mnb -- the OP indicated he has a 987 -- that car takes less oil than a 986 -- according to my 987 manual:
oil change with filter = 7.75 litres (8.19 quarts)
oil change w/o filter (perish the thought of not throwing on a new filter!) = 7.5 litres (7.93 quarts)
btw, following those guidelines with 2 diy oil & filter changes i have never overfilled, or underfilled, and the fill is at the top (3d) "ok" bar (not the "overfill" bar) -- so i don't think there's a tsb on it -- actually, i'd rather be in the 3 "acceptable" bars (and top off from there) than in the overfill bar (who knows how much?) -- and oh, the "checking from the back" thing sounds like bull****************
as for the bars (1 too low, 3 acceptable, 1 too high) in a 987 --
"The difference between the minimum and maximum marks on the (oil level) segment display is approx. 1.2 litres.
Each segment of the display corresponds to approx. 0.4 litre."
0.4 litre = 13.5 fl. oz / 0.423 quarts / 1.69 cups (just over one cup and two-thirds, which is what i would use).
then again, the OP said: "From the look of the meter it is full at all but one bar"
"at all BUT ONE BAR" -- that means all is perfect, from what i can tell.
but it's an example of yet another potential issue (along with cost) that militates in favor of diy oil/filter changes
rock on
brett