Why are you changing your own oil? The dealers will do it at no cost to you.

 

Not after 50k

 

The owner's manual calls for 7.0 quarts of oil with oil and filter change. That's what I do and it works for me.

 

I know what it calls for but the oil is never fully empty during and oil change. Where does your oil measure after an oil change?

All my other cars actually take a little less then the full amount. Otherwise it measures over full on the dip stick.

 

I always under fill by about 1/2 quart and then check. Usually, it ends up right in the middle of the fill range. Haven't yet done my own in the v.

 

I have to remove a quart of oil after every oil change the dealer does. That's just to get the level I can read on the plumb bob thingy. I hate the dipstick Cadillac choose for this car. I swear I get better gas mileage when I lower the oil level to where the owners manual shows. I've complained to the dealer, nobody cares. I still get under the car after every oil change and drain some out, at this point I just use them for free oil and filter. Everyone should lower to the level in the manual and let us know if you feel more power and better gas mileage. I can tell the difference in mine!

 

I didn't actually look at what the owners manual said because I figured it should be in the middle of the large middle measuring area. Now that I know it's that small area on the bottom I'm like holy shit, it's nearing at the top of the other area.

I know overfilling is bad for the engine so I'm making the dealership do it today. They charge $70 for the mobile 1 oil change on my car so I'm going to pay them. It would cost me about $50 to get the mobile 1 or Pennzoil ultra platinum myself and that doesn't include the filter so to me it's a good deal, as long as they don't over fill.

 

I usually put in 6.5 quarts, then check it after running and cooling for 15min. That gets oil up the first set of block on dipstick, then can add little bit from there. BTW- Who else thinks this dipstick is the biggest POS ever? Never seen such a dipstick that's so hard to read and also is so inconsistent.

 

I agree this is probably the most difficult to read OEM dipstick I've ever encountered-- especially with clean oil that doesn't have much color to it. It does get easier to read as you add miles to the oil and it gets darker.

Best solution I've found with fresh oil is to take the dipstick out and lightly touch it against a clean shoprag to "transfer" the oil level to the rag... makes it easier to read.

 

Menards frequently has fully synthetic Quaker State oil on sale for $3/qt after their rebate. Excellent oil, that I believe is made by Shell.
At some point, I went through my own "analysis" to rate various symthetic oils based on their properties available through API (http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/Marchsyntheticsallfinal.html) and ended up rating Quaker State above Mobil 1. That's all my opinion, based on my priorities, obviously.

 

Costco often runs specials on Mobil1 for around $5/qt.

When I change my own oil I do like many others. I use 6-1/2 quarts. Sincce I usually change my oil at work (I own the place and I have all the tools and raceramps there) I always keep a full quart in my trunk. When I get home 30 miles later I check the oil after the engine has cooled down. I add as necessary.

 

Just a heads up but if you're filling your oil With six quarts you're overfilling it.

The owner's manual says 6 and a half quart but that's total capacity when it's completely dry. If you look at the owner's manual where it says your fill level is it should be in that bottom Small hash at the end of the dipstick. If you're filling it to near the top area of the dipstick you are over by a quart. That's not good.

There was some confusion about where you fill to so I had my service manager verify with Cadillac and they told him it should be filled as shown in the owners manual, to the lower hash mark. It usually only takes a little over 5 quarts to get it there, including the filter change.

Just to rehash, what the dipstick says is full is actually over full. Our measurement is that smaller hash area at the bottom of the stick. Evidently the stick they use in our car is not unique to our car so the owners manual specifies where to fill too. The 2016 Corvette has the same requirement however theirs is a little different because it says you should only check the oil level when the car is warm and has had a couple of minutes to settle

 

I've changed my oil (personally) once so far. I bought my wife this car new in 2016 and she always took it to the dealer for oil changes. I recently bought her a new Audi A7. The one time I did it the 6-1/2 qts. was spot on "full". Next time I will only use 6 qts. and see where we are. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Interesting that I have never received this information from Caddy.

 

Sigh. I went to grab a pic of the supplement for everyone, which is when I saw that although it states ATS-V at the top, the model referenced in the update was 3.6 V6 AWD.

With that said, I just changed my oil yesterday, and 6.5 quarts got me a bit over the bottom hash section. 7 would have put me way over.

 

I have been changing oil myself on my late-'16 V Coupe and sometimes on my Wife's early-'16 V Sedan.

I part the car the night before with its front wheels on my ramps. Next morning, I'll jack the front up and support with stands, place my drainpan, then pull the drain plug. I let it drain until it almost stops dripping then I reinstall the plug.

I make a cardboard "drain trough" and put it under the filter, then I remove the filter and let the oil drain out of the filter mount and down my cardboard trough until it almost stops dripping.

I prefill a PF63E oil filter to half-full, wipe some bearing grease on the filter gasket then install the filter and tighten 3/4-turn.

I add seven quarts of Driven DI30 5W30 synthetic engine oil, replace the oil cap then start the engine, let it run for a few minutes then shut it off.

Since my driveway is not level, I use a floor jack to lift the back of the car until a level I put in the driver-side door sill shows the car is level.

I wait five minutes or so and check the oil. The oil level is halfway up the "normal" range.

Hope this helps.

 

I have been changing oil myself on my late-'16 V Coupe and sometimes on my Wife's early-'16 V Sedan.

I part the car the night before with its front wheels on my ramps. Next morning, I'll jack the front up and support with stands, place my drainpan, then pull the drain plug. I let it drain until it almost stops dripping then I reinstall the plug.

I make a cardboard "drain trough" and put it under the filter, then I remove the filter and let the oil drain out of the filter mount and down my cardboard trough until it almost stops dripping.

I prefill a PF63E oil filter to half-full, wipe some bearing grease on the filter gasket then install the filter and tighten 3/4-turn.

I add seven quarts of Driven DI30 5W30 synthetic engine oil, replace the oil cap then start the engine, let it run for a few minutes then shut it off.

Since my driveway is not level, I use a floor jack to lift the back of the car until a level I put in the driver-side door sill shows the car is level.

I wait five minutes or so and check the oil. The oil level is halfway up the "normal" range.

Hope this helps.

View attachment 582654

Hib,

The middle of the dipstick is not the normal range, that's far over. The owner's manual says the correct level should be within the bottom hashed section of the dipstick, or the left hashed section in your picture.

 

The middle of the dipstick is not the normal range, that's far over. The owner's manual says the correct level should be within the bottom hashed section of the dipstick, or the left hashed section in your picture.

I've read the manual and I interpret it differently. Here is some actual verbiage from page 252 of the 2019 ATS-V manual.

If the oil is below the cross-hatched area at the tip of the dipstick and the engine has been off for at least 15 minutes, add 1 L (1 qt) of the recommended oil and then recheck the level

If we're a fraction of an inch below the cross hatched area, we're not supposed to add an ounce or two to get us into the cross hatched area. Instead, we're supposed to add a full quart, which will put us right in the middle section of the dipstick.

The manual also says this on page 174:

The 3.6L V6 twin turbo engine (LF4) comes standard with a 7 qt sump, integrated oil cooler, and other powertrain and powertrain cooling components in preparation for track use.

Not putting seven quarts in when we have a seven quart sump makes no sense to me. It seems logical that the lower cross hatch is getting low, and the upper cross hatch is overfilled.

 

Not putting seven quarts in when we have a seven quart sump makes no sense to me. It seems logical that the lower cross hatch is getting low, and the upper cross hatch is overfilled.

I have a difficult time arguing against this.

 

Both GMSi and the Owner's manual state clearly that the LF4 takes seven quarts of oil when you include a filter change.

If you get all the drainable oil out of the engine and you let the oil filter mount drain after you remove the filter, once you refill the engine with seven quarts of oil, start it up, let it run for a few minutes, shut down then wait 10-15-min before checking, the oil level will be about where it is in my image.

That has been my consistent result with every DIY oil change I've done on our two ATS-Vs.

 

Not arguing about where 7 quarts puts you on the dipstick, or that that's the amount called for by the manual. The confusion lay with where 7 quarts puts you, and where the manual seemed to indicate where it should put you.

 

I questioned this as well so I asked my service manager to contact Cadillac and ask them. He agreed it was confusing but they same as what's stated in the 2016 Corvette. He stated that Cadillac told him to fill to the top of the lower cross hatch area. If that's wrong I don't know but here's the thing, if its wrong I'm only filling to the lower end of whats safe. If its right and I fill past that I'm now overfilling which can cause much greater damage to the engine over time.
I prefer to stay on the safe side, especially since Cadillac agreed.