Cupra oil, when to check?

[matthab]

Hi All

Just driven to st Ives with the Cupra which ate the 4hr drive easily. I arrived at lands end and decided to check oil. It showed a quarter gone. Bearing in mind I've had the car for 4 weeks driven 1500 and it's never moved. The engine was warm to the touch.

So I checked it again in the morning when It was stone cold. It showed the oil as full and not lost any?

So which do I believe when it's warm of cold?

Matt

 

[DEAN0]

Hi All

Just driven to st Ives with the Cupra which ate the 4hr drive easily. I arrived at lands end and decided to check oil. It showed a quarter gone. Bearing in mind I've had the car for 4 weeks driven 1500 and it's never moved. The engine was warm to the touch.

So I checked it again in the morning when It was stone cold. It showed the oil as full and not lost any?

So which do I believe when it's warm of cold?

Matt

Two main things can affect the reading.
1. How long the car has stood since being switched off
2. The angle of the car - ( ie is it on a slope )

I find it best to be consistent with cheching oil - always in the same parking place if possible and first thing in the morning before starting the engine.

 

[matthab]

The first time at lands end it was completely flat but was slightly Warm.

The 2nd time I checked it at the hotel the car was on a very slight angle(about 1-2 degrees). But was completely cold.

I normally check it at work in my normal car parking spot as my drive has a quite and angle on it. I was just wondering if it's better done when completely cold?

 

[DEAN0]

The first time at lands end it was completely flat but was slightly Warm.

The 2nd time I checked it at the hotel the car was on a very slight angle(about 1-2 degrees). But was completely cold.

I normally check it at work in my normal car parking spot as my drive has a quite and angle on it.

Car pointing down at the front slightly will give slightly higher reading

Car pointing up slightly at the front will give slightly lower reading.

I would try it in same place on hotel carpark - first thing in the morning each day.

 

[Dale-T]

Best to do it when the engine is cold

 

[sk4tec]

Best to do it when the engine is cold

But that's not what the manual says

 

[NetworkMan]

But that's not what the manual says

We've discussed this before on the forum. Probably they tell you to check it when the engine is hot because the oil expands as it warms up. This means that if you fill it when cold it the engine may get slightly overfilled.

Trouble of course is that if you don't wait a while the hot oil won't have run back into the sump and you may get a reading that is too low!

I check mine when it's hot but has been standing on the level for 5-10 minutes. YMMV.

As an alternative, perhaps, check it when cold but don't ever fill it completely full.

 

[Squash man]

The manual says to check when the engine is upto temperature and the engine has been off for two minutes on level ground. This makes a huge difference compared to checking when cold after standing for hours. I have found that checking after two minutes the oil is right on the lower tip of the dip stick. Leave to stand for while and this rises to 3/4 full. If you fill so that it shows full after two minutes it will be way above the full marker if left to stand.

At the end of the day the manual states check warm after two minutes so that's what I do.