Oil Level Too High

[cham]

I’m active over in the R50 threads but my dad has a 2020 Pathfinder Rock Creek Edition.  
 
He’s had it for about a year and ever since he purchased it the oil level showed high on the side with markings.  Before he bought it we took it to a Nissan Dealer to confirm it’s not overfilled and they said it’s normal as oil in the dipstick tube creates this issue and the longer you wait after shutting the engine off, the less oil that shows on the dipstick (backwards from what I’ve experienced).
 
If I remember correctly he might have even said the back side of the dipstick (side without markings) was more accurate to the level.  
 
The owners manual says to start the engine and let it idle up to operating temp; shut it off and wait 10 minutes before checking. The photo below is after 10 minutes of the engine being shutoff but the engine had been running all morning and did not idle up to operating temp (curious if that matters).  
 
Is there anything I am missing?  The oil has been changed at least 3 times by this point so I’d be very surprised the Nissan dealer is overfilling the engine!
 
 

[Slartibartfast]

The only time I've seen a dipstick tube play silly buggers with the reading was on the transmission, when I had just filled the transmission through that same tube, and the inside was still coated. Takes a while for the oil to run down so it's not wiping off on the stick and screwing up the reading. I don't know why there'd be oil up inside the dipstick tube otherwise, or why the dipstick would work differently on a modern VQ vs yours.

 

I suspect the dealer's erring on the high side. If I was running 0W20 in a VQ, I might do the same. Doesn't sound like it's hurting anything.

 

But I don't know crap about the R52.

[adamzan]

My parents have a maxima with the 3.5 and it does the same thing. Only reliable way to check how much is in the sump is to check it cold. I know people hate the old 3.0/3.3 dipsticks but they somehow made it worse on the VQ engines lol.

Edited August 10 by adamzan

[cham]

Yeah I had thought the same thing @Slartibartfastbut even so it’d be considerably overfilled if that is the true reading.  I’ll have to try and talk to a Nissan Tech that works on them a lot and get a read on what’s going on.

 

Is that the Maxima generation with the direct injected VQ35DD @adamzan?

 

 

[adamzan]

It's a 2015, so whatever motor that is, but the dipstick looks identical.