I recently drained the oil in my 2010 chevy malibu LS I4 2.4 gas engine. 3 quarts of oil drained out into the pan. I put 3 quarts back in. The car takes 5 quarts of oil. The dipstick reads a safe oil levels. I want to avoid over filling and under filling the oil. Where did the 2 quarts of oil go? Was is burned or still in the engine? The last oil change was a little over 5000 miles ago.
That is a hard question to answer. Does the car have history of burning oil? As long as it reads full just make sure to keep the level full.
It is an older car with 118,000 miles on on it. It was driven hard within the last year from a road trip, and lots of stop and go. I just checked the dipstick cold after letting it sit over night, and it reads as empty. Should I try checking again when the engine is warmer?
I think I should add the remaining two quarts .
Make sure the car is sitting on level ground to get an accurate level. Only check oil when cold or you will get a inaccurate reading. The dipstick is not showing any oil? The low spot should mean it is a quart low. I would add the oil slowly. Add one quart and wait 20 minutes or so and check again.
I did that, and the levels are back to normal. Thank you for answering my noob question!!
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If the manufacturer says it takes 5 quarts, put in 5 quarts. It should read full.
Agreed. If it’s drained (on a level surface) it’s drained. Then filling with spec amount of oil should get you pretty close. (Just check it after letting it run for a few minutes to make sure).
You need to check your oil dipstick in between oil changes.
Before the drain, if you were driving it with 3 qts of oil, down from 5, then that's not good for the engine.