A man reposted a video of a Chevrolet owner baffled by an oil gauge that refused to move past the halfway mark—even after she said she poured in 10 quarts.
TikTok user Rami Ghattas (@rami.ghattas414) shared the clip of a woman trying to figure out why the gauge on her dashboard wouldn’t read full.
“Can somebody please tell me why I can’t get this oil gauge full?” the woman, who remains off-camera, asks.
She then shows viewers a close-up of the Chevrolet’s dashboard, where the oil gauge appears to be stuck at the halfway mark.
The woman says she has already put 10 quarts of oil into the car and, “for some reason,” still can’t get the gauge to move higher.
“Help mechanics,” she says.
Ghattas doesn’t explain in his repost, leaving viewers to figure out what might be going on.
As of Monday, his repost of the clip had more than 307,700 views.
The Chevrolet Oil Gauge
One reason why Ghattas may have stayed silent during the woman’s video is that he saw the obvious: She’s trying to “fill” a gauge that isn’t designed to show how much oil is in the engine at all.
Chevrolet owner’s manuals describe the oil gauge on many models as an engine oil pressure gauge—and show an image that matches what viewers saw on the woman’s dashboard. It measures pressure in pounds per square inch (psi) or kilopascals (kPa) while the engine is running. Chevrolet says oil pressure can vary with engine speed, outside temperature, and oil viscosity, and that readings above the low-pressure zone can still be normal.
So, the halfway gauge the woman attempted to interpret does not mean the engine is only half-full of oil.
Chevrolet tells owners to check the actual oil level according to the procedure in their specific owner’s manual. If the level is low, add oil “as soon as possible.” But if the oil level is already within the normal operating range and the pressure reading is still low, Chevrolet says the vehicle should be serviced.
That said, overfilling an engine can cause problems of its own. The correct capacity depends on the exact Chevrolet model and engine, which the reposted clip doesn’t identify. And the clip doesn’t show enough evidence to prove that the car actually needed more oil.
What is clear is that trying to make an oil-pressure gauge read “full” by repeatedly adding quarts is not how Chevrolet instructs owners to check oil level.
Viewers Had A Lot To Say About The Gauge
“Oh honey, that’s not oil level, that’s oil pressure,” one person wrote.
“The oil gauge is for oil pressure, not amount,” another said. “And if you put two of those in there, you put way too much oil in.”
One viewer who identified themselves as a retired mechanic offered a much longer warning.
“Drain your oil. Too much oil is extremely bad for the engine, just like not enough oil. That gauge is a pressure gauge, not a full gauge. It tells you how much pressure … the oil pump is putting out. I’ve been a mechanic for 30 years, and I am currently retired,” he said.
Another commenter echoed the same point.
“That oil gauge is showing you the oil pressure; you have about 40 psi, it’s not 40% empty. Use the marks on your dipstick. You don’t want to overfill it,” they offered.
Some viewers were more worried about the car’s gas gauge.
“You need to be worried bout that gas level. Not the oil PRESSURE,” one commenter said.
“The bigger problem is the gas gauge at 0,” another wrote.
“I know what’s wrong with it!! AIN’T GOT NO GAS IN IT!!” a third person added.
Others were more worried about what might happen next.
“Well, now that you put two of those in there, you can put a new engine in there,” one commenter quipped.
“Let us know how it went when you’re walking home!” another added.
Motor1 contacted Ghattas via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
