How much oil and the dip stick
 

I feel a little stupid to ask this question...:D

I would like to know how much oil to put in in a 2007 XLS V6 engine.

I did see 4L (sump) plus a bit more for the filter in the manual. So I would think putting in about 4.4~4.5 L should be right. Is that what you people are putting in?

I tried to check with the dip stick and it never seems to clearly show where the level is. How do you people use it? Is the top hole for FULL? Did anyone try sanding the stick a little near the level marks?

Thank you.

Owners manual should tell the capacity with filter, but 4 1/2 to 5 qt is ball park.

dipstick
 

I have actually scratched a crosshatch pattern into the dipstick in the futile attempt to actually be able to read it. If you really want to know how much oil is showing, you need to remove the dipstick, wait 20-30 minutes for the oil to settle down the dipstick tube, then insert and remove. If you want to see it more quickly than that, it just smudges all over the tube while inserting and removing it.

I think (by memory only, don't quote me) it is 4liters for the sump and 0.3liters for the filter. Since you rarely remove every last bit of old oil, I would refill with just over 4 liters after a good drain and filter change. Then, when you have a bunch of time to wait, do the dipstick removal trick and see the actual level.

Manual says 4.3L total quantity of which 0.3L is in the oil filter which is 4.5 quarts.
I take my dealership 5 quarts of AMSOIL and they use it all.

I have a feeling they put in 5L of bulk oil as my level always seems to be above the full mark before I started bringing my own oil in. Easier for them to overfill a bit instead of a bunch of fill and check cycles.

I got the oil changed last night. My mechanic showed me the level on the dip stick. Interestingly, the level was visible only on one side of the blade (stick). We changed both oil and the filter. I used a 4.4L jug. We left a bit in the jug first, measured and saw the level at the bottom hole. Then put the rest in and measured again. This time we found the level right at the top mark. So, I am OK with 4.4 L.

I had thought that it would be harder to see the level with the new oil. I guess it is possible at least. I will have to practice more to get the hang of it. I know it sounds a bit silly. After making cars for many years, you would think that they have figured out how to make a dip stick that is easy to use!!

I bet they did make dip stick easier years back but as things get newer the designers/engineers lose their common sense in favor of over thinking. That and they like to keep most depend on dealerships for even the smallest of thing. Seem to be the tread in a lot of things now days. :rolleyes:

I can never see the level on my Outlander's dipstick...

It is always covered in oil from top to bottom. I wipe it, stick it back in, take it out - it is all covered in oil again.

As already recommended - 4.5 quarts

The dipstick is useless. I have never owned a vehicle which has such a difficult to read dipstick. I just pour in the 4.5 quarts and 6,000 miles later do a change with no checks in between as there is little point in trying to read it. Not good practice, but there is no other option. Very frustrating.

Well, I am glad I was not the only one having difficulty using the dipstick. I am able to use it now since the last oil change. I was thinking what made it easier to read. Maybe try these points:

Let the stick go in the way it likes (it twists or wiggle a bit).
Look at the stick at varying angles to use the light reflection at the mark. If you put in about 4.5 q or L the level should be around the top hole.
Sometimes only one side may show clearly even though I have also seen it at both sides.

I know it is not important when the cars are relatively new. But when they get old and start to lose oil, I would like to know how much is still left. I junked my last mazda after getting it past 400k km.

Does this really work? When I check the oil even 1 hr after I shut down like a normal person would do, I found oil above first twist, which is likely oil that continue to return to the sump as soon as you shut off the engine. But I left the dip stick in while it was cooling down. I kept wiping and re-inserting, not fighting the dipstick, same thing.

From an engineering stand point, I think maybe Mitsu knew about this, so they put the 2 holes in the dipstick.
The oil does form a "film" over the top and bottom holes, maybe that is what to look for and ignore the rest of what you see?