Zimm, Caretaker,
Exactly! Best way to check oil is the first pull of the dipstick after it sits overnight. Where is the oil at when it is down a quart? Is it close to the first dimple mark? Is half a quart down more like in the middle of the two dimples? And the question of the century.....dimples up or down? Slides in easier with the dimple protrusions up for me. (keep the answers clean
)
**EDIT: My dimples are indeed down! Thanks Caretaker, I went and checked. Not quite Alzheimers, just sometimers.
As crazy as it sounds I've got a magnetic torpedo level that I sometimes put on the bottom of the door sill to see how level the car is and will coast or roll with the engine off to get more level just for the measurements.
When it comes to oil usage I might of been down 2/3's a quart or a little more in total after doing around a 10K oil change after a long trip across country and up and down mountains and 80mph speed limits in Texas. Hard to tell because I topped off a couple times.
If I let others do the oil change, it is usually at least an 1/8 of an inch or more past the second dimple. This could throw my oil usage estimates off a little since I only try to fill to the line. I have added about 8-10 ounces (little over quarter of quart) in total at around 7k on this oil change interval. Planning an oil change soon.
Again, it is a pain to try to add a little oil, then check to see where the level is at. Why something so simple has to be so difficult!
2010 Vibe 1.8 auto, fwd, base, air, preferred package, cargo mgt, cargo cover, ultra white.