Sure..that's it...You just called everyone that owns an XF Stupid...you're right again

 

Not everyone.

 

I readily admit that I'm not the last word in automotive maintenance, but I'm pretty sure it was because of the frozen peas down the dipstick tube, and possibly also weariness from answering people's questions about finding a funnel that would fit into the small opening. I can use a dipstick with the best of them, and have miraculously avoided either having an engine seize from lack of oil or be ruined due to too much. Besides, you could use it as a sword.

 

Castrol recommends using the dipstick as a whip. It doesn't actually work well to poke anyone with.

Electronic dipsticks are here to stay. As long as the components work as designed the electronic dipstick is far superior to the physical sort.

 

If you're talking dipstick as whip, there are other forums for you LOL.

I have no doubt that the electronics are here to stay, and they are poorly executed currently. For example, if the electronics are so smart, it should recognize the condition of the engine (cold/hot, just turned off, etc) and dynamically adjust the reading to reflect the level given the current condition. Just like the better climate control systems use GPS to determine where in the sky the sun is relative to car postion and to adjust, dynamically, to those realities. Of course, I have yet to see a dipstick fail. Electronics, as currently implemented (without any workaround) for checking oil level on Jag engines, on the other hand, is a fail.

 

Been there, done that 15 years ago on a new engine program I was involved in. Didn't get a t-shirt.

The project was a complete fail. Even taking into account all measurable parameters, the accuracy of a reading under changing conditions (just shut down for instance) varied by an unacceptable amount on one given engine, never mind from engine to engine. Impractical, uneconomic and unreliable was the decision.

GM, Ford, etc were not wrong in taking away engine temp gauges. If the average owner has no idea what the numbers mean and what's acceptable under which conditions the info is of no benefit. I fool around with old Corvettes. Many owners spend more time staring at the temp gauge than looking where they're going even though the car has no history of running abnormally warm.

 

With all due respect, 15 years ago with respect to the implmentation of electronics is ancient history. I think dinosaurs still roamed during that period.

 

Perhaps it is too much to have the system recognize engine state when checking the oil, but for the vehicle to have to be off for 10 minutes before a reading is available is awfully looooong..... You only need to have the engine off for two miniutes on an Audi, and have the hood up (as though you were checking a dipstick!!). So, you pull into the gas station, and turn the engine off. You pop the hood, and get your gas going. By that time, you've probably hit the 2 minute mark and you can (amazingly) check your oil!

 

With my improvised homemade dipstick I mentioned..I check the Oil once a week now with it, as it sits cool in the morning before the day's treks begin comparing it with the Electronic Short-cut method....It has read consistant with the Electronic read out as far as it hitting the same mark on the stick and the Electronic read out showing "FULL and Level OKay"..I have my work around for the electronics now.

 

Every engine design differs in how long it takes for all the free oil to drain back into the sump.

SAAB 9000 engines take 30 minutes or more. Audi V6 takes at least 10 minutes and usually longer.

BTW, it was Castrol that used the dipstick as a whip, didn't you get those TV advertisements stateside?

 

I could have missed the Castrol ad on the BDSM network.

Anyway, people taking things too seriously now on this thread, but given the supposed variation in oil settling time, even more reason it should dynamically adjust.

 

This is in the aviation field. The 'electronics' as you put it were not the weak link. Such a system wouldn't work any better today as it was the oil level change over time and temperature that was an unpredictable factor.

What's trickled down to the auto industry today is direct fallout from us 'dinosaurs' played with 15 years ago. As jagular has stated every engine is different. Trying to hasten the 'waiting period' or extrapolate what the final level will be could lead to tears.

 

You're right, pilots wouldn't want to be out there checking the dipstick at the gas station anyway. It's just simply amazing with all this talk of variablility that the dipstick didn't result in all kinds of lawsuits and injury. Oh, wait, it worked perfectly fine. Oh, and 15 yrs ago in aviation was also dinosaur-land. Just as it is in most fields. Almost makes me pine for the 2.0T with a dipstick....Nah, just kidding.

 

And many an engine has been overfilled as a result of mis-reading the dipstick at a refuelling. The most I ever saw was a full litre too much in my 09 XF, which I removed. My dealer never heard the end of it and thereafter actually required their service manager to personally check the oil level in my car before I picked it up. They tired of repeating the oil change service. Now they can simply vacuum out the excess.

I once saw a VW Jetta with so much extra oil the whole dipstick was covered when withdrawn. The engine was "running rough" complained the owner to the service shop.

However you check the oil it should be done frequently enough to deduce the consumption rate characteristics of your engine. It should not be necessary to check oil level when at a gas station. You should know before you leave your garage whether the oil is low or not and by how much.

Finally, there's no need to keep the oil level at the MAX mark unless you intend to blast at top speed down the autobahn or engage in a track session. More oil keeps the oil temp down and more oil reduces the risk of uncovering the oil pickup. For normal driving, even aggressive driving, the engine runs happily with the oil at the MIN mark.

 

Excellent.

 

Proving my point - on the 09, you presumably checked the oil level via dipstick when they brought the vehicle around to you, and you discovered the issue (which obviously puts you in a very small minority, I think, checking the oil when the car is brought around).

Now, with your new 3.0, they bring the car around after having it washed up for you, and you've made your fond goodbyes at the service desk, and you say, "I think I'll check whether they overfilled my oil" - And then you wait, and wait, and wait, until the ten minutes have passed (remember, they just brought the car around for you).

Or, you say to yourself, I know this handy dandy "workaround" so I can check the oil now, but I have to take into consideration the engine oil draining characteristics, blah blah blah. It's ludicrous. Remember the title of this thread (short cut), and the point is they have a "work around" for the ridiculous hoops you now have to go through to check the oil.

 

Just as what I think is a funny aside, on a BMW forum, where they were being critical of the electronic dipstick...hmmm, seems like a trend...., a respondent said that he heard the dipstick on BMWs is inside the car.

 

Actually, I couldn't conveniently check the oil level at the dealership because it takes quite a while for the oil to drain back. This is why it gets overfilled in the first place. That's why I took the excess out initially, because that was less inconvenient than returning to the dealership. But I subsequently complained, insisted on a cash credit for the surplus oil and made enough fuss I now get my car back with the oil level right on the MAX line every time, as properly measured per the Handbook.

Now I can check the oil level right away at the dealership by opening the hood and then checking electronically. The readout should show less than full but OK. If overfilled the electronic dipstick will show that.

 

Not to revive a long-dead thread, but I was referring back to it while looking for information after my most recent oil change, and remembered some varying opinions regarding when to check the oil, etc. I'm not jumping in on any side of the debate, and please forgive me if this has already been stated in a dedicated post, but I thought it might be helpful to provide some "official" information from my newly-acquired 2010 XFR Workshop Manual:

"Oil Level Check
For additional information, refer to Engine Oil Draining and Filling (303-01A, General Procedures).
For accuracy, oil level checks should be performed with the vehicle on level ground when the oil is hot. The vehicle needs to
stand for approximately 10 minutes, after the engine is switched off, to allow the oil to drain back into the sump pan and the
oil level to stabilize. The oil level system will not give a reading until the oil level has stabilized.
With the ignition on, the engine stopped and the transmission in P (park), repeatedly press the trip button on the end of the
LH multifunction switch until the oil level icon and applicable message are displayed in the fuel gauge/trip computer area of the
message center, as shown below:

*** See Attached Picture for Reference

Item Description
A Oil level is between 50% and 100% of recommended level. No top-up required.
B Oil level is between 12.5% and 50% percent of recommended level. Add 0.5 liter (0.53 US quart) of oil.
C Oil level is between 0% and 12.5% of recommended level. Add 1 liter (1.06 US quarts) of oil.
D Oil level is above maximum for safe operation. Reduce oil level to recommended level.
E Oil level is below minimum for safe operation. Add 1.5 liters (1.59 US quarts) of oil, then recheck level.
F Oil level is stabilizing. Wait 10 minutes and then recheck level. If this display is accompanied by the message ENGINE
OIL LEVEL MONITOR SYSTEM FAULT, a fault with the oil level monitoring system is indicated."

 

Thank you