Eric B
Well-known member
Hi all,
My engine oil level on my 3L Diesel seems to have a bit of a mind of its own - curious what you all think, or if you have noticed similar things ?
_ The owner's manual states engine oil capacity with oil filter change is approx 13.2qts
_ First oil and filter change I did, I put in 12qts, and the onboard diagnostic oil level showed me to be at about midway between the high and low bars on the instrument cluster. Great.
_ Second oil & filter change I did, I wanted to get a bit closer to the top mark on the instrument cluster oil level display, I ended up pouring in about 12.5qts.
Engine oil needs to be at operating temp for oil level to read on the instrument cluster display, ran a couple errands around town and checked it again and it showed 3/4 of the way to Full mark. Cool.
_ Next day I had to drive 100miles out of town for a job.
50miles out from home (constant 70mph freeway cruise the whole time w/o mountain passes or hills to climb) I suddenly get a "oil level too high, reduce oil level" warning message on the instrument cluster
The oil level graphic is now yellow instead of green and shows to be slightly above the Full line.
Faced with draining high temp oil on the side of the freeway, I decided not to stop. (I am not proud of ignoring this error message)
I completed the remaining 50miles - did what I needed to do out there - and when I got back to the van, with the engine now cooler I checked the oil level again to confirm if it was still high, and was prepared to drain a bit out if needs be...
Oil level graphic now was back to green color and level with top Full line on instrument cluster display.
I decided not to drain any out & drove the 100miles back home with no errors / no complaints.
_ Onboard computer won't read engine oil quantity if van is not level - you'll get an error message prompting you to try again later if you are not level
_ Onboard computer won't read engine oil quantity if oil temp isn't where it should be - you'll get an error message if you try and view the level right at startup.
With both of these requirements met, why is the oil level visibly changing that much ?
My engine oil level on my 3L Diesel seems to have a bit of a mind of its own - curious what you all think, or if you have noticed similar things ?
_ The owner's manual states engine oil capacity with oil filter change is approx 13.2qts
_ First oil and filter change I did, I put in 12qts, and the onboard diagnostic oil level showed me to be at about midway between the high and low bars on the instrument cluster. Great.
_ Second oil & filter change I did, I wanted to get a bit closer to the top mark on the instrument cluster oil level display, I ended up pouring in about 12.5qts.
Engine oil needs to be at operating temp for oil level to read on the instrument cluster display, ran a couple errands around town and checked it again and it showed 3/4 of the way to Full mark. Cool.
_ Next day I had to drive 100miles out of town for a job.
50miles out from home (constant 70mph freeway cruise the whole time w/o mountain passes or hills to climb) I suddenly get a "oil level too high, reduce oil level" warning message on the instrument cluster
The oil level graphic is now yellow instead of green and shows to be slightly above the Full line.
Faced with draining high temp oil on the side of the freeway, I decided not to stop. (I am not proud of ignoring this error message)
I completed the remaining 50miles - did what I needed to do out there - and when I got back to the van, with the engine now cooler I checked the oil level again to confirm if it was still high, and was prepared to drain a bit out if needs be...
Oil level graphic now was back to green color and level with top Full line on instrument cluster display.
I decided not to drain any out & drove the 100miles back home with no errors / no complaints.
_ Onboard computer won't read engine oil quantity if van is not level - you'll get an error message prompting you to try again later if you are not level
_ Onboard computer won't read engine oil quantity if oil temp isn't where it should be - you'll get an error message if you try and view the level right at startup.
With both of these requirements met, why is the oil level visibly changing that much ?