Randomly decided to check my oil level today, in my garage, which is on reasonably level ground, it said underfilled. didnt think that was right, since i only put <5k miles since the last oil change in december. drove the car to run a quick errand (stupid, yes i know)....came back...let the car rest for 10 minutes, checked again...said it was underfilled. I want to say i checked maybe 6 months ago and it was fine.

do these engines have a known oil consumption issue? or do I have a leak somewhere? needless to say, getting the oil changed tomorrow, will have the mechanics take a look

 

Mine does not use any perceptible amount of oil between annual services, that's about 9K miles. What do you mean by underfilled? You mean off the bottom of the range? I wouldn't drive it anywhere like that, not without putting some oil in first.

 

yes, at the bottom of the range. at first i thought maybe it was because the car had been sitting for almost 2 hours since i had last turned it off. the garage is 1 mile from my house, going there immediately tomorrow.

why the hell does it not warn the driver?!

 

Before you assume oil consumption, keep in mind that digital sensor isn't that accurate and oil level would naturally fluctuate between cold and operational temperature. Also, bottom of the digital read isn't "almost no oil", but I think 1.5 quart down (at least on F-type it is, and we share engines).

Reports of oil consumption are rare, but it does happen. The issue is more common on modded cars where pulley and tune was done.

The car won't warn you about low oil despite having digital oil level sensor. JLR dropped the ball on this.

 

I know what you mean about “low oil “ vs “no oil” on the display. The issue is I have no idea how long I’ve been low, and how low I really am, so for all intents and purposes I have to assume it’s been a while.

I will need to do a better job monitoring it

 

I would increase your checking interval. I have a 5.0 Supercharged, and it looks like I consumed 5 quarts over 9/10k miles. I usually change my oil at 4/5k, but this year my dad passed and I've been preoccupied. As a result, I'm replacing my engine after the old one seized at 60k miles.

 

What a shame that they did away with the "simple to understand", physical dipstick. I've never been comfortable with the digital gauge.....

 

I can check my oil the next morning after parking for the night and the reading still shows okay. So I don’t think 2 hours should be a problem.

 

Best to check oil level at a minimum, once per week after a cold soak, such as overnight.

When adding oil, add small amounts at a time (1/2 litre/quart) to let the gauge respond.

 

thats strange, i can never check my oil the next morning

 

Unless there's a malfunction with the instrument cluster, the engine oil level is available prior to starting the engine.