oil check Fiat 500 after starting engine for 5 min

[FiatT234]

Hello,
I have read that with the Fiat 500, it is best to check oil levels on a flat surface and after starting the engine for 5 mins then shutting it down - it seems odd that people have suggested this as i always assumed one should check the oil levels when the engine is stone cold..... but they say that it gives a more accurate reading of the oil levels as opposed to checking it when the engine has been left cold unused over night......any thought on this.......

[z06tim]

Manufacturers that state check when warm do this because the dip-stick will be calibrated for the volume of warm oil which will be slightly different to the volume of cold oil.

The one thing to be careful of is that you wait 5-10mins for the warm oil to drain back to the sump after shutting the engine off, otherwise you also risk getting an unrealistically low reading.

Follow the procedure in the manual and you should be good to go.

[FiatT234]

thank you! this is really helpful - many thanks - will follow these guidelines and also refer to manual

[Dave Brand]

I suspect this may be a misreading of the advice to allow the engine to stand for a few minutes after it has run to allow the oil to drain back.