My Oil Level Gauge appears to be inaccurate. It reads Overfilled, but when the Shop Foreman attaches an OBD reader, he gets a 97% full reading. Is there a way to reset the gauge so it reads more accurately? We are taking the readings waiting 10 minutes, level service. Also, did a search and found nothing useful on this topic. Thanks.

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would guess/hope that there is some safety margin between a full "ok" reading and reaching 100% capacity, assuming 101% results in potential engine damage.

 

Perhaps you simply need to update the average oil level reading?

 

CarBuff2, I tried your reset protocol and I still get an "Overfilled" reading. Thanks for the advice. My concern is that the gauge is not reading at all. Stuck on "overfilled." If I believed it was simply off by 3%, no issue. Trying to avoid unintended consequences. I don't want to ask for a complicated repair/replace from the dealer
that I regret later.

 

The easy answer is to have him pump out the overfill and see what total capacity that relates to. If the oil level doesn't move off overfilled, its a sensor issue. If it switches to okay at 90 or 95% then thats the way it works. Any dipstick should read full before damage occurs.

​​​​​​And don't they have another F-Type to read for reference?

 

I appreciate your recommendation. Thanks.

 

Park it on an uphill slope and see if it still shows overfilled - it should show low, IME.

 

Very good suggestion. I will try it. Living in Houston, finding a slope is harder than it sounds.

 

You can also switch it to a ‘live’ reading, which is useful when topping up (which I’ve never had to do except when changing the oil.) The procedure is in here...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ncfhyazedn...ng%29.pdf?dl=0

 

I tried it and it worked. Parked it on a slope, waited 10 minutes and it read 2 ticks above the mid point. Now, I know it works so I am much more comfortable with accepting the inaccuracy and moving on. Thanks for the great idea.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

At the end, what does "updating the average oil level" actually do?

 

Pooling the oil diagonally to get a lower reading only shows that the sensor is accurate and you are overfilled. Best to pump a some out to get into the ok range on level ground. Driving with an overfill is not a good idea.

 

No, the point was to make sure the reading changed to see that the gauge was working, not necessarily accurate. Next step is to ascertain the accuracy.

 

​​​​​​If it reads near full off-level and overfilled on-level with an 8L fill receipt, there us no reason to suspect its is not over filled. Not safe to drive IMO. I'm a little confused why one would drive an overfilled reading instead of taking 30 seconds to pump a half quart out?

 

On the display, how low is the oil when it is reading in the middle (where the oil can icon is located)? Is it 1/2 quart low in the middle?

 

Agree that driving with the Oil "overfilled" would be a bad idea. Fortunately, I'm not. When I started this thread I had already determined that the gauge was inaccurate, my concern was to get comfortable that the inaccuracy (by percent) was reasonably stable. To recap, when it initially read "overfilled" I immediately went to the dealer. The Shop Foreman and the Service Director checked the oil using a device attached to the OBD port and when my gauge read "overfilled", it was in fact 97% full by their more accurate reading. Since my gauge has not moved in a month I was getting concerned that my gauge was not working at all (not just being a few percent off.). The slope trial proved the gauge works and that the compromised reading was still over half full. From this I have deduced that my gauge is between 3 and 15% off. The 15% is a guess based on my incline reading. Am I missing something? Thanks again to all for input.

 

You forgot to allow for the position of the moon (tidal forces?) and the North Magnetic Pole.

I feel the same as you, I don't always trust new-fangled things like electric fuel gauges and electronic oil displays. (I liked my old 356A Porsche...when the engine started to sputter, I would reach under the dash to enable the reserve petcock, then stop at the next petrol station!)

The first thing I did after changing our oil myself 'by the book' was to compare the readings COLD, and AFTER TEN MINUTES (the 'instant' reading in both cases).

++++++++++

I understand that it is a full quart down at that point. Didn't realize that for a year....

 

So, what if you use the 5 second recalibration while on Un-level ground ? Or while cold ? What does it do?

I get overfilled sometimes while parked in my garage and level ok the next day. I don’t know what to trust. Going to dealer Monday for the OBD reader.

 

What were your results from the dealer? I'm in the same boat. I just refilled with no more than 7.1 liters (not 7.25) and while using live to monitor the last fill I got to overfilled. I've run the vehicle for 10 minutes to displace as much oil as possible and let it set 10 before taking a reading per the instructions but I still show as overfilled.