Do you check the oil in your car when it is hot or cold?

Question

Do you check the oil in your car when it is hot or cold?

Answer 1

i check mine in the morning before i start it, that way all the oil is settled in the oil pan.

Answer 2

Checking it before you start it in the morning insures you get an accurate reading as all the oil has returned from the heads to the pan. However, checking it when the engine is warm is fine just so long as you do it after the engine has been shut down for 30 minutes or so. Checking the oil with the engine running will always result in an inaccurate reading as some oil will be up in the heads and other parts of the engine. Also with the engine running the oil pump will be slinging oil and may actually cause a high reading in some engines.

Answer 3

Be sure to first warm up your engine if you’re planning to check your car’s oil. This is because when oil is hot, it expands and when it’s cold, it contracts. These differences in temperature will give different results so be sure to just check the oil when engine is warm. Also, be sure to park your car on a leveled surface. After that, turn off the engine.

this is printed in every cars owner manual that i've ever read. you'll be able to find the answers to the simple questions you have about your car in the owners manual, just read though it sometime when you aren't too busy, there are a lot of helpful little tips in those books

Answer 4

You are to check it when it is cold.Make sure you are on level ground where you want get the wrong reading.Dip the first time and put it back in and check it for a good reading.Oil- cold ,Transmission -hot.I do believe.

Answer 5

I check mine hot and with the engine running.

Answer 6

you can check it if its hot or cold....when you pull out the dipstick there are marker guides at the tip of the stick that say "hot" and "cold" depending on when you check it, for example, if you check it right after you have been driving for awhile, pull out the dipstick, clean it off with a rag, put it back in, then take it out again. If the level of oil is around the mark where it says "hot" then your fine. Vice versa if you check it when its cold. good luck!

Answer 7

Engine oil - cold (or engine off)

Tranny oil - hot (or engine on)

Good Luck...

Answer 8

The most accurate measurement of your oil level is after the car has set over night or after about 30 mins from the time you turn the car off.

Allowing the car to sit overnight will allow all the oil from the engine to drain back to the pan.  Make sure the Oil dip stick is cleaned off before you insert in back into the dip stick tube.  Push the dip stick down until it completely stops then pull the dip stick back out of the tube and look for a shiny oil deposit on the dip stick.....this will be your true oil level.

Best Wishes

jerry