you have to unscrew and remove the cover where the oil fill is located to access the dip stick you also need to follow a specific procedure to get an accurate measurement. if you measure wrong and overfill = not good. If you have an FF, the manual (as in, RTFM) has the procedure clearly spelled out and also the specs for the oil you need. FWIW over 2 cars and 8K miles, car has used ZERO oil.
Ah thank you! (RTFM...hahah love it) Left the manual at my other house. So can someone spell it out please? Switch the engine off and let it drain back into the sump and check it after 5 mins? Or check it with the engine running like with the F430 if I remember that correctly own was it the F355...
Mark, from what I know about it (no actual experience though), it is a long and complicated procedure. I'm attaching a 3 page pdf that outlines exactly how to do it, but it is a scan of the procedure, so it was sent to me in B&W, no color. This should help if you decide to do it yourself, but like so many things Ferrari, they want you to take it to the dealer for checking, which I did. Leo Image Unavailable, Please Login
I guess I will pop into the dealer tomorrow and ask how best to check it, seems a load of jobby if you ask me how difficult can it be to can it be to check the oil level in a car...
You can easily do it yourself, just need a screwdriver, a shop rag and a watch.. The difference (i.e. "load of jobby") is that it's a dry sump engine. Most engines are wet sump, and you can check the dipstick for oil levels pretty easily. In a dry sump you need to have the oil level in the reservoir at it's operating level - hence the requirement for the right temp, running the engine up a bit (to distribute the oil throughout the system) and the element of timing (so it doesn't refill the reservoir and throw off your measurements). IIRC the latest gen of BMW and Porsche engines only have electronic oil level measurements, and are hyper sensitive to over-filling (as are most engines). If nothing else, gives you a chance to spend some time under the hood and get to know your car. Dealer trip not necessary.
Even a one quart overfill will cause you serious problems. (Been there done that).If you screw up, the fix will be on your dime, if Ferrari screws up its on them. Our FF easily goes 7 - 10k miles between services with barely any drop in oil level. Since the car gets servicede annually anyway there's no reason for me to even try to check the oil level. Blow by from an over-fill WILL spray oil throughout the intake system, requiring a thorough cleaning, will likely foul injectors, and with enough miles before getting remedied could ruin the catalytic converters. Just drive it and let the mechanics deal with headache of maintaining fluids. That's part of why there's a seven year service agreement. Only time I lift the hood is in winter to refill washer fluid.
Never add oil unless at least a quart low, then never fill it more than 1/2 up on the dip stick! Eric is right, over filling can result in oil in the throttle bodies and that is not good! My first FF seemed to begin to make hot oil smells when it got 1/2 quart low. Slightly less than 1/2 quart low and no hot oil smells, interesting but not totally accurate at measuring oil level. The procedure in the manual is actually VERY easy, you simply have to understand the steps and follow them to the letter. I always let mine idle for 2 minutes 30 seconds then immediately measured the oil level.
