I’m with @kj07xk .

I have my doubts.

Pour yourself a ginger beer shandy, use hot soapy (dish detergent cuts grease) water and clean the engine compartment, with all the covers off. Go for a fun drive. When you get back, get the trouble light out and have a glance.

 

The oil level in the dipstick is basically at maximum, (and I haven't added any since the problem started) but if there's a better way to verify the oil level, I would be glad to know.

 

I am confused. A better way to measure the level of the oil than the manual, always available, not adjusted by electronics, dip stick?!?

You’ve lost me. That is the best way.

And in addition, if it is at the full mark now, I wonder if it was overfilled. (Yes, that’s a thing)
Also, I wonder if the original puddle was due to a filter not fully attached, or spilled oil from the change or an oil pump issue.

I don’t think any of this was discussed and my approach offered earlier applies.

cheers

 

Yes, I agree, I was just taken aback somewhat by someone positing that it might have run out of oil since I had mentioned that there was plenty of oil on the dipstick. Because of that I thought there might have been something I had missed, being a new owner.

There was a very small amount of oil on the floor in the garage before I drove it today. I got the code pulled at O'Reilly, mostly so I could drive it with the engine cover off. No oil leaked out at all during the drive, and none was visibly leaking in the garage afterward. I didn't see anything that looked amiss/covered in oil, but admittedly I wasn't very thorough.

The codes are as follows:

P0171 - System Too Lean Bank 1 (Stored)

P0174 - System Too Lean Bank 2 (Stored)

Both codes are also duplicated as Pending.

I mentioned my oil woes to the techs and one of them mentioned that degraded valve cover gaskets can sometimes introduce air into the mixture as well as, of course, leak oil. I am still baffled by it dumping oil and then all of a sudden holding its drink very well multiple times afterwards. It has been six months since the oil was last changed, but the car was not in my possession when that happened and I can only see from the Carfax. I just doubt that it's related to any of that since the issue hasn't replicated itself since. Unfortunately I don't have consistent access to the car since I'm storing it in a garage away from where I live (full) which makes it a bit of a chore to pop over and check stuff.

Obviously I will reserve judgment until I can get it looked at by a specialist tomorrow.

 

Safe to assume you don’t have a floor jack and stands? Or not in a place where you can get under it?

I ask because anything that drips from the engine will first hit the under engine trays (there are two, one large one smaller to the rear).

If you remove the larger one (yeah it has 5,397 bolts)
If anything has been leaking that doesn’t evaporate on the engine, will land on the cover. Gravity and all.

But if you are taking it to a shop, they’ll most likely remove it.

 

Unfortunately I don't have a jack or stands. I should have gotten around to it by now, but as I mentioned earlier, life got in the way. But if a little oil made it through, I assume that there is a lot already in the trays.