Originally Posted by wjeszy
I got a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder from one of my relatives.
He told me the last time he changed the engine oil was 2018 November.
However: I checked the oil level now a few months later since I am driving the car and I barely could see any oil on the stick.
I bought the car to a repair store and asked them to change the oil. (they would not let me stay in the repair garage) He told me that was barely any oil came out of the car.
He also said he saw some sticker that says that the last time they changed the oil was 2014 is that true they put the dates somewhere on the car?
Is that possible that the car runs for years with a tiny bit of oil?
Who is lying?
-- It is possible that the oil was changed in 2018 by your relative, and the 2014 oil service sticker was accidentally left there.
-- Yes most vehicles will run fine with a slightly low oil level as long as they are not run hard or kept this way for long periods (years). I ran my Tacoma for 5000 miles & 7 months with the oil level right at the low mark and it did just fine. (The capacity is 5.5 quarts plus it doesn't burn oil and I check the level regularly.)
-- Despite what the technician said, I don't believe that "barely any oil" came out of a Pathfinder engine that was running fine and still registered *some* oil on the dipstick. Should have been at least 2-3 quarts drained. Maybe that's why customers are not allowed in the service bay, so they can tell you whatever they want and you have no grounds to argue.
I would guess that the service tech was lying. But you probably know your relative better than the technician
