How Do I Read My Oil Dipstick Properly

thanks everyone

 

Well I would have to look at my stick to recall exactly what is what, but if you are in between the grated area you're good.

 

sadly there is no grated area like other dip sticks, just smooth steel and 2 dimples, harder to read than others

 

after changing the oil on mine, and adding 5.5 qt. it would look low on the obverse side
on the reverse it would look normal. after a week or two it would look fine when the oil was slightly discolored

 

Run it, shut it down, let it sit for about 5 minutes, pull the stick, wipe it, reinsert, remove, and read.

It should be between the dimples. Expect some smearing from the tube, but one side or the other on the stick will give you a solid, smear-free reading.

 

read it in the morning before you start the truck. At least thats what ive always been told.

 

Thank you very much, Aaron....Jim...

 

well, you have to wait for a full moon, then at 3 AM you have to dress up as a rabbit wearing a tutu, sacrifice a chicken to the Tacoma gods, dance in a circle for five minutes praising Satan.......
Oh wait....ok just the oil?
If there is no crosshatched design etched into the metal, sometimes the normal range is the area between the two dots, if you are unsure, run it by a dealer and ask a service tech to show you


ixnay of the chicken sacrifice

 

"They're Coming to Take me Away, HaHa"........

 

Might not be a bad idea to read your owners manual. A lot of useful information in there.

 

You mean they still put them in new vehicles?!?!


OP, check the oil when the engine is cold and it should be between the 2 dots on the dipstick.

 

I don't remember how it was in my Tacoma but in my FJ the dipstick is next to useless. Even after I had just changed my oil, I was still getting a really low reading.

 

Welcome to TW

 

Yep these dip sticks are hard to read. What i did was etch the area between the 2 dots with a file. I made it a "X" pattern fileing one way, then the other. After the truck cools down pull the stick out and wait 20 minutes before re-inserting. When you pull the stick out it carries some oil up the tube... you need to give it time to drain back down to get an accurate reading.

 

interesting....I can't say I've ever encountered a "hard to read" dipstick, but anyways you're supposed to check it with the engine cold in order to get an accurate reading

 

Oh Christ, I've had mine for a week tomorrow and haven't looked at my dipstick (...on my Taco!) once. Okay, time to go make that happen....

 

i find it much easier to read dipsticks after the vehicle has sat for a night. then you know all the oil in the engine and in the dipstick tube has dripped back down to the pan. I'll usually get a really clear reading like this

 

A friend of mine owns a shop, and he had a guy come in saying he needed a new dipstick. His didn't work. It never showed he had any oil...
I wonder why eh?

 

my owners manual says 6.1 qts but 5.5 gets it full