Hey, I was wondering if I am doing my oil check right....

Ok so I start the car up, waiting for it to warm up... 3 bars.. then I shut the engine off. Pop the hood, open the hood, took out the oil stick, wiped it clean, put it back, took it out again... and by golly, the passenger side was 3/4 from high, and the driver was at low. I have 1250 miles on it.

I am suppose to read it from the passenger side right... not take the lowest reading right?

I read something about taking the lowest reading... that would mean my car has LOW oil...

So am I doing it right??

Thanks in advance.

 

I don't think you are waiting long enough after you shut the engine off to check the dipstick. The oil is sloshed all over the place and it is hard to take a good read. If you are going to check the oil warm, you might even consider removing the dipstick right after turning the motor off so the dipstick hole can also drain back down (capillary action, you know).
Although the "book" says to check the oil warm, I've always checked the oil first thing in the day BEFORE the first engine start of the day. Then, pretty much all the oil is in the pan and you can get a more consistent reading. This has been the way with most every car in existence. I don't know why Honda chose to do it the "warm" way. This just makes a very simple procedure more complicated than it really needs to be as is shown by your findings.
ps. You are supposed to take the "lowest" side as the reading but when it differs THAT much from one side to the other, I'd be skeptical.

 

Just a quick question about oil level .....Is there any dammage that can be done to the engine if the level is above the last top mark ???

 

If you're only above it by the equivalent of 1 "X", then you're OK. If much more than this, then you can risk engine damage due to the "big end" of the engine frothing up the oil when it churns the oil around. Frothed oil does not lubricate very well.

 

My local paper (The Sacramento Bee) runs a weekly column entitled "Click and Clack" that answers automotive questions. Friday's column had a letter asking about when to check the oil, cold or warm. Their answer was to follow your owner's manual. They went on to say that they questioned Ford when Ford changed its recommendation from cold to warm. Ford answered that they found lots of people forgot to check their oil until they were at the service station filling up with gas. So they calibrated the dip stick accounting for the oil that had not drained into the oil pan. Maybe Honda did the same thing.