Many people make the mistake of starting the vehicle, lifting the bonnet (hood) and pulling out the dipstick to check the oil level. Or even after a journey, turning the engine off, lifting the bonnet (hood) and pulling the dipstick out to check the oil level.

What you have to understand is, the engine oil resides inside the engine sump which is located at the very bottom of the engine. The engine oil dipstick measures the level of oil inside the engine sump. When the vehicle is started, there is a pump inside the engine sump which will suck the oil up and pump it around the engine and it’s connected mechanical components i.e an oil-cooled turbo charger.

If the engine is started, and oil is pumping around the engine, it will be impossible to get a correct reading from the dipstick and 9/10 times it will show you that the level of oil in your engine is exceeding the “Full” mark. Even after a journey if you was to check the oil level, it may still give incorrect readings, this is because the oil has not had sufficient time to reside back to the engine sump.

You should always check the oil level of your engine BEFORE starting the vehicle, i.e. if the engine is cold, it’s a good time to check the oil level. If you have just gone on a journey but want to check the oil level, give the oil 5 or so minutes to run back down in to the engine sump before checking the level.

But HOW do you check it?

1. Remove the engine oil dipstick and wipe it clean with a cloth/tissue.
2. Re-insert the engine oil dipstick. Wait 2-3 seconds, then pull it back out.
3. Now you can check the level of your engine oil.

If the oil level is low, top it up and wait a minute before checking the level again giving sufficient time for the oil to go down into the engine oil sump (remember when the oil is hot, it moves quicker, so fresh cold oil takes longer to move down the internals of the engine).

If it is a petrol vehicle, and the oil is black then the oil should be a golden-browny colour, dark brown at the most but when it’s black, this is a sign that the engine requires an oil change. For diesel engines, this is not the case as diesel engines turn oil to black in a matter of days.

Tags: check, dipstick, engine, level, oil