i check mine while the car is refueling

 

My understanding is that Sik -S's question is about how often to check the oil - rather, he wants to know if the oil should be checked while the engine is warmed up or not.

I don't have my owner's manual right now, but I assume the answer is in there...?

 

Hey just do it this way. I know manual says hot check but......

Do it once a week. In the morning check it cold and then after a drive or after work or when you get home do a hot check on that same day. I belive I had a similar questions and theres a good post on doing hot checks.

 

Exactly Elistan! Not too long ago at work I checked the oil level on a diesel engine which had like a 5 foot long dipstick. When I measured it first thing in the morning there was barely a drop on the dipstick at the very bottom...it looked empty. Somebody mentioned that you need to run it for awhile to get the engine into the engine or something? So after that I remeasured it and it was closer to 1/3 full, and I just added a quart to bring it to a safer level.

 

i thought u were suppose to check the oil every 100,000 miles.

 

I'm not familiar with diesel cars, but on diesel trucks, those things have a gazillion qts of oil in them and it is almost imperative to wait a very long time (sometimes hours) before the oil level can be checked accurately. I know this from checking our firetrucks.

As for doing it hot or cold, the manual says to do it HOT, but as I've said in past posts, I believe this is Honda covering their butts. It's easier to remember to check it if you make a routine of doing so at a fuel-up, thus the engine's hot. You can do either, but it's simpler to do it when cold first thing in the morning. Just know the slight difference in readings from one to the other and you'll be fine. I did a fairly detailed post on how to check oil level. Here is a "copy/paste":

The easiest and best time to check the oil in any car is first thing in the day BEFORE you start the car for the first time, HOWEVER, this is NOT the way Honda wants us to do it (they want a hot check). So, this is what I recommend you should do (as your last use of the car for the day):
Make sure your engine has reached operating temp remembering that the oil temp can be a bit behind the water temp (3 bars). Cool oil will not drain back down into the pan efficiently.
Stop the car on a known level surface and shut off engine. Immediately go out and pull the dipstick, clean it off and leave it out. Wait 3 - 5 minutes. This will allow the oil to drain back into the pan, including any oil that is in the dipstick hole. The presence of the dipstick would interfere with this process and give you a "splotchy" and poorly defined oil line.
When the time is up, put the stick back all the way in for a couple of seconds and pull it out. You should be able to get a good read. You should also discover that the difference between one side and the other should be no more than 1/2 to 1 "X" if done this way. Take note of this reading. You have just done the required "hot" check.
If you are home, great. If not, then take the car home and park it for the night where you usually park it.
The next day, before you start the engine, pull out the dipstick, clean it and put it back in for another reading. This reading will now be the "cold" reading and also on the type of ground you normally park on (level or not, doesn't matter). As the oil has had all night to settle and also to fall out of the dipstick hole, you should be getting a clear read. Compare this reading with the one you got "hot" and on the level and note the difference. Now whenever you need to top up to full, you will know where you need to fill it to in the most convenient place to do this check - your home and without having to wait the 3 - 5 minutes for the oil to drain down.


This shouldn't be rocket science, but record has shown a surprising number of car owners who just can't seem to do this seemingly simple task.

 

I find she doesn't use oil for the first couple thousand miles after an oil change. So I change it when she starts eating it, at least every 3,000 miles. I can't believe the manual's mileage. The oil is getting pretty dark by 3,000. The manual doesn't even suggest you change the oil filter each time. As for checking the oil, Trip A is reset to 0 with each check, and Trip B is reset to 0 with each oil change.

 

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their input.