[RatedEM]

On my way home from school today my car warned me that my engine oil level was below minimum, although I had an oil change less than 2k miles ago. A few minutes after driving it slowly, my engine oil level turned green and said it was okay? What's up with this? Am I just burning oil like crazy or is my sensor messed up?

Just wanted to mention I have been driving spirited and I am tuned.

[Efthreeoh]

What oil level did the edipstick show when it returned to OK? And, who changed the oil last time, did they add in a full 7 quarts?

[RatedEM]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

What oil level did the edipstick show when it returned to OK? And, who changed the oil last time, did they add in a full 7 quarts?

It said Max after driving very slowly, and yes I took it to a shop and gave them 7 quarts. I ended up putting 1/3 of an extra quart in just to be safe.

[robthewrench]

Two possible issues:

1- The sensor is failing, but intermittently. Good / bad / good. If you add a small amount of oil and it continues to do this, it is probably the sensor.

2 - The oil is slightly low and the movement of the car is enough to cause it to go below the sensor add level, but it then reads higher when the car is in a different position. You are burning / losing some oil, but slowly. Losing 1 quart over 2k miles is annoying, but not horrible. Add a small amount, see if the level increases and continue to monitor.

[TGTIW]

I had a similar issue recently. Out of nowhere the bar graph was showing I was slightly low. I didn't see any signs of a leak and I was pretty sure I wasn't burning any. So I pour in a 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
Pour in another 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
At this point I was sure something was up with the sensor, so I drained the oil, and 8qts came out.
Did an impromptu oil change, new filter and poured in 7qts. Graph still was reading low.
Next day I start the car and the graph reads at the max OK level.

[RatedEM]

Thanks a lot guys, i think it's the sensor because my car has said it's fine since. Going to take it easy for about a week or so just to make sure the car is fine.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by TGTIW

I had a similar issue recently. Out of nowhere the bar graph was showing I was slightly low. I didn't see any signs of a leak and I was pretty sure I wasn't burning any. So I pour in a 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
Pour in another 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
At this point I was sure something was up with the sensor, so I drained the oil, and 8qts came out.
Did an impromptu oil change, new filter and poured in 7qts. Graph still was reading low.
Next day I start the car and the graph reads at the max OK level.

The graph is very slow to update, you should never proceed like that to check the level. The car must be driven when you take a reading.

[Efthreeoh]

Okay, most people have no idea how the e-dipstick works. It is not a direct-read device. It takes cycling time to reestablish a new level reading. It only gives the level (amount remaining) of the top (7th) quart of oil. You can't put half a quart of oil in the engine and immediately expect it to read a half-quart higher. Until it establishes the new oil level it will report the old oil level. That is why you should only add oil to the engine in 1-quart/liter increments when the CBS notifies you the oil level is 1 quart low, which is when the "+1QT" notification shows up. You can over fill the engine doing otherwise.

Attached is a sticky I've put together on how the e-dipstick works. These two documents explain the sensor:

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by TGTIW

I had a similar issue recently. Out of nowhere the bar graph was showing I was slightly low. I didn't see any signs of a leak and I was pretty sure I wasn't burning any. So I pour in a 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
Pour in another 1/2 qt. No change on the graph.
At this point I was sure something was up with the sensor, so I drained the oil, and 8qts came out.
Did an impromptu oil change, new filter and poured in 7qts. Graph still was reading low.
Next day I start the car and the graph reads at the max OK level.

See my above post. You added oil in exactly the wrong way.

[RatedEM]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Okay, most people have no idea how the e-dipstick works. It is not a direct-read device. It takes cycling time to reestablish a new level reading. It only gives the level (amount remaining) of the top (7th) quart of oil. You can't put half a quart of oil in the engine and immediately expect it to read a half-quart higher. Until it establishes the new oil level it will report the old oil level. That is why you should only add oil to the engine in 1-quart/liter increments when the CBS notifies you the oil level is 1 quart low, which is when the "+1QT" notification shows up. You can over fill the engine doing otherwise.

Attached is a sticky I've put together on how the e-dipstick works. These two documents explain the sensor:

I understand it reads in increments, but you must understand that before adding my car said the engine oil was OK after maybe 10 minutes after the fact i got the warning. Just added that much oil just to be safe. Doesn't hurt.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by RatedEM

I understand it reads in increments, but you must understand that before adding my car said the engine oil was OK after maybe 10 minutes after the fact i got the warning. Just added that much oil just to be safe. Doesn't hurt.

I'm trying to help you here. You added oil incorrectly, which is why you over filled the engine by 1 quart. You do not have to top off the oil level if the e-dipstick reads "OK". You understand the e-dipstick reads in increments, but you don't understand it takes several minutes, miles, and driving for the system to update the oil level. You also don't understand that the e-dipstick reports the last known oil level until it updates, so you added a 1/2 quart and immediately took a measurement, which did not immediately report a higher level of oil as you expected, so then you added in another 1/2 quart and overfilled the engine.

You are probably used to using a mechanical dipstick which is a direct read device, so you can add oil, wait a few seconds while the additional oil drains into the pan and changes the reading on the dipstick. The e-dipstick doesn't work like that. I bet if you go read the owners manual for the car you have that has a mechanical dipstick it will tell you not to add oil until the level reaches the lower mark on the dipstick and that if the oil level is in the range of the marks on the dipstick, the engine oil level is in the safe range and not to add any oil. Because the e-dipstick needs specific parameters to be reached before it can update the reading it is best just to leave the top off until the CBS tells you the engine is 1 quart/liter low.

Regardless of what type of dipstick a car has, there is no need to keep the engine topped off with a perfect level of oil. Yes, it is easy to do with a mechanical dipstick because it is a direct-read device. It is far more difficult with an e-dipstick because the system is not direct read, and if it reports 1/2 quart low it may actually be slightly lower than a 1/2 quart but not yet 3/4 quart low and just reports 1/2 quart. So you add in 1/2 quart and then the reading after it updates may show full, but then a day later show 1/4 quart low, which will then be confusing to you.

All engines burn oil which changes the oil level over time. Engines burn more oil than they leak oil. Oil leaks on the N52/54-55 of the pan gasket, VCG, or OFHG are all small leaks and really do not affect the oil level.