Hi, this may be a bit of an odd/daft question but here goes anyway .....

I have a 2008 STI, and previously had a 2009 WRX, i've always been thorough with maintenance, checking oil, water etc.

I nearly always check my oil when the car has been left overnight, so i know it's all drained down, but one thing i've noticed on both my imprezas is that even though the dipstick appears to drop vertically down, i get a different level on either side of it ( if that makes sense ).

If i get one side dead on the full mark, the other side may be on say 3/4. I assume someone will probably fill me in on the logic of this, but its something i've always wondered about. By the way, the car is in my garage, so it's on very level ground.

And following on from that, i always go on the higher one being where the oil is, as i don't want to over fill it, but is this the right way to do it ?

I know some people will probably be saying ' what the hell is he on about " but if i didn't ask id just be wondering !!

Any thoughts or tips welcome.

Hi Bikenite,

My 2003 WRX is just the same. I've taken to checking the level when hot because it makes it easier to read the stick. When checking when cold though I go by the lower side of the stick.

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Thanks for the reply Linx, maybe i'll give it a try when hot, and see how it works out.

I don't feel quite so daft now seeing i'm not the only one who's noticed this !!

same thing happens on my 2.0 RX. i was wondering about this aswell before topping the oil up

Just the random way it reads !

I usually do from cold and dip at least twice that way I just average it out over both sides,

Least it's not as hard as trying to dip the 'box

I get the same. Does make you question if the level is slightly low or high.

Stants, I've given up with checking the level on the box. If the stick has oil on it that's good enough. 😂

Glad it's not just me this happens to phew 😂I do what stants does from cold and a couple of dips ..

You get 2 readings because your dipstick goes in on a angle towards the drivers side of car.i wipe the stick then dip again to check level and have it just under to max mark.over filling is as bad for a engine as not havin enough oil in it.in between half and full and your ok.2 much puts strain on a engine.always check it with the oil can on the dip stick towards front car.if its upside down your getting wrong reading.

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Thanks for all the replies, it's obviously more of a common observation than i thought.

@aucky, I think we are thinking on the same lines, i do pretty much exactly the same as you. As you say, over filling is not a good thing in the same way as running too low would be.

My last visit to the dealer, the mechanic (senior) mentioned they fill to approx. 2-3mm under full to allow for expansion when hot.

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