Let's talk dipsticks and oil capacity

[csandste]

My girlfriend and I both bought used Kias from Hertz. Both dipsticks looked way over the full mark, but there was no sign of bubbling or overfill. I assumed that they put close to a quart over the max, maybe to give them some extra capacity in case no one bothered to check.

I got one oil change and the oil was right on the max mark.

I'm getting ready to take my car in for another oil change next week and noticed a bottle of MMO with about six ounces in it. I poured half of it in there-- didn't measure but I'm thinking 3-4 ounces max. Haven't started the engine, but checked the dipstick this morning and it's way over the max mark. If low to full marks on the dipstick are a quart, this would be at least a pint high. Always figured that things in most engines narrowed down, but didn't know it was this extreme. At least in HyunKias, I don't think I'll sweat over fills in the future. A few ounces of extra capacity (maybe recommended capacity with a slightly smaller filler) looks like a lot more on a dipsticlk!

 

[wemay]

Not knowing which model(s) you bought, i would check the owner's manual for capacity with filter. Most Hyundai/Kia are about 5qt. Drain the oil at the next change and see how much comes out. Then pour what the manual says is max back in. This will give you a baseline.

 

[IndyIan]

Did you wipe and remeasure? I have some dipsticks that measure high when sitting overnight and some measure low. After a remeasure they read normal.

 

[csandste]

Originally Posted by IndyIan
Did you wipe and remeasure? I have some dipsticks that measure high when sitting overnight and some measure low. After a remeasure they read normal.



You're right. I wiped and it took it down by about 50%, though it's still higher than I would have thought.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Sumps don't necessarily fill linearly

 

[Gene K]

Brings to question when you fill the car. . Do you trust the inconsistent oil pan capacity or the inconsistent dip stick. I know CAT used to want you to go by volume and calibrate the dip stick by scribing new marks on it if it didn't match when filled to stated capacity.

In general.I don't.sweat it to much if the stick shows from around halfway through the safe zone to about the same ovet unless it's an engine with known fill issues IE DOHC Neons had to be underfilled to avoid frothing the oil and LS1 Corvettes had to be overfilled to avoid sucking the pan dry on the track.

 

[newbe46]

I wonder if there is a "bottle neck" effect where the dipstick end is exposed to. My Honda specs for 4.4L for oil and filter change. I put in 4.5L using the calibration on the bottle which means I am 100 mL over. When I checked the dipstick it was about just less than quarter inch over the max line.

 

[csandste]

Think the recalled 2.4 Sonatas and Optimas had recalibrated dipsticks with increased capacity after inspection or replacement. Spent a lot of time in my younger years yelling at oil change techs about over filling. Now I don't think it was much of a thing to get disturbed over.

 

[PimTac]

Are not the updated dipsticks orange?

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Are not the updated dipsticks orange?


Yes. That's what they replaced the yellow one for in our Santa Fe.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by PimTac
Are not the updated dipsticks orange?


Yes. That's what they replaced the yellow one for in our Santa Fe.




Thanks for that wemay. It's possible the op's Cars were not updated not knowing the maintenance that Hertz does. They probably do their own changes but dealer specific maintenance like the dipstick upgrade may get missed.

 

[Cygnus_]

My van is about 1/4 qt overfilled at the moment. Im not concerned about it. If it was more than 1/2 qt overfilled, then I may be concerned. Less than that in most cases I dont think would let bother me.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by PimTac
Are not the updated dipsticks orange?


Yes. That's what they replaced the yellow one for in our Santa Fe.




Thanks for that wemay. It's possible the op's Cars were not updated not knowing the maintenance that Hertz does. They probably do their own changes but dealer specific maintenance like the dipstick upgrade may get missed.



Agreed. Makes all the sense in the world.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by SnowDrifter
Sumps don't necessarily fill linearly
True, and the distance between high and low marks doesn't necessarily correspond to 1 quart, unless your manual specifically says so. My manual states it is 1.6 quarts or 1.5 liters.

 

[StevieC]

I'm always over the top of the higher mark and have always been just out of chance as I'm refilling after an oil change. Nothing bad has happened. I'm not saying it's drastically over but a little over does no harm. Certainly didn't kill my Santa Fe.

 

[csandste]

Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by PimTac
Are not the updated dipsticks orange?


Yes. That's what they replaced the yellow one for in our Santa Fe.




Thanks for that wemay. It's possible the op's Cars were not updated not knowing the maintenance that Hertz does. They probably do their own changes but dealer specific maintenance like the dipstick upgrade may get missed.



Agreed. Makes all the sense in the world.

They're both orange. Don't think '17s were under recall.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I have helped purchase 3 cars from the local Hertz in Santa Clara, CA.
Altima, Sentra and Yaris.
All had fresh oil and were overfilled.
They used the Pep Boys down the street, even had the cheapie filter.
I was shown the work orders.

Hey - they have 2 Jags right now...

 

[philipp10]

If the stated capacity of an engine is 5 quarts and that brings the oil to the top mark, then it would make common sense that the engineers in charge would of factored in tolerance. Tolerance of the oil pan, the dip stick, the dip stick mount....etc. Therefore I am quite sure you can over-fill a motor a fair amount and still see no ill effects. If anything, they should of had the oil land at the center of the range between the high and low marks when filled full by volume. That would at least give us a plus minus range to shoot for.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by philipp10
If the stated capacity of an engine is 5 quarts and that brings the oil to the top mark, then it would make common sense that the engineers in charge would of factored in tolerance. Tolerance of the oil pan, the dip stick, the dip stick mount....etc. Therefore I am quite sure you can over-fill a motor a fair amount and still see no ill effects. If anything, they should of had the oil land at the center of the range between the high and low marks when filled full by volume. That would at least give us a plus minus range to shoot for.

Nissan dipsticks are marked with "L" and "H", which to me means "Low" and "High" and in turn, right in the middle should mean "just right". Maybe I'm wrong....

Regarding tolerances of the oil level, I completely agree. There are too many variables to introduce error for them not to. Some say it can be from not allowing sufficient oil to drain out - there are folks here who let it drain for an hour and longer !! Give me a break ! After ~5 minutes of draining, if you let it drain for another 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc, you'll get 2-4 ounces at best ! Or with vehicles that call for 4.5 quarts, they know most people will probably put in a full 5 quarts or close to it, whether that's from 1-quart bottles or a 5-quart bottle. On my G35, it calls for 5-1/8 quarts. I let it drain for 5-10 minutes (pull the drain plug, clean up the plug, the remove the filter, reinstall new filter, then the plug), use an "oversize" filter, and dump in a 5-quart bottle. The level ends up right in the middle of the H and L markings on the dipstick. Wait, I didn't put in enough ? Wait, I used an oversized filter ? Neither made a difference...

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson


Regarding tolerances of the oil level, I completely agree. There are too many variables to introduce error for them not to. Some say it can be from not allowing sufficient oil to drain out - there are folks here who let it drain for an hour and longer !! Give me a break ! After ~5 minutes of draining, if you let it drain for another 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc, you'll get 2-4 ounces at best !


I used to be guilty of letting my oil drain a good long time too but part of that was also so that it let the oil filter cool down before I changed it. When I had my C5 Corvette there were a lot of guys on that forum who would lift the rear of their car higher than the front to get an extra few ounces of oil out. I never went that far!

With my current Corvette, the specified capacity in the manual is 7 quarts but everyone I've talked to that changes their oil says they can only get about 6 quarts out when they do an oil change. So it looks like a lot of oil is getting trapped in the engine and oil pan of this engine. It's odd that they list 7 quarts as the oil change capacity though, I think a lot of fast lube places are going to be overfilling these engines by a full quart.