So I change my oil about every 3-4k miles. I usually only drive the car when it’s fun time but my daily has been down so I’ve been using it to commute. It’s been about 2800 miles since I changed my oil and I haven’t topped it off. I checked my oil and it showed extremely low, like below the x on one side then the other was about a quarter the way full.Out of panic I drove the car about 1/4 mile to autozone and out in about 3 quarts of oil. Then it read full or maybe a little over. I proceeded to drive my car home about 35 miles. Plan to change oil tommorow. Did I damage my car ? Was that first reading a false reading or what? I typically keep a quart in the car and occasionally top it off but I just had been taking such big gaps between driving the car and I know I had just changed the oil I didn’t really check it. Any help would be appreciated thanks!

 

Also at the moment I don’t have any Oem filters they are otw and my local Honda place doesn’t have any. Will I be alright doing this one oil change without replacing the filter ?

 

One oil change without oem filter isn't a big deal. The real concern there is if it comes loose and you loose oil, or worse, the oil leaks onto exhaust and engine fire. Catastrophic either way. High rpm is what causes it to loosen (combo of vibes and high pressure). Take it easy and there is no danger.

If you didn't vtec on oil that low, you're fine. If you did, its possible there was damage.

In most cases, if you catch it early, its possible to replace bearings, and hand polish crank journals. Its possible to do this engine in car, of you have the skills. You'll want someone that has done this before successfully.

 

is it possible the dipstick was giving me a false reading ? It’s done this where it showed no oil right after an oil change? I checked it cold as I was leaving work and again after I’d driven less then 2 minutes up the street? Also if it was empty and I added 3 quarts it wouldn’t be showing that it was full ? Is it possible it was just a bad reading and I’m over reacting ? Also never seen any oil light but I hear they never even come on until it’s too late. Again I had changed the oil less then 3k miles ago with about 5 or so quarts of oil. Thanks. Also where my car is parked for work it’s on an incline. Is it possible even after taking it up the road the oil just hadn’t leveled out ? I swear I had check my oil a couple weeks ago and it was fine.
*Edit/Update*

ive been home an hour or so the car had cooled down on a level surface and is now showing its full right at the H mark. So if I added 3 quarts and it’s showing full that means it was around 2 quarts in there which is no where near as low as I thought ?

 

Generally speaking, showing no oil after an oil change is most often a result of the fresh oil being so translucent that it makes it hard to detect on the dipstick. If you were able to add 3 quarts of oil before reaching the full mark on the dipstick then you were way down on oil.

 

way down but not nearly running dry where damage could occur ?

 

Most likely nothing happened to the engine since your oil pressure light didn't turn on.

Just check your oil more often moving forward.

Why the rush to change the oil now?
You just put 3 fresh quarts in. So....you kinda just changed it. I'd just wait to change it for another 1-2K miles. You've done 2800 miles...and refreshed 3/5 of the oil. You say you usually go 3-4K anyway.

If you wanna change it now for some reason....go for it. You can always just swap the OEM filter on later when you get it (remember to use a torque wrench on the filter). There's no logical reason to do this panic oil change though.

 

You’re Right, guess just a bit of an over reaction. Def will keep more of an eye on it. Thanks

 

No oil pressure light is a good sign. Maybe send out an oil sample to Blackstone the next few times you change you oil just for peace of mind. I bet its fine.

I think I'll check my oil this morning.

BTW - if you put a torch to the end of the dip stick you can darken it up and make it easier to see very clean oil when you check the the oil level.

 

Count yourself as being lucky, the vast majority of S2000 engine failures happen because of what you encountered. Check your oil every time you fill your fuel tank, much more frequently than what you were doing. No low oil pressure light is a good sign, but you were likely very close to being at that point if you were 3 quarts low, if you would have done some high-g/ hard cornering in high-rpm driving you likely would have seen the light come on. That could have been trouble.

The low reading on the side of the dipstick is always the right level, the higher reading is not accurate, always check both sides and go with the lower reading. Proper procedure is to pull dipstick out, clean it, put it back in, pull it out and get a proper reading. Should be done 5 minutes after engine is shut off hot, I've taken cold readings before too and there wasn't a huge difference either way.

You can go much longer between oil changes and you now have very fresh oil in the car, your oil filter can go further if needed as well.