How to check your Engine Oil Level

Checking your oil level is one of the often forgotten things everyone really should do, but many don’t know how. So in this video I want to run you through exactly how to do it both with the standard dipstick and with digital sensors – plus a few other things you can check too!

So, first things first, pop your bonnet. You can do that with a handle often found in the driver or passenger side footwell. In the Mini’s case that’s a little tab on the driver’s side door frame just below the glovebox. It lifts out towards the door with a little pull. On my Audi S4 it’s a pretty big handle in the same place, but lifts upwards as you pull it up. Occasionally you might find the handle on the bottom of the glovebox instead like my old Volvo S40 had.

Once you’ve pulled the release catch, some newer cars require you to pull it twice to fully free the bonnet, but the majority of them only need it pulled once then you’ll head to the bonnet. There is normally a second latch with its own little lever. These can be a bit difficult to find, but generally it’s in the middle so slip your hand in the gap and feel around for it. Some levers need to be pushed down, some lift up. On my S4 it’s in the middle and lifts upwards to free the bonnet fully. On the Mini it’s just inboard of the passenger side headlight but also lifts upwards. Finally, many cars now have hydraulic stays which will lift and hold the bonnet on its own but especially more budget cars they may have a metal rod you’ll need to hook into the bonnet to hold it up.

Now we can get to the oil. It’s important to note, at a minimum you should be checking it while the car is level and flat. If it’s on a hill in any direction you won’t get a valid reading. In general I’d recommend checking your oil when the engine is cold, or at very least the engine has been off for a few minutes. Whatever you do, it’s best to do that consistently and refer to your owner’s manual for what it recommends. The 2016 Astra we’ve worked on recently says the engine should be at operating temperature and switched off for at least 5 minutes. 

Happily the actual process of checking is pretty easy. The only thing you’ll need is some paper towels. You are looking for a yellow or sometimes orange tab. It’s often a ring, to make it easy to pull it out. I’ll include some examples on screen, once you find yours you’ll want to pull it up and out of the engine. Wipe the end clean with your paper towels, then slide it back in, pushing it all the way down and in until it’s fully seated back into place. Then, pull it back out.

This is where you can read the level. There will be markers for the min and max lines, and some even have notches or crosshatching to help distinguish the level clearly. What you are looking for is the level to be somewhere in the middle to upper half of the gauge. If there isn’t any oil, stick it back in and check again just to make sure, then definitely top up your oil before you start the engine again. You might also want to check my video on finding and fixing oil leaks, which I’ll leave in the cards above!

If it’s nicely in the middle or closing on the max line, you are all good! If it’s over the max line, that’s more of a pain as you’ve got too much oil in your engine which can be a problem too. If that’s the case, it’s worth checking with a garage or doing an oil change so you can get the correct level – if you’ve got a pump you can use via the dipstick tube to suck out some of the excess, that works too.

While you are in the engine bay, it’s worth having a quick look at a few other things, like your coolant level making sure it’s up to the maximum line, or at least between the minimum and maximum lines if you’ve got them. Check your brake fluid level too if you can, and check the colour as well. If it’s dark and nasty looking, it’s time to flush your brake fluid! If it’s light coloured you are likely fine. It’s also worth popping the oil fill cap off and taking a quick look both down in the hole and on the bottom of the cap. You are looking for milky residue that indicates you’ve got a head gasket failure. It’s pretty uncommon but worth checking while you are at it. 

But what if you don’t have a dipstick? Well, you’ll need to check your level on your car’s dashboard or infotainment display. In my S4 you can press the “Car” menu button, then scroll to “Oil Level”. The engine does need to be up to temperature although it shouldn’t be running when you check. Many other cars, especially the more premium or luxury models, also have digital sensors. For example in BMW’s iDrive system you head to “Service Requirements” then “Measure Oil”, again when the engine is up to temperature and on level ground. 

So, that’s how to check your oil both physically and digitally, and a few other things to keep an eye out for while doing it. It’s worth checking your oil level periodically, say once per month or so, or at very least before taking any long journeys. It’s something you should be replacing at least once per year so as long as you don’t have any major leaks you should be fine, but it only takes a minute to check so it’s worth doing. 

I would add, if you have both digital and physical ways to check your oil like my S4 (now I bought the dipstick as it’s technically a “dealership specialist tool” according to Audi….) it’s worth checking physically every now and again as it lets you see the condition of the oil as well as the level. Golden brown oil is fresh and clean, dark brown or black is generally old and nasty and worth replacing. The catch is for older diesels sometimes the oil turns black almost immediately so that’s not always a sure-fire way to tell, but for most people that’s a good indicator.