took gfs car to walmart and this is how much lube they put in her car. i questioned why its over full line and the manager swore its ok and that i should take it to personal mechanic and ask if this is overfilled. its past mesh line and touching the stick? thoughts on whether this is overfilled or not?
I’ve never encountered that version of dipstick myself. My guess, the “full” point is that mark in the middle of the upper cylinder. Just to the right of the slanted surface. If not much above that, seems unlikely to be a problem. What does the car’s owner’s manual say?
i dont have manual its not my car. the problem is nobody out here has any work ethic. they argue with me that its ok.
It sounds like you feel disrespected by the shop. Concur, that shouldn’t happen. But maybe the oil level is ok. You can probably find a pdf copy of the owner’s manual with a little Googling, or surf to the manufacturer’s website. Seems like an overly-complex dipstick design. Have to wonder why the manufacture went to that expense?
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This is what the owner’s manual shows:
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Not the best pic, but that doesn’t look overfilled to me. It looks exactly-right full.
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It looks to me like the oil level is perfectly at the full mark.
I understand you may feel disrespected by the oil change staff. Imagine how I might feel after changing your oil and being second guessed.
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its over max. i told them the mesh line means it surpassed max the manager argued i can go ask a personal mechanic if its overfilled but he doesnt think there is a problem and wont do anything.
also this is the color of the paper towel when i wipe. its normal new synthetic oil color but there is for some reason tar?
Looks pretty much like what I see on the dipstick rag after I do an oil change. That brown/black material is probably old oil from the upper part of the dipstick (above the oil level).
Your detailed interest in this topic tells me you’d probably be a good candidate for a car repair and maintenance diy’er. Have you ever considered this?
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i have a garage now i might consider it. at this point its too much headache. i spent for that oil change for my girlfriends car its not even my car. my car dipstick doesnt have any soot. her car does. also my dipstick reads perfectly in that range where its acceptable. for some reason this place wants to go over max then argue its okay. maybe it is okay but it shows poor work ethic and i cant trust them when their work ethic is bad. they also took over an hour from car getting in the car to finish that oil change.
Probably best to rely on a good independent mechanic rather than WalMart. Wally World is not necessarily the place to get the best care for your car.
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OP, have you ever read the book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”?
From @Nevada_545’s post, the user’s manual shows that anything in the top crosshatched area is full, including at the top. The oil level looks acceptable to me.
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Interesting to see this construction: the measurement section of the dipstick is riveted to the rest of the stick. So no need to manufacture a variety of lengths of one-piece stick. Just make (or chop) the long, simple part to the needed length and rivet the measurement section to it.
I’ve never seen one like that. But haven’t seen many dipsticks except those on my own cars.
Someone must have run the numbers and figured this is a few cents cheaper than making and stocking a variety of lengths of one-piece dipstick.
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There are actually 2 problems here.
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No owners Manual in car. Doesn’t matter whose car it is, the manual should be in the car.
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You took the car to Walmart.
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??? What ever gave you that idea?
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Ideally, but I’d guess this is seldom the case. The first thing my gf did after she purchased her new Corolla was to throw the owner’s manual in the garbage can … lol …
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May I offer my compliments to @Nevada_545 at identifying an unidentified car from JUST a picture of the dipstick. Kudos!
Tell your girlfriend she can download an owners manual onto her phone in PDF format for free from the manufacturer’s website.
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