Oil gauge + digital Mph gauge
 

Hi all, I just picked my 2004 Boxster up yesterday and I have a couple of quick questions. No. 1 when I first put the key in the ignition the oil gauge builds up & displays the level but depending on where & how the car is parked it can vary from full to a quarter. Is this normal or is the gauge faulty. I have checked the dip stick & I think it was 3/4 ish? Shall I top it up?

Next question; I noticed this morning that the digi fuel gauge was not working correctly it only displayed the top 2 lines but after driving for a few miles the full numbers slowly appeared, is this a fault/faliure?

Your expert help would be really appreciated.

Cheers, Craig.
Boxster 2.7 - 2004 - 29,000 miles.

You need to read the manual to understand the graduations on the oil level gauge. It doesn't read full to empty, rather if it was at the bottom of the gauge you'd only be down somewhere around a quart. And if you were at the very top, you'd be overfilled. Keep it between the two lines.

The oil level should be taken with the engine warm and the car on level ground. Since it needs to rest after shut off for the oil to drain down, I like to do it after a fill up of gas.

The dipstick markings aren't full or empty. If not near the top mark you could top it up but not with a full can of oil (or bottle). Start with 1/4 and then close it up, run for a bit and test again. Being down a few markings on the gauge or a bit on the dipstick isn't fatal. But you want to figure out where it is going if it happens often.

Thanks for the reply, very interesting. I have got the manual out & will read up, many thanks for your feedback.