low oil level after 1 week! how possible?

hello, 10 days ago i bought a C4S from a porsche dealer here in italy. to get the warranty i had to sign couple of pages of checks they did on the car. when i bought it, the oil level was in the middle, more or less, but now it only "reads" one line (flashing!). how is this possible? how should i behave with the dealer? thanks the car is: C4S 345 hp 2003 with 60k km!

just have them top it off and check for leaks

how it is possible for leaks if they made all those checks?

just have them top it off and check for leaks

fabry:*10 days ago i bought a C4S from a Porsche dealer here in Italy. to get the warranty i had to sign couple of pages of checks they did on the car. when i bought it, the oil level was in the middle, more or less, but now it only "reads" one line (flashing!).* Do what Patrick says: *just have them top it off and check for leaks* As to what you wrote: *how is this possible?* the answer is driving the automobile. I can top up our 996 and drive city and autobahn for a day and lower the oil level by a notch, and this is an automobile that passed the 103 point check for Porsche warranty extension (euro 900) September 7th, 2006. So don't panic, Italian brother: *just have them top it off and check for leaks*

Are you using the right procedure for checking the oil? My 996 used to tell me the same thing sometimes after stopping to gas up the car even though it was perfectly fine. Next time you drive it, make sure it gets up to proper operating temperature, let idle on level surface for 30 seconds (a/c turned off) and run the check.

just have them top it off and check for leaks

I say give it back JK Does seem strange. 2000 miles and have not had to add any oil

i just used the bord computer for that. tried few times and always got same result. also, i have the... "feeling" that the oil level dropped fast since ihave the car.. not something that happened in 2 days. will call 'em tomorrow and will let you know what they say..

Use the dipstick. The computer readout varies alot.

my 03 C4S eats oil, had RMS fixed once but now they say its fine. Just eats oil. Car drives fine though.

I'm with Holger here. It could be a few things about how the oil level was taken rather than an actual loss of oil. Prior to reading the oil level, the car must have been at operating temp for several minutes to allow for viscosity changes at temp, then shut down for a good 20-30 minutes to allow all the oil to drain, and the car must be on level ground. If indeed the oil level is low with accurate measuring both by the electronic gauge and the dipstick, the dealer may also have missed that the oil level was low on delivery, a not-unheard of error. I would just top it off and keep an eye on it. If it drops again as much, that is half a quart/liter in 10 days oil loss. Unless you are driving sevral thousand miles a day, that is too much oil consumption.

Make sure filter and drain plug are tightened to proper torque. Hand tightened filter housing will leak. Don't ask how I know.

Palting, Just checking (I agree with your comments on the oil check method, I'd bet that's the OP's problem..) - do you think 20-30 mins is necessary? I usually try to give it at least 5 when I check using the dipstick, but always wondered if it was enough. Justin

funny, i have just been told by the porsche dealer machanic, to check it in the morning.

just have them top it off and check for leaks

But the advice is different with this car. The Owners Manual says to check with engine warm after allowing enough time after shut down to allow oil to drain into the pan. I guess this tells us that the oil needs to be at operating termperature. While I am sure measuring the oil at operating temperature is more consistent and precise, it seems like a bit of overkill to me. The car is supposed to check itself when refueled, but I kind of wonder how this works since after refueling I usually get a message that it will take a long time to measure the oil level (no doubt to let the oil drain back into the pan).

Also, be SURE that the ground is level....I have gotten in my car & had the digital guage show a tick or two less than it had previously & realized the car was not on level ground. or you could just have them top it off & check for leaks......

I purchased a Porsche certified 03 C4S last July with 12,300mi. It now has 15,700mi and I have used 5 � quarts of oil during this period = 620mi/quart. My dealer says consumption greater then 600mi/quart is the threshold for investigating the problem (and have Porsche pay for it). + They need to verify the consumption before any work is done by giving her a fresh oil change then waiting some period and draining the oil (again) to see if I am above or below the 600mi threshold. Taking her in Monday � we will see. The car otherwise drives great / performance seams pefect. I do drive the car hard (after warm up of course) and don't mind all the refilling. My only concern is if there is something seriously wrong. Can any of the experts advise me on what may be causing this high consumption and what may be needed to correct the this?

same thing happened when I bought my '02 c4s. Turned out the valve guides were worn and it needed a new engine. PPI's and CPO's mean nothing except that PCNA paid for the new engine (which was a good thing), but the car was still under factory warranty at the time so... I can't say they would of replaced the engine if it wasn't. Stealers will just about PPI anything and then when you have a problem with the car they charge it to PCNA. Seems like they got it down to a science.

Oil will expand considerably as it warms up. In a car carrying as much oil as a 911 this could mean a difference of 1-2 quarts between the cold and warm volumes. Especially with the pre-996 air/oil-cooled 911s. Measuring and topping off the oil when cold usually will result in an oil tank overflow (and VERY BIG mess) once the engine gets warm. In a car with only 4 quarts of oil, there is not enough volume increase to make a real difference, but our beloved 911s are a different story. Regarding oil burn rates. I topped off with a quart after ~5000 miles on the 996 (bought it with 15300, now has ~21000). My 964 with ~160k miles burns a quart around every 1000 miles. Well actually it probably burns about 3/4 of a quart and leaks the other 1/4 of a quart onto the garage floor, but it will hopefully be headed off for a rebuild soon.

Let me be absolutely clear about this: I have no idea what I am talking about. Now that that is clear, I find it had to believe thermal expansion of oil is that big on the water cooled engines with about 9 quarts of oil. If it were, I would see differences in the warm and cold measurements where there was a quart or two more when warm. I have not seen such differences. You can straighten me out now.

Someone must be smoking something pretty good today?

Do that!!

just have them top it off and check for leaks

is adding a full quart once a week topping it off or filling it up?

If the car has been sitting at the dealer awhile being started and shut down after short periods of time, it could have absorbed alot of moisture which evaporated as soon as you started to drive the car. The difference between the middle level and bottom level on the gauge is about 1/2 quart. Common misconception is the electronic gauge measures all the oil in the engine - this is not true. It only measures the last quart. I would just top it up and get a longer history of consumption before freaking out. Enjoy your C4S!!

Thanks for the positive outlook. I also thought I needed to get a longer history, but after 5 1/2 quarts I started wondering about the possible scenarios. I do not think in my case moisture absorbition accounts for the consumption since the dealer did 15k oil change right before I purchased her and over the last 3,400mi I have had many long high speed runs. If anything I am enjoying her too much - this is probably a consumption contributor.

whatever you do dont just have them top it off and check for leaks

good advice.

Cars that weren't broken in properly burn oil. In other words, the rings probably didn't seal properly/fully, so oil is getting by and burning off. It isn't "normal" or anything close to it to burn a quart of oil every thousand miles or two. My 99 is about to turn 100,000miles, and it literally doesn't burn any oil that I can measure. It still was full after 10,000 miles on one oil change - including two cross country trips (SanDiego to Michigan once and to San Antonio once) - both trips at 90-95mph the entire way. I drive hard every day and run it thru the gears and go all the way to redline just about every day. Thankfully my engine is nice and healthy and doesn't burn or drip any oil at all.

Was the engine ever replaced? If so, there is a TSB about this. TSB: Part ID 4/04 Number 1001.