Oil Usage

Hi everyone. I have an '03 C4S that I acquired in March. It was fully serviced at delivery. I've put approx 2500 miles on the car and I noted that the oil level has dropped 3 lines from the top in the on-board electronic dip stick. Is this normal for the car to use what I'm assuming is a quart during this time ? Thanks for your help. Thanks !

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So, You've been on this site for 17 years and that's your post? Sorry if that's harsh but something doesn't pass the sniff test.

Make sure you are always testing it on a level surface after the car has sat for a little while. Use the dipstick as well to monitor. Maybe pay attention to it from this point and see if it changes. Small pitch increases can change the readings drastically.

Thanks for your insight. I guess I should have googled prior to my post. Sorry to bother you.

The impression I get is that all the cars use different amount of oil based on mileage, wear, age, etc.. Ideally they should probably consume zero but given the age of these cars some oil consumption is normal. How much is a question I can't quite answer. I'm sure one of the oil gurus will chime in. Best bet is to search around the forum a bit as the topic has been covered before. Most importantly... Congrats!

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What does the coolant in your coolant expansion tank look like? Any intermixing of oil and coolant?

OP - The simple answer is the oil consumption is within Porsche spec…as per your Owner’s Manual. And check the dipstick.

I noticed with the arrival of cold temps the dash gauge dropped a couple of lines but the dipstick is unchanged.

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Three bars down from the top on the electronic gauge is approximately where your oil should have been originally. BTW each mark is approximately 6.7 oz. So 3 x 6.7 is approximately 20 oz. not 32 oz. Measure your oil overnight cold on a flat surface compare it with the dipstick occasionally...the dipstick never lies. Add oil when the level shows at the bottom of the gauge. Only add enough to bring it back to the middle. If you follow this suggestion who knows your oil "usage" may reduce. As said above that amount of usage is not outside of manufacture notation. Check the owners manual.

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Both the owners manual and my mechanic say that the oil should be checked at �operating temperature�. The owners manual: �Vehicle is level, engine switched off and at operating temperature, and let engine oil flow into the oil pan for a few minutes after the engine has stopped running� But almost everyone on this forum says to check it cold after sitting overnight. So who�s right?

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Great question philbert996! Years of observations by conspiratorial 996 owners will say basically: level, cold and same same every time. The manual is a basic reference for keeping the warranty valid. That ship has long sailed. The manual doesn�t elaborate on what �a few minutes� is. I don�t believe a few minutes is enough if the oil is aerated and hot. Plus, the manual is probably based on factory fill 0w40 with consistent characteristics the tech writers had data for. Today oil types and weights for the 996 folks are all over the place. I know my digital gauge varies a bar depending on static conditions. Deep sump? AOS concerns? Rebuilt engine? What does the builder say about checking oil level? So which method is most accurate? The one that helps you keep the proper amount of oil for your specific engine�s health.

@PUZZ1 - your oil consumption is well within the normal range, especially if you drive your car reasonably hard. Porsche says that they consider 1 quart per 600 miles to be normal and acceptable. I don't find that acceptable but it is what it is. I'm seeing closer to 1 quart every 800-1000 miles, depending on driving style. There can be many factors at play here but not limited to faulty AOS, oil type, driving style and just engine wear. Some engines are just slightly looser and will burn oil where other ones have ever so slightly tighter tolerances. Tuesday engine vs a Friday engine. Doing a used oil analysis can give you a better idea at the wear and shape in your engine and if you have excessive levels of fuel in oil. Just be glad you're not driving an RX7 with a rotary. Amazing car but burns oil like crazy and it was designed to do that.

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The owners manual or factory maintenance sheets also instructed: change the oil every 15,000 miles and the filter every other change, if I'm not mistaken. Does anyone do that? I certainly hope NOT! P.S.: Your mechanic is your mechanic...

Other cars during the 996 era had the same type of long oil change intervals. My wife�s Mercedes from that time recommended Mobil1 only every 15K , if I remember correctly. I understand that has changed. But why has the method of checking the oil changed? Should we check tire pressure hot now? My mechanic has been building Porsche engines for 44 years and is a certified IMS Solution installer. He knows the M96.

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I'm glad for you that your mechanic knows the 996. My guy knows the 996 too. By the way my guy is the guy who certified your mechanic on the IMS Solution installation...so there is that.

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That�s a lot of words to say that you don�t know. Perhaps next time just type �I don�t know�. Or maybe just refrain from answering a question that that you don�t know the answer to. Have a great day!

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You cited your mechanic. I cited mine. If you want to check your oil hot after a few minutes go for it. Same goes for your tires. Whatever makes you happy.

Hot or cold...whatever. Whatever you choose, be consistent and check it that way EVERY time and you will learn to trust the results YOU see. I check mine when cold, it seems more consistent than my hot readings but that's just me. Me thinks oil drainage on the M96 blows and too many variables involved in checking it when warm to get the kind of consistency I want. And as an aside, the electronic dip stick has never lied to me... To the OP - I wouldn't worry. And If I was to be interested, I would pull the throttle body and see how much oil is coating the plenums. Philnert knows a lot about tooning Bill - don't tell him he's wrong or you're bound to argue for as long as you are willing to participate.

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I wasn't arguing with him. Just sharing what someone who knows a lot more than I do about 99x engines told me. As I said he is free to do whatever he wants.

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That is an acceptable amount of oil consumption. A three bar drop is not a quart, it�s less. Whatever you do, don�t add a quart at this point or you�ll be too high. Some engines use oil, some don�t, and some use more than others. It�s only until you are well under 1,000 miles per quart that you need to worry. And if your engine is always consuming the same amount of oil, you are good. If there�s a sudden increase in consumption, that could be cause for alarm because something has changed. Also, I would double check your coolant reservoir to make sure there isn�t any oil in there. Lastly, always check your oil the same way every time, or else you�ll get different results. I check mine stone cold after it�s been sitting for 12 hours in my flat garage.

We check the oil cold because it's way easier to check prior to driving the car. What some here missed telling the OP is that you should check the oil hot per the manual and see where it is on the dipstick. Adjust as needed so you are comfortable that it is full. Then check the oil cold, like the next day cold, and see where it is on the dipstick. It will be lower, but use that reading as your benchmark for future cold checks. In other words, don't add oil to a cold engine to bring the dipstick to full as you will overfill your engine. When wanting to go for a drive and the car has sat for a few days I check the oil and check the tire pressure, get in the car and go. Who wants to warm up the engine, shut it down, wait the mythical "few minutes" and check oil? Utterly ridiculous procedure.

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It also said to change your oil every 15000 miles...We've learned over the years that Porsche made some bad recommendations, how and when to measure oil is one of them.

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https://c.tenor.com/F_gIPmThS6MAAAAM...an-freeman.gif

I've had my gauge do wonky things. One time on start it showed the oil level 3 bars down and at the gas station after fill up it told me I had low oil and to pull over. I always try to check it where I park it and by the dipstick, dipstick looked fine.

Nothing will get you as accurate a read as a dipstick and a level concrete floor with an overnight sit..

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Ok, so I have a recently acquired 996, 911 Carrera 4S, 2003. 40,700 miles. The dealer did an oil change just before delivery. There are six bars on the electronic dipstick. When I picked the car up the electronic dipstick was at the sixth bar, hot. I did not look at the real dipstick. 100-200 miles later the ED had settled down to the 3rd or 4th bar. Don't remember which. Cold, level garage floor. The real dipstick showed right at the top, cold, level concrete garage floor. Now I have 550 miles since pickup and the real dipstick now shows down down about 25% of the range, cold, level and the electronic dipstick shows on the second space from the bottom, cold level. When you do the math, it looks like the real dipstick and the electronic dipstick are in rough agreement on oil consumed, so long as the electronic dipstick 3rd bar from the bottom corresponds to the top of the real dipstick, which is exactly your point above. So, measuring cold and level the real dipstick shows down about .33 qts and the electronic dipstick shows down about .22 qts, about as close as can be had as the electronic dipstick does not approximate between ticks as the real dipstick does by virtue of the human eye. But, and this is a big but, it seems some guys observe the oil level decrease from the top of the electronic dipstick, rather than from the middle. I think the key may be if the ED is designed to indicate overfills as well as under fills, in which case the center bar could well be the full indication. Then maybe the dealer overfilled by maybe 1/2 qt and it took a few days and a few miles to bring it down to just full. This oil level is a real conundrum! Thoughts? Thanks Rick

@Lady Silver - just some thoughts here....the electronic dip stick is super sensitive to being off level. It's also important to understand that the electronic dip stick, which also serves as oil temp sensor, is situated on the right side of the engine and sump, while the regular dip stick is more on the left. If you're off level even by a small margin you will always see discrepancies between the two. It's pretty annoying but that's what it is. You mentioned a new oil change - do you know what oil was used? While not all cars will burn oil, many do. Some a fairly small amount and others as much as a quart in 600-1000 miles, which is within Porsche spec, but may not be up to your spec I would drive the car and monitor the oil level until the computer tells you to add. At that point, I would add about 1/2 quart and monitor level and miles driven and report back.

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My indie brings the oil level to the top bar. I don't argue with him on such matters. MY2000 C2 996.

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Hi plpete: Thanks for the input. The dealer told me he uses Mobile 1 0-40. He moves a lot of Porsches and he is an authorized dealer. That sounds like a good plan. I'm more worried about overfilling than running low. It seems to me that the digital dipstick is more of a canary in a coal mine rather than an instrument to monitor the level. Day to day. I've always been very concerned with oil levels, cars, boats. The cars I've owned over the years BMW, Nissan, Jeep, etc. have never been oil hungry like this beast. So I just need to adapt.

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To do so only adds about .6 qts or so to the total. Very small amount on a percentage basis. Maybe that is what they all do. But the question is why does that excess disappear so fast. Gotta go somewhere. Rick

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No problem and sorry I couldn't be of more help. I'm sort of realizing that these engines have a mind of their own and you just need to monitor things and see what works for YOU. Mobil1 0-40 is a dirty word around here, although there are folks with 400+k miles on the original motor running this stuff. Go figure. Others swear by either Driven DT40 or Motul 5-40. I would suggest doing a used oil analysis to ensure you're not seeing too much fuel in your oil and perhaps try either Driven DT40 or Motul Xcess 5-40 if you continue to see consumption. Both are fine oils but it may take 2 changes to see some results. Oil is relatively cheap and a change in very DIY friendly.