Joe Friday

So,

I take my new 2018 F150 Lariat with 5.0 V8 in to the local dealer (not the one I purchased from - they are out of town) for my very FIRST oil change. Odometer reading is 3,900 miles.

Pretty routine right? One would think so.

Except, they finish the oil change and I drive away from the dealership and run a few errands and then back home - - probably put about 20 miles on the new oil change.

I normally double-check my oil level (yep - here it comes) immediately after getting the oil changed, but didn't this time.... so I checked it this morning and see that it is at the bottom line of the 'hatched' area.... indicating that it is roughly 1 full quart low.

I call up the dealer and bitch them out, and they tell me to bring it in and they will make it right. I told them I am not driving the vehicle back to them with low oil..... it is THEIR mistake, and they can come to my house with oil and fill it up. They agree to do this.

Apparently they put in 8 quarts of 5W20 Synthetic Blend, and they should have put in 9 quarts.

I don't think driving 20 miles like that would hurt my engine, would it??

Also, when they came to my house, we had a hell of a time trying to add oil and read the joke of a dipstick..... that dipstick is almost impossible to read.... one side is covered with oil and the other side seems to read like you'd expect.... but it's hard to tell which is right.

So.... I sent them away and have been slowly adding oil myself and re-checking the level.... but that DIPSTICK is a joke to read.

I am putting the dipstick slowly in it's guide with the 'hatch' side facing the engine..... and slowly pulling it out... which seems to work best.... but again, the hatch side seems to have a distinct cutoff point of oil where the backside is solid oil several inches up the dipstick.

Anybody but me have trouble reading this thing??? Am I doing it right?? I have never had trouble with dipsticks my entire life till now....

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.... and let me know if you think my engine is ok driving it for thoe first 20 miles one quart low from the dealership.

Thanks.

marshallr

Driving 1 qt low won't hurt a thing for 200 miles,let alone 20. In fact you're not even supposed to add oil until it is 1 qt low. You're over reacting.

Joe Friday

I thought as much... thank you. How about the dipstick? Hard to read?

Joe Friday

When adding oil, should I add it all the way to the 'full' line when cold.... or leave a little bit of 'hatch' showing to account for expansion when the vehicle warms up? Thanks.

2dwoods

itS not hurt ,man these things need 9 quarts I've got 1k on mine and haven't looked to see that yet

m2mc2

When I did my first oil change at 5,000 miles, the mechanic filled it with wrong oil. The Service Manager looked at the paperwork that he turned in and told him that the oil change was to have been with synthetic oil, at which point the mechanic shrugged his shoulders and moved the truck out of the bay. After the Service Manager calmed down from wanting to kill him, he apologized to me for the error, and had the truck brought back into the service bay to have the oil change performed again with the correct oil. After this experience I checked the oil to make sure that it was full, which was hard to see on the dip stick when it was clean. I got the best reading on the dipstick when I inserted it with the hatch side facing the motor.

Driftboater

I just do the routine maintenance myself to save some money and the satisfaction of being self sufficient; and I know it's done correctly. Costs ~30 for the Motorcraft synthetic blend and oil filter at Wally world. Install a Fumoto oil pan valve and it's super easy.

HangDiver

Again, I believe you're over thinking this. Everytime you pull the dipstick you're coating the inside of the tube with more oil. Leave the truck sit overnight and check the oil in the morning. Fill it like you would any previous vehicle you owned. :-)

JCR 56

Fill it to the full mark, all the oil is not in the oil pan when it's running anyway.

GP-SE

To check the oil level, bring the vehicle to operating temps, then shut the engine down and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. The dip stick should have the hashmarks facing up/toward the engine and the oil level should be in the middle of the hashmarks.
The oil capacity after an oil and filter change is 8.3 Litres. This is taken from the Work Shop Manual for a 2018 F-150 5.0