yay, i'm not the only one with this problem 350Z dipstick is so f@#king hard to read. Everytime i pull it out i can feel the stick scraping on the metal tube (where you stick the dipstick in). I literally need to pull out the f#@king thing. And that damn stick got some pretty weird angle...it just doesn't make sense.

With 6 years of driving and owning 8 cars, the Z is the first to give me this stupid problem.

 

i agree it looks low to me just add a qt and see what it says wont hurt anything

 

This is EXACTLY what I'm thinking. The only reason I'm thrown off by this is because it's looked like this since I drove the car off the lot a few months ago, and I find it hard to believe that Nissan would ship a car from the factory with underfilled oil.

 

If this is what's happening, then this is a really crappy dipstick design, isn't it? In other words, if my oil level is in fact fine, and every time I try to check the oil level all the oil gets scraped off the dipstick, then how does Nissan expect people to be able to check their oil accurately?

 

I can't read the thing either, no worries dude, you aren't crazy.

and I think the mechanic was telling you to run the engine because he changed the oil filter as well and it needs to fill before checking oil level possibly.

I thought someone made a bendy oil dipstick mod...

 

This is kinda funny, but here comes my 2 cents:

As others have said check it after letting the oil drain out of the engine and into the pan for a while on flat ground. This takes some time, 20 minutes+ to get a good reading.

As far as why oil change places crank the engine and then check it? They run the engine a moment to make sure there are no leaks at the filter and drain plug. Beyond that, it makes no sense to me to check the level immediately afterwards since the oil will be in the engine, not in the pan with the stick.

 

Okay folks, the verdict is in. I put in another quart of oil, and still nothing registered on the marked side of the dipstick. Rather than risk overfilling the engine by dumping in yet another quart (as I didn't trust the dipstick reading), I decided to go ahead and get my first oil change. (I wanted to switch over to synthetic anyway.) My reasoning was that by getting an oil change, I could verify that 5 fresh quarts went in, and then see what the dipstick looks like afterwards. And that, in turn, would show me what the dipstick reading ought to look like when the oil level is verified to be correct.

When I get to the oil change place, I tell them the issue I've been trying to figure out, and ask them to please measure how much oil drains out. Get this: 3.5 quarts. Keeping in mind that I had dumped in a quart right before I went over there, that means Nissan shipped this car out with just 2.5 quarts in the engine.

Well that certainly explains the dryness on the marked side of the dipstick, doesn't it? The good news is that after the oil change, the dipstick comes out looking exactly like I would expect it to. There's oil on both sides, and it's clearly filled up correctly with the oil ending right at the H marking.

For those of you who have responded to this thread implying that I'm idiot or that my mechanic is a quack or whatever, all I can say is this. The only reason the dipstick reading puzzled me is because this is a brand new car. The first time I pulled the dipstick was at 100 miles, and it looked the same as it looked in the pics I put up yesterday. Now, if you buy a brand new car, is it not reasonable to assume that it shipped from the factory with the correct level of oil? See, at 100 miles, I looked at the dipstick and thought to myself, "I can't imagine that Nissan would ship a car out w/o enough oil. Oh well, I guess I just go off of the oil on the unmarked side of the dipstick." But then as time goes on, I start participating on this board, and I start reading the horror stories about oil consumption and various other problems, such as tranny issues, etc. So then I start thinking, "Well maybe it's not so inconceivable that Nissan might have shipped out a car w/o enough oil after all!"

That's what led me to start this thread to solicit other opinions. I wanted to see if someone would confirm that there was in fact enough oil in my engine and the Z's dipstick just stays dry on the marked side for some reason. Or for someone to say 'No, if there was enough oil, it would show on the marked side'. Is that really so idiotic? Does that really warrant being called a Dipstick?

At the end of the day, these are the facts that have shaken out:

1. I was not somehow putting the dipstick in backwards, as Cannysage suggested -- the engine really was low on oil because Nissan underfilled it.

2. I was not somehow scraping the oil off of the dipstick as Rocks suggested -- the engine really was low on oil because Nissan underfilled it.

3. ohw: you were bang on correct. The oil was low, when it's filled out correctly it will show on both sides of the dipstick. Thank you for your constructive reply.

4. Last, but not least, not so much a fact but more of a question. WTF WAS NISSAN THINKING, shipping a new Z from the factory with only 2.5 quarts of oil in the engine????

 

Scary that they did this. Glad you got it resolved.

 

Happiness is lipstick on my dipstick

 

Nissan is stupid. I hate nissan customer service, i like my z but its the last nissan i ever buy.

 

Engine oil dipstick is nothing compared to 5AT oil dipstick on this car, on which I gave up completely after maybe 50 attempts.

 

+1

 

The good news: That pink smear is lipstick.

The bad news: The brown stain is tobacco juice.

 

ha ha, i just make sure i put 5 quarts in, no leaks, no burrning oil, im good.

 

You are welcome. Glad you found the prob. I would think the problem is more the dealer, not Nissan. All dealers charge a fee to prepare the car properly and inspect it before delivery to the customers (some call it PDI - pre delivery inspection). In this case, they took your money but didn't do their part to inspect the oil level. It's a good thing you have some oil to avoid major wear. If you still want to deal with the same dealer, you may want to tell them what happen. If I were them, I would at least give you a free oil change for next visit as good will.

 

I think I'd pass on a free oil change from the dealer. For obvious reasons, I don't trust the dealer monkeys to touch my car. I'd rather pay someone I trust out of pocket (or do it myself).

So here's a question. Given that I ran my first 2800 miles on just 2.5 quarts of oil, what are the chances that I've done long-term damage to my engine? Obviously, it didn't seize or anything, but I still wonder if damage has already been done, and if so, what kind, to what extent, etc.

 

That depends on how you drove the 2800 miles. If you drove in lower RPM mostly, chances are that you're just fine. If you red lined it all the time, or lots of high RPM, there would be more wear than normal. Reason is in higher RPM, the oil is pumped to the top of the engine faster, and you might not have enough oil to drain back down into the pan for the pump to pickup - oil starvation. With that said, you are not likely to be able to tell the difference for a few years.

 

Not a stupid question at all. I never got a true reading in 3 1/2 years until now. In fact at one point I added half a litre (the stick showed it was needed) and when next I had an oil change the dealer said it was over filled by a half litre!

Here's the trick - check it when its cold - ie: after the oil has settled down but before you do so, pull the dip strick out, clean it off and leave it out for 10 minutes before checking. This worked for me and I got a clean read on both sides of the stick.

Reason for doing this is because oil seems to hang up in the dip stick tube and that's why you get a false reading.

 

worst dipstick evar, you are better off putting your hand on the hood and guessing...