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Oil Dipstick And Smeared Reading


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About 2-3 weeks ago i did an oil change on my IS250. Few weeks before the oil change the low oil warning came on so topped up 1.5Litres of 5W30 to bring the level just a few millimeters above the minimum mark.

I measured how much drained from the car and it was approximately 5.6Litres and i filled 6.2 Litres. The user manual says to put 6.3Litres if changing filter

Anyway, initially i had issues reading the dipstick because it was new oil and very thin and ran all over the dipstick. So started the car and drove it around. Let it sit for over 12hrs then checked it and i was able to read the level as half way between min and max. I checked this on a few other occasions in the morning and it was always at that half way mark.

Since a few days ago i checked the dipstick in the morning and the oil seems very high up on the dipstick, it goes way above the twisted part of the dipstick. I didnt add any more oil or anything so got concerned that maybe i initially overfilled oil? but i only filled 0.6Litres more than I drained out. I drained out the oil when it was on the low mark anyway. Also i changed the oil filter which was soaked in oil too.

I attempted to read the dipstick many times after the car had been siting overnight but still kept getting oil all over the dipstick. Actually the more i pull it out and clean and attempt to read the harder it becomes to read. So then i tried something a club member suggested about scoring the dipstick. I scored a few marks between the min and max lines and then cleaned and repeated the read and this time its giving me a reading of oil being in between min and max. There is still oil continuing after the max line but just light amount and not consistent just like a smear only. But if i keep attempting the read then it gets confusing again.

I am wondering if this dipstick scoring is actually giving me the correct reading or is it just now giving me another incorrect reading? because before the scoring it was way above the twist and with the score all of a sudden its dropped so much. And sometimes i get one reading on one side of the dipstick and another reading at the back of the dipstick.

Is there any sort of symptoms to look out for to know if there is too much oil in the car?

Would really appreciate some advice.

Thanks

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I feel your pain, they are a nightmare to read! I always find (as it says in the manual) the easiest way to check is to switch the car off (at operating temperature) and after about 10 minutes or so check the dipstick. It can appear that the level is way above the dipstick but if you look closely at the min/max line you will see a slight break in the oil. Thats your true level! If you are unsure call into your local lexus centre, they are normally pretty helpful, im sure they will check for no charge!

If you put way too much oil in, a symptom can be loads of white smoke from the exhaust.

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blackcts, you're right i just checked the user manual and it says to check the oil level with the engine at operating temperature and turned off and having sat for a few minutes to drain. But most people say to leave car for a few hours and ideally overnight before checking level. Bit confused why the user manual says otherwise.

I dont have any white smoke or anything, just the regular cold day smoke on idle but when driving it goes away.

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I'm happy to have read this and it not just me with this issue, I picked up my car last week and I've been thinking it's been massively overfilled! I'll take a closer look for the break in the oil

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