So I just did my first oil change on my 2020 Subaru Crosstrek at 29,500 miles. Everything went fine (I think), besides me spilling a little oil. In my owners manual it says it takes full synthetic 0W-20 oil 4.7 qts, so I got a 5 qt and had to kinda eyeball 4.7 qts. Car started up great. When I was putting the old oil in the 5 qt I had, it filled it all they was up, even though I spilled some, and I still have some oil left in the oil pan. It seems like the oil before was at more than 4.7 qts, but I’m unsure if I should be adding the same amount it had before or stick to the 4.7 qts I added in. This is my first time and I’m just a little worried I can mess something up. Thank you for your time!
It’s in between but more to the full side
Between the hatch marks right. Perfect.
It doesn’t smell like gas
So whoever did it last overfilled it.
Will this cause any problems?
No. It'll be fine.
It seems like the oil before was at more than 4.7 qts
does it smell like gas?
I’m unsure if I should be adding the same amount it had before or stick to the 4.7 qts I added in.
Use the dipstick
It’s in between but more to the full side
It doesn’t smell like gas
As long as you're on a flat level surface and it's in between min and max on the dipstick you're good to go. Some other mechanics on Youtube say check the oil level after the engine has reached operating temperature and you've waited 5 mins. But I'll leave it to smarter people than me to answer that one.
I've heard it said that depending on how hot a country you live in it might be better not to go right to the top mark due to expansion of the oil. So it can cause engine damage the same as if you overfilled it. But again, I'm not an expert and it's just what I heard.
I've found that the amount you get out of the engine depends on how much you jack the car up when you drain. So on my first oil change I had my car up on ramps that gave me a 7" lift and I got 5.2 UK litres out. While on my second I had it higher and managed about 5.5L. The manual specifies 5.9L, but as everyone has said - it's all about the dipstick.
Scotty Kilmer did a short video where he reminded eveyone of the importance of making sure you had the right one in your car as well. In other words if it's second hand and the previous owner lost the original and just stuck a random one in there.
are UK litres different from rest-of-the-world litres? 😛
I keep asking my American doctor that question...