I posted this in another thread, but will create a new one since I need to decide what to do.
Background - 9/28/2018 - 1st oil change at around 3k miles. Put the car on homemade ramps and drained the oil overnight since removing the filter with a band wrench took to long and I decided to fill the oil the next day.
I added a little over 4 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-20 AFE and decided to take the car off the ramps (started the engine) to check the oil level. The oil container showed slightly < 1 quart remained in the 5 quart jug. Since I pre-filled the oil filter, the low oil pressure light never illuminated. A dipstick check revealed the oil was above the full mark and on the twisted portion (Note: the oil was fairly thick on this part). There was a very thin layer on the bottom of the dipstick that went slightly over the low mark. The dipstick has two holes to mark the levels, not lines. I checked the oil only after letting the oil drain back into the oil pan for at least 5 minutes. Also, I pulled the dipstick straight out of the tube. My father reasoned that the fact that there was a thin layer of oil on the dipstick covering the low mark, that the oil level was ok. The strange thing was there was very little oil between the two level marks, as though it were wiped off while pulling the dipstick out.
The car was driven back to my residence a total of about 100 miles and parked.
Today, I drove the car to and from my carpool meeting place. When I pulled into my parking space, I noticed the low oil level light (orange color) was illuminated. I had to search the manual to see what the symbol meant, as it was not the low oil pressure warning light. My parking space is on a hill so I restarted the car and drove to a more level area to check the oil, again after letting the oil drain back about 5 minutes before checking it. The reading was unchanged from yesterday, so no apparent leaks that I could see where I parked it overnight. I wiped the dipstick and checked one more time. Same result.
I restarted the car and drove it back to my parking space. There was no low oil level warning light illuminated, except for as described above.
My dilemma is I think the oil could be low since the Mazda manual states the 2.5 l engine requires 4.4 quarts with an oil and filter change. Since the oil level warning light never came on after driving 100 miles and did not come on after checking the oil today, should I add more oil? I would like to avoid over-filling the engine; however, I want to make sure the oil is not low.
Thanks in advance!
Background - 9/28/2018 - 1st oil change at around 3k miles. Put the car on homemade ramps and drained the oil overnight since removing the filter with a band wrench took to long and I decided to fill the oil the next day.
I added a little over 4 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-20 AFE and decided to take the car off the ramps (started the engine) to check the oil level. The oil container showed slightly < 1 quart remained in the 5 quart jug. Since I pre-filled the oil filter, the low oil pressure light never illuminated. A dipstick check revealed the oil was above the full mark and on the twisted portion (Note: the oil was fairly thick on this part). There was a very thin layer on the bottom of the dipstick that went slightly over the low mark. The dipstick has two holes to mark the levels, not lines. I checked the oil only after letting the oil drain back into the oil pan for at least 5 minutes. Also, I pulled the dipstick straight out of the tube. My father reasoned that the fact that there was a thin layer of oil on the dipstick covering the low mark, that the oil level was ok. The strange thing was there was very little oil between the two level marks, as though it were wiped off while pulling the dipstick out.
The car was driven back to my residence a total of about 100 miles and parked.
Today, I drove the car to and from my carpool meeting place. When I pulled into my parking space, I noticed the low oil level light (orange color) was illuminated. I had to search the manual to see what the symbol meant, as it was not the low oil pressure warning light. My parking space is on a hill so I restarted the car and drove to a more level area to check the oil, again after letting the oil drain back about 5 minutes before checking it. The reading was unchanged from yesterday, so no apparent leaks that I could see where I parked it overnight. I wiped the dipstick and checked one more time. Same result.
I restarted the car and drove it back to my parking space. There was no low oil level warning light illuminated, except for as described above.
My dilemma is I think the oil could be low since the Mazda manual states the 2.5 l engine requires 4.4 quarts with an oil and filter change. Since the oil level warning light never came on after driving 100 miles and did not come on after checking the oil today, should I add more oil? I would like to avoid over-filling the engine; however, I want to make sure the oil is not low.
Thanks in advance!