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URGENT: Oil level is low, but no leaks - recently changed it

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Location
Pennsylvania
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2023 ST
#1
Hey folks,
I have an urgent use for my vehicle tomorrow morning, so I was checking my engine oil levels and found it was as low as (or close to) a quarter (or perhaps little less than half) way between A & B on the oil dipstick.
1753485982853.png
I just had it changed, literally, 5 days over a month ago as a part of its 20k miles factory maintenance.
Checked the ground underneath the vehicle and found no signs of a leak!!! I always check when I can.
The vehicle is stock 2023, but has a Ford Performance tune and I've ran on 93 Oct., up until just the past couple of days when I tried to run it on E28-E30.
I do hard launches often (albeit not from a standstill), but has never before gotten low oil because of it, and I know some might say something about that, but I can't think it could contribute to that low of a level, can it? And within a month of changing it?
The mileage difference between the time of service and today's is close to 2k.
Nothing else has changed, so what the heck is going on?
I don't know for how long the oil level has been this low. Is there something I should be worried about here or get checked?
Also, would topping off the oil on the fly do the trick here?
 

Last edited:
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95
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Location
Southern New Jersey
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2020 Ford Explorer ST
#2
You can top it off with the correct oil no issues. Some of us run 6.5 quarts cause it is not uncommon to use 1/2 a quart between oil chnages.
 

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Location
JAX, FL
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25 Explorer ST & 21 F150 PB
#3
Where is the level after sitting for multiple hours ?

You want it between the top hash and not much over the upper dot.
 

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#5
Hey folks,
I have an urgent use for my vehicle tomorrow morning, so I was checking my engine oil levels and found it was as low as (or close to) a quarter (or perhaps little less than half) way between A & B on the oil dipstick.
View attachment 30328
I just had it changed, literally, 5 days over a month ago as a part of its 20k miles factory maintenance.
Checked the ground underneath the vehicle and found no signs of a leak!!! I always check when I can.
The vehicle is stock 2023, but has a Ford Performance tune and I've ran on 93 Oct., up until just the past couple of days when I tried to run it on E28-E30.
I do hard launches often (albeit not from a standstill), but has never before gotten low oil because of it, and I know some might say something about that, but I can't think it could contribute to that low of a level, can it? And within a month of changing it?
The mileage difference between the time of service and today's is close to 2k.
Nothing else has changed, so what the heck is going on?
I don't know for how long the oil level has been this low. Is there something I should be worried about here or get checked?
Also, would topping off the oil on the fly do the trick here?
Was the vehicle warm?
 

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Location
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'20 Raptor, '22 Explorer ST, '14 GT500, '03 F150
#6
You can top it off with the correct oil no issues. Some of us run 6.5 quarts cause it is not uncommon to use 1/2 a quart between oil chnages.
The reason why most people run 6.5 quarts is because of oil starvation upon launches.
When did you last change your air filter?
How’s that have anything to do with it?
 

GearHead_1

1000 Post Club
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#7
Make sure you're giving the engine enough time for all the oil to drain back into the pan when checking, perhaps 20 minutes after it has been driven. Even better, check when cold. I'd also probably want to pull my plugs and do a quick read on them. If you've got an individual cylinder using oil, it's usually easy to pick up on.
 

OP
A
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Thread Starter #8
I had already been doing what everyone has been saying above. Also, the car has been sitting there for a couple of days, and I never checked after I took it to the dealership, so I naturally panicked over this, especially after hearing of people changing oil at dealerships and the tech forgetting to put the oil in.
Anyway, I don't know if this was a false alarm or what, but I opted to re-check the oil in the early am with a flash light. This time, I wiped the dipstick and made sure it was 100% dry, so when it came out it gave me the correct indication, which was at or slightly less than B.
Apparently, the issue happened because the oil on the dipstick was initially very faint, to the point it was not visible under sunlight, compared to what I had been used to seeing when I checked in the past.
At that point, this made a little more sense to me. And given the heat we've been having around here, some of the oil definitely burned off :sneaky: (!).
I poured in about 3/4 of quart and ended up at the C marker, or perhaps a little over, then went about my way, ripping it on E30 :D.

I hope this post helps people in the future.
Thanks for the help everyone.
 

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New Jersey
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2017 Grand Cherokee
#9
Did you check the oil since getting it changed before this? The shop very well may have cheaper out and underfilled. Another reason to change your own oil if possible.
 



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