Planet 9

Since about 3 months or so the oil level indicator is completely "full" whenever I start the car. Previously the last dot was almost always "empty", is my engine generating oil?!

Car is 8K miles aprox.

Duvido

were you checking it at the same time ...eg hot/cold....you may check the oil cap and smell for gas

Oil expands as temperature rises, so that could be part of the story. Also, over time motor oil absorbs water from the combustion process, expanding the apparent fluid level. Porsche even mentions this in the owners manual.

Perhaps you're parking somewhere not perfectly flat. Hygroscopic properties or thermal expansion should not influence enough to go from "full" to "empty".

Failing that, perhaps the electronics that measure oil level have failed.

+1
my thoughts exactly

Did you perhaps check the oil shortly after you shut off the car when you got that almost empty reading? The oil hasn't had a chance to drain back to the pan. Then, later, when cold, you got the full reading?

I know the oil level system is supposed to account for the amount of time the oil has had to drain, but sometimes when my car has been sitting for an hour or two, the oil level display shows one less bar than when it's been sitting overnight.

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’08 Cayman S, 6 Speed, PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport Seats & Steering Wheel, 19” Carrera Sport Wheels, PCM, Bose, Xenon, plus some other stuff not worth mentioning

Oil elves.

If your coolant level has dropped along with your oil level rising, that could describe a bad head gasket.

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1973 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber Tribute (240hp and 1,890 pounds)

8K on an '08 Cayman? I don't think a blown head gasket is possible unless he's been flogging it right out of the box. Doesn't sound like the sort of question a person like that would ask.

My '06 has gone from all bars full to one bar down in 4K miles. That sounds about right to me. Don't know why one would go up. I think a bar is about half a quart? That's a lot of condensation!!!

I always measure after it's been sitting cold in the garage. If you don't measure in the same place, it'll show different readings. Uphill reads a little lower. Downhill reads a little higher.

-Six

I didn't mean to imply that a blown head gasket is likely or common - just that it's one of the few ways to increase the volume of fluid in the crankcase.

I agree that the best advice is to measure the oil in a consistent manner (same temp., car not driven recently, car level, etc.)

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1973 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber Tribute (240hp and 1,890 pounds)

Perhaps you might reread the original post. The way I read it is that "last dot" is the top-most indicator, and he's talking about 0.3-0.4L of oil. Now I may be misinterpreting his post, stupid as I am about oil's absorption properties and its coefficient of thermal expansion, but I didn't think the OP was discussing all of the "dots". Just one.

my 08 cayman with 2600 miles is showing 1/2 when cold and showing 3/4 when warm. How much oil should I add? Also I have not done an oil change yet. Is this a good mileage to get an oil change?

1/2 of what?

According to Porsche an oil change is not required at 2600 miles. If you choose to change it earlier at your own discretion I recommend the search function, for the numerous threads discussing the pros and cons (only wasted money) of early changes.

I would pull the drain plug and empty the oil. Repalce the plug and drive for a thousand miles or so. Then check to see if it has generated oil. That is the only way to be sure.

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2007 Speed Yellow Cayman GT 2.7 (retired)
2008 Guards Red Cayman GT 3.4
"Carpe Cayman"

Now wouldn't you feel shitty if someone did that..LMAO

Mine normally reads "full" at the first bar rather then at the top of the box. However, a couple momths ago I hadn't driven it for about 3 weeks and when I checked it before driving off, it was all the way to the top of the box. I just assumed that sitting for 3 weeks was the reason, giving it time to completely drain into the pan versus some still clinging to engine parts. Hasn't happened again, most likely because I haven't let it sit that long since.

orl:

It's not clear what you mean when you say "1/2 when cold and showing 3/4 when warm". How many bars on the dash gage are showing when the car is cold and on a level surface?...like after being in a garage overnight.

If only the top mark is not filled in, you don't need to do anything.

No need to change yet either.

If the engine is not leaking oil onto the ground, I don't think it will use much oil. My engine is pretty tight. I'm down bar after 4000 miles.

Read the manual. Read more threads about oil checking. There are many.

The engine holds 9 quarts of oil and the oil is pretty expensive, so changing a lot is expensive. It's also environmentally decadent...that is unless you track the car a lot.

-Six

Agreed with all the above - must have been the hot temp "generating" the oil. I have 10k miles and am only down a bar (when measuring after an hour with the engine off), with an oil change to come in the next couple months or so.

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"He who dies with the most toys is, nonetheless, still dead." — Unknown

Oh boy, couldn't manage to reply earlier and I see there's some misunderstanding going on :-)

The level was almost always like this (maybe 1 in 50 starts it was all full):



But from 3 months ago it started reading full to the top (last bar above arrow also filled). Now I would say it's the reverse 1 in 50 starts it reads "normal" i.e. level between the arrows, the last dot empty.

Also, I'm a car enthusiast and my car is properlly taken care of, never revved hard in cold or stopped after a hard run without a few miles cooling things off. It's my baby!

The readings are taken always in the same place, when cold, maybe it has a slight incline but then it also did when it read 1 dot from full!

Hope it's clear now :-)