How to Check Engine Oil Level

Series Summary

Automotive maintenance is essential to the upkeep of any vehicle and a key component of this maintenance is changing the engine's fluids. Though engine designs differ, there are a number of parts which require fluids which must be monitored, checked, and filled to ensure they run at optimum efficiency. Taking these easy preventative measures can minimize the likelihood of serious mechanical problems.

In these free videos on automobile maintenance you’ll learn how to check all of the major fluids which keep your car operational. Expert Jon Olson demonstrates how to locate the dipstick to check your engine oil, how to check your transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid, and battery fluid levels. He’ll also show you how to check all of these components for leaks, and how to troubleshoot mysterious fluids that might appear on the ground under your vehicle. Taking these easy steps now could save you hundreds of dollars down the road.

Video Transcript

" Hi! This is John from expertvillage.com. In this video clip, I will be showing you how to check your engine oil level. When you take a look at your engine in locating the engine oil dipstick, typically what I like to do is take the center of the engine and look straight down and there will be a couple of different ones that I see here. The engine oil one a lot of times is yellow or it will say engine oil on it and you can go ahead and just pull that out. As you take a look at how much oil you have, you will notice that there is a full mark and on this dipstick there is a cross-hatch pattern with another mark at the end. My oil level shows me that it is about half-way between the cross-hatch pattern, which means I am a little bit low on oil so I probably want to put in about a half a quart, test it again and if it is still a little bit low, I can put the remaining amount of the quart in. You want to make sure never to exceed that full line though. "