Oil Dipstick

[mikey67]

Hi,

I have just purchased a 2003, 03 registration Toyota Previa.

When I bought it, the oil dipstick was showing about 1 inch above the maximum level. It was last serviced by a Toyota dealer.

I have just had it serviced at my local garage and it has returned again with the oil dipstick showing 1 inch above the maximum level. When I queried this with them, they said they refilled it with new oil (I can definately see the oil has been changed), with the amount stated in the book.

They also queried this and he phoned toyota about this and they had said there was a known problem with this, in that the dipstick always shows too much oil even when the correct amount of oil is in there. Apparently they were going to issue a new correctly calibrated dipstick but never did.

Does anyone else know of this problem? I have no reason to doubt my garage who are reputable and have always serviced my cars well in the past.

If this is the case then how do I know when the oil needs topping up? Is the real minimum level as calibrated on the dipstick, or somewhere higher, etc.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Regards

Michael