So I put a lot of miles on my XKR, about 15K a year. Check the oil regularly between changes (still hate the whole "no dipstick" concept).
Yesterday morning, chilly for LA, car's been sitting all night, I check it and get: ADD 0.5 QUART. Fine. Got some oil in the trunk, I'll do it at work. It's a 15-minute drive.
I come out after 90 minutes. Engine is till warm to the touch. Decide to check again, and I get: OIL LEVEL OK.
Huh? what is happening here-- oil expansion? I've never heard of anything like it.
So my quick question is: what would you do? Add a pint, or leave it? Which of the conflicting messages do I act on, which do I ignore? (I didn't add any oil, but that feels weird.)
Thanks--

 

I'd add half a pint and keep checking it for a couple days. Should be fine once you add that as long as you haven't been leaking or burning oil.

 

What I'd normally do, except - there are very specific warnings against overfilling these engines, and I figure a pint low on about two gallons of oil isn't that much.

My issue is that logic tells me that oil level would be highest when the oil's had hours to drain down into the pan, so the daytime check would be the same or lower than the first-thing-in-the-morning check.

 

Right...

Maybe you are right at the 1/2 qt borderline where the sensor would presumably "toggle". I'd leave it and check it in another 100 miles or so.

 

If I remember correctly the Owner's handbook states that for an accurate read on the oil level, one should check it with the engine still warm after the vehicle has been turned off for 10 minutes. Given that, your second read is the accurate read. i would ignore the first, but verify the second read by checking again with the engine warm.