2010 Oil Level on stick V.S. Owners Manual 4.4 Quarts specs

I did first oil change about a month back: drained thoroughly, replaced filter, put in 4 liters, then 0.2 liter additional. Made a point to run the engine for a minute, to circulate oil into the oil filter, then rechecked. 4.2 liters is the same as your 4.4 US quarts.

For me this put the oil level right on the full mark, when I rechecked the next morning. This is actually a bit higher than I'd like, and I resolved to only use 4 liters next time. You could probably get away with just 4 US quarts, for that matter.

I found the dipstick very hard to read on this car, very prone to smearing. Best viewed in bright sunlight, and flip it over, check both sides, check more than once.

Also, make sure you're on level, or near level. Most garages have slight slope, for drainage, but not significant.

 

4 qts has been enough for me... puts it halfway between the marks.

 

+1

4 quarts brings mine to halfway between the two marks on the stick

 

If you check your oil level in the morning before you start the car with the engine cold, the thicker oil makes it much easier to see the oil level on the stick.

 

I don't know why, but the Prius dipstick is very smear prone. The actual level is down at or below the top mark, but there are streaks running up the edges making it hard to discern. And fresh 0W20 is almost like water on the dipstick, very thin and clean.

I've checked the oil level on our previous HCHII recently (was babysitting it), and it is much better in this regard. Maybe a little streaking further up the dipstick, but minor, and there's a definite stop, at the true level.

I don't see having the vehicle tilted making a difference to how much you drain. I would go with the other responders: dump in 4 quarts, run it a minute to fill the filter, do a quick check but don't get to excited about it: it will be good.

 

I use 4.3 quarts which leaves it just shy of the full mark. I check my oil in the morning before the car has been run, pull out the stick and look. If I wipe it off and put it back in it will smear.

 

Our Kia van has the canister/element type but like the MB, it sits on top of the engine and makes oil changes so easy/clean .

 

Your case sounds little extreme, but...there is a big stack-up of tolerances that effect a dipstick reading. Some are:

Capacity of the oil pan due to variations in the casting or fabrication.
Location of dipstick hole in block
Depth of dipstick hole in block
Fit of dipstick tube in block
Length of dipstick tube above block
Markings on dipstick
Position of stopper on dipstick
How much oil was drained
How accurately filled the oil bottles were
How much of the oil was actually drained into the engine

Toyota makes good stuff, but not one of those dimensions are perfect, they all have intentional design tolerances.

 

That's what I would do. Trying to figure out what happened seems like a lost cause--and the important thing is how much oil is in there now. I'd fill it up to the top dot. Over time, it's going to decrease, if anything.

 

If you were driving a used car with unknown history, then there would be the possibility of it having the wrong dipstick and other strangeness, but that's not the case, so either fill with 4.4 quarts or fill to the full mark and enjoy life.

 

Have you been checking the oil level prior to doing the oil change? How was the level then?

I think in one of your intitial postings you say it's 2/3 of the way up, from the low mark to high mark. That's ok, in any event, I wouldn't bother adding more, just keep an eye on it.

 

When we took delivery ours was maybe 3/16"~1/4" below top mark. When I did the change I put in 4.2 liters, but kind of regret the .2. It's dead-on the top mark now: I prefer slightly lower.

 

I have been using only 4 quarts of oil every oil change and
have 51,000 miles.

When I change the oil nearly 4quarts comes out.

It seems to work well, the oil light has
never come on....

alfon

 

If you were at the full dot how much smear up the dipstick would you expect? I am starting to get concerned about the level of oil in my car and it might help explain the econ. troubles we have had.

This weekend we drove up to Greenville for basically a 200mi round trip hwy jaunt and I could not get above 45.3.

The oil smears about .5 to nearly an inch past the full point.

This is the first time they ever used bulk oil on my car, all the other invoices say quarts of 0w20 so I am thinking this is why its so badly overfilled and I am not 100% certain the oil is correct either though they claim it to be.

So...should I drain and refill? Its only got about 2k on the filter, could I leave it be and just do the oil?

Just noticed on the invoice it says 5, always said 4 before then. GRRR. Still looking for opinions on draining and refilling with fresh oil and leaving filter.