus1
This is exactly the reason why I bought my kids dirtbikes at an early age (despite my wife's protests at first....she now rides with us

) They hopefully will have some semblance of mech ability and the ability to troubleshoot when things happen.

I teach them why things work the way they do and what you have to do to keep them in running order. I'm not raising 3 people who have to worry about the $3500 30K mile checkup on their 2015 Prius' battery pack or why their hydrogen car won't start etc.
If there's a gallon of 87 octane somewhere on earth hopefully they can fire up their 2-wheel backup and boogie on out...

But if I have it the way I want, we'll be converting ourselves to biodiesel at some point this next year

to take it a step further, I'm teaching my kids that a bicycle can be transportation and not a toy. still plenty of mechanical ability to be taught on a bicycle. when it all hits the fan, I won't need to go looking for a gal of gas.

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: mpvue
did the pull/wipe/reinstall/check again that we all do and THE DIPSTICK IS DRY.


Dr. Ruth says you must dip it in properly. Get that motor running!

yes, the correct insertion technique is critical. sometimes you have to pull it out and reinsert to get a better fit. full penetration is desireable.

 

[addyguy]

When I worked at the W-M TLE last year, we had SO many cars come in with no oil showing on the dipstick, that the 'shock' wore off, and it just became a normal event...'huh, no oil on the stick. Oh well, call the customer, get them to sign the waiver that we aren't responsible for damage...' We made 4-5 of those calls A DAY.

My car? Anything below a half-liter low, and I'm nervouse until I top it up. I don't think I've let ANY car of mine go below the 'low' line on the d/s....