Hi all! 

So I had my Mk8 1.1 serviced at a Ford dealership last July. In that time, I've just done 630Km. Usually oil level is right at the top, although sometimes it seems to vary by a lot.

I always check the oil at a flat surface and after more than enough time for the oil to go down to the pan. 

Thing is, this was my oil level yesterday after the engine shut off for aprox 3h:

It was at 1/4 from the top. Difficult to see, I know.

 

This was the level this morning before starting it, after more than  12 hours, and yes, at a flat parking spot. It was 1/4 above the top.

I've just left the car at the dealership. Another independent tech has told me the more accurate measurement would be the one I made this morning. 

I'm at a lost here. Any insights?

TIA.

The garage doesn't have the luxury of time to wait for absolute correct level. Too low and the customer moans, too high and the customer moans. 

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

Too low and the customer moans, too high and the customer moans.

Yes I agree.

On Saturday I did the major service on my daughters/son-in-laws Focus RS. To be honest it went a lot easier than I was expecting, even the spark plugs came out without a fight.

I'd left the car to fully drain while doing the other things so I knew it would be as empty as possible. When refilling it I put 5 litres in straight away. Then after about 10 minutes checked the dip stick. You could only just see oil on the very tip of it. After adding nearly another 0.5 litres the level was almost at the max fill line so it just shows how little oil is needed to go from almost nothing showing to been overfilled. I had the luxury of time on my side and was able to wait, but not something that a garage could do unless of course the customer is willing to pay for another half hours labour.

39 minutes ago, iantt said:

The garage doesn't have the luxury of time to wait for absolute correct level. Too low and the customer moans, too high and the customer moans. 

So I should just be happy if they overfilled it and not complaining? I paid for every minute my car was at the dealership, so their time was a luxury I paid for. On the other hand, if 1/4l of oil had vanished in just 630Km, should I be happy too?

 

Anyway, any idea of that oil level variation? Aren't 3h enough for all the oil to go down? 

 

Edit: Also, it was a Ford scheduled service, the one corresponding to 6 years/90K Km. 

5 minutes ago, Kolmo74 said:

So I should just be happy if they overfilled it and not complaining? I paid for every minute my car was at the dealership, so their time was a luxury I paid for. On the other hand, if 1/4l of oil had vanished in just 630Km, should I be happy too?

 

Anyway, any idea of that oil level variation? Aren't 3h enough for all the oil to go down? 

My Mk8 brand new was overfilled

1 hour ago, Tiexen said:

My Mk8 brand new was overfilled

Hi, thanks for your answer.

What did you do? Did they remove the excess or is it safe to leave it like that?

Also, have you ever seen such a difference as the one in my case in just one day?

 

Thanks. 

1 hour ago, Kolmo74 said:

Hi, thanks for your answer.

What did you do? Did they remove the excess or is it safe to leave it like that?

Also, have you ever seen such a difference as the one in my case in just one day?

 

Thanks. 

Did nothing - i'm sure its OK to be a little over, just have a yearly oil change if you intend on keeping the car

to note the level has never dropped between services  - never had to top up

10mm over is acceptable without causing any harm. 

1 hour ago, Tiexen said:

Did nothing - i'm sure its OK to be a little over, just have a yearly oil change if you intend on keeping the car

to note the level has never dropped between services  - never had to top up

 

58 minutes ago, iantt said:

10mm over is acceptable without causing any harm. 

Thank you both for your answers. 

Dealership just phoned, they're keeping the car until tomorrow morning to check the level again. They seem to agree a difference of .5l is weird, taking into account  that the engine had been shut down for nearly 3h before the first check. 

 

Edit: FWIW, I know barely nothing about car mechanics, that's why I was asking for help here, but I've been checking the oil level in my cars since 1994. Yes, I'm old.

18 hours ago, Kolmo74 said:

Edit: FWIW, I know barely nothing about car mechanics, that's why I was asking for help here, but I've been checking the oil level in my cars since 1994. Yes, I'm old.

If you only started driving in 1998, that makes you one of the younger members on here!  

18 hours ago, Kolmo74 said:

I've been checking the oil level in my cars since 1994. 

 

14 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

If you only started driving in 1998, that makes you one of the younger members on here!  

Unless Luis was checking oil for 4 years before starting driving, I fear you may have had a "senior moment" there! 😀

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

 

Unless Luis was checking oil for 4 years before starting driving, I fear you may have had a "senior moment" there! 😀

Yeah, one of those crazy things you start doing when you're 14. Hormones, you know...😜

 

BTW, I'm really at a loss here. I've picked up my car this morning from the dealer. The service manager told me they effectively removed "a tiny bit" of oil, he's even showed me a photo where the oil level was just 1-2 mm from the top. So all good. That's what I thought.

Fast forward 40 minutes or so, I've been driving for a while since I think I may have an issue with the main thermostat, engine temperature rarely reaches 90° (IPC in engineering mode).

Well, thing is after that ride, I've got back home, parked my car, ove waited just 10 minutes, since that's what the manual states before checking oil level again. Surprise, level was even HIGHER than yesterday morning. Granted, this time the parking spot was SLIGHTLY uphill, barely enough for the car to go back less than 5 cm without the parking brake engaged before stopping by itself. Would that be enough for such a huge difference in the oil level? The 10 minutes that the manual states are just BS? Am I sick in the head?

PS: Yeah, since 1994 I've been checking oil level on a flat spot, today I was just eager to check the level ASAP, and also waiting just what the manual says. 

 

A silly question just for elimination - but I assume you are wiping the dipstick clean of oil before replacing it fully and then removing it again to check the level?

I haven't  found the dipsticks on either of the 3 cylinder Fords I've had to be especially accurate, btw. As long as it's above the minimum I tend not to worry.

 

15 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

A silly question just for elimination - but I assume you are wiping the dipstick clean of oil before replacing it fully and then removing it again to check the level?

I haven't  found the dipsticks on either of the 3 cylinder Fords I've had to be especially accurate, btw. As long as it's above the minimum I tend not to worry.

 

Yep, I'm wiping it. Inserting it back,  check the level, rinse and repeat. I don't know how accurate they are, but sometimes they're incredibly difficult to read.