How many litres of oil are between L and H on an 02 WRX dipstick?

[BD]

Hey, all.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the lease on my 02 WRX wagon is
coming up in about 6 months. I'm deciding what to do.

I am concerned about oil consumption; it seemed rather low when I took
it in at the last service, - but according to the the tech's report, it
was about 1/2 a litre lower than it should ideally be. That doesn't
strike me as a horrifying amount.

But I want to measure this _my way_ as well. In this case, my way is -
check the level when the motor's cold right after servicing, and
monitor it every week or so until next service.

This sounds like an elementary question, but how many litres (or quarts
or whatever) of oil are between L and H on an 02 WRX dipstick?

I posed this question to the service manager at the dealer, and got a
pretty mushy answer.

I'm hoping someone here can help me find a clearer one. I only trust
these folks 'so far', and want to find as much information on my own as
I can.

Thanks!!

BD

 

[Rick Courtright]

This sounds like an elementary question, but how many litres (or
quarts or whatever) of oil are between L and H on an 02 WRX dipstick?

Hi,

Conventional practice is to have approx 1 qt/liter between the marks.
Most manufacturers today seem to stick with this figure, though it
hasn't always been so. Does your car have an owners manual? It ~usually~
tells you, though not always!

As for measuring consumption, as long as you have a reference point to
start with--full, half way down, whatever--all you have to do is measure
how much it takes to return the level to your starting point. You can be
"close" using the marks on most oil containers, or a bit more "precise"
and use a measuring cup, though it's not THAT important for most of us!
Oil consumption, like fuel consumption, is most easily judged as an
average due to a variety of driving conditions...

Rick

 

[Stacey L. Brower]

With my 02 OBS, whenever I had the oil changed, except at the dealer, I was
always told it came in low. The owners manual states the oil capacity is 4.2
qts and they were putting in five quarts. Make sure that is not happening to
you. I started leaving a post-it note on the dash about the oil and the tire
pressure, along with the owner's manual on the passenger seat, if they
wanted to look up the info themselves. As to the tires, they always filled
them to the limit listed on the tire, which was off quite a bit from
Subaru's recommendations. Also, the front and rear tires had different
pressures.

Stacey.

: Hey, all.
:
: As I mentioned in a previous post, the lease on my 02 WRX wagon is
: coming up in about 6 months. I'm deciding what to do.
:
: I am concerned about oil consumption; it seemed rather low when I took
: it in at the last service, - but according to the the tech's report, it
: was about 1/2 a litre lower than it should ideally be. That doesn't
: strike me as a horrifying amount.
:
: But I want to measure this _my way_ as well. In this case, my way is -
: check the level when the motor's cold right after servicing, and
: monitor it every week or so until next service.
:
: This sounds like an elementary question, but how many litres (or quarts
: or whatever) of oil are between L and H on an 02 WRX dipstick?
:
: I posed this question to the service manager at the dealer, and got a
: pretty mushy answer.
:
: I'm hoping someone here can help me find a clearer one. I only trust
: these folks 'so far', and want to find as much information on my own as
: I can.
:
: Thanks!!
:
: BD
:

 

[BD]

whenever I had the oil changed, except at the dealer, I was always told it came in low.

Thanks, Stacey. In this case it is the dealer doing the work. I can
only assume they're putting in the correct amount, but have yet to
receive the bill for this last service, so I don't have any specific
numbers.

I also have yet to establish whether or not burning 1/2 a litre of oil
over 6000kms (which is about a pint over 3700 miles) is normal, or
indicates a problem.

Assuming the dealer has not been overfilling it, and assuming I don't
drive like a madman, at 5000rpm all the time (which I do not)...

 

[Jim Stewart]

Thanks, Stacey. In this case it is the dealer doing the work. I can
only assume they're putting in the correct amount, but have yet to
receive the bill for this last service, so I don't have any specific
numbers.

I also have yet to establish whether or not burning 1/2 a litre of oil
over 6000kms (which is about a pint over 3700 miles) is normal, or
indicates a problem.

Not a problem. Guaranteed.

 

[BD]

Not a problem. Guaranteed.

Thanks for the assurance, Jim.

I don't have it in front of me, but I did see a post from another (I
think) WRX driver recently, who claimed that his vehicle consumed _no_
oil between servicings.

If this is so, and there's nothing amiss with my vehicle, would driving
style (default gear/rpm, engine braking, etc) possibly add to oil
consumption?

Since my lease is about to come due, I'm really getting semi-paranoind
about any little thing that could indicate an issue with my car.

Thanks!!

 

[Jim Stewart]

Thanks for the assurance, Jim.

I don't have it in front of me, but I did see a post from another (I
think) WRX driver recently, who claimed that his vehicle consumed _no_
oil between servicings.

If this is so, and there's nothing amiss with my vehicle, would driving
style (default gear/rpm, engine braking, etc) possibly add to oil
consumption?

A half-litre per 3700 miles is very good and
very close to not consuming any. There's even
an argument that all cars consume oil and if
the oil level on the dipstick doesn't change,
the oil is being replaced by water or gas, which
is a worse situation.

I'd be more troubled with a car that didn't show
a slight drop in oil level between changes.

Running a very light weight oil or lots of fast,
high temperature driving might affect the oil
consumption, but again, it's not a worry at the
levels you're seeing.

 

[Rick Courtright]

I also have yet to establish whether or not burning 1/2 a litre of oil
over 6000kms (which is about a pint over 3700 miles) is normal, or
indicates a problem.

Hi,

No problem! I wish I had ANY engine that used that little oil, even when
brand new! This is strictly a YMMV issue, but I figure 1 qt/3000 mi (a
little better than twice as much oil consumption as you've reported) is
a "reasonable" across the board average for MY engines and driving
style...

Rick

 

[Rick Courtright]

I don't have it in front of me, but I did see a post from another (I
think) WRX driver recently, who claimed that his vehicle consumed _no_
oil between servicings.

Hi,

First thing to determine whenever one sees such a report is the
definition of "no oil consumption." Many drivers feel that if the level
remains between "full" and "add" within an oil change interval (OCI),
their engine is using "no" oil.

Next thing to determine is the credibility of the person making the
report. When's the last time he checked his oil? How does he check his
oil? (For example, if I check mine "cold" and it's "full," it will
register around 1/4 qt "overfull" when hot. So if it's "full" when cold,
then some miles later it's "full" when hot, there's really a quarter qt
difference.)

Then find out what OCI the person's using. It's not unusual in my
experience to see oil consumption rates start to increase more rapidly
after 3-4000 miles than before that mileage. So a guy MAY not see any
visible consumption if he changes every 3k miles, but if he stretches
his OCI to 6k miles, he MAY see a noticeable increase.

Finally, who did the last oil change and how full did they leave the
engine? The fact the dealer did the change does NOT guarantee the proper
amount of oil was put in. People are constantly asking about an
"overfull" condition their car returned from the shop with: it's hardly
unusual to see at least ~some~ overfilling since so many cars today
don't take "even" qts or litres. I'm told some shops actually overfill a
bit on purpose to help create a "safety buffer" for those guys who never
check! I know I've seen some overfilled by AT LEAST a full quart! That
driver could go a LONG time (assuming no other negative issues arise
from the overfill), even with "normal" oil consumption, and still be at
"full" or above... could be confusing!

And, yes, your driving style definitely affects oil consumption. For
example, I live at the foot of the mountains AND the edge of the desert
at the same time (the joys of living in inland SoCal!), and my normal
"winter" driving is pretty much on flatland freeways toward the coast,
while my "summer" driving involves lots of mountain miles and some HOT
desert trips. I often see a BIG difference in consumption between the
two times of year (which is why I mentioned "average" consumption in my
other post.)

Rick

 

[BD]

No problem!

Thanks, Rick! I'll relax now.