Originally Posted by fifthranger

Something isn't right because the dipstick should show the level of the oil present. If it isn't up to the 'Full' mark, then, the vehicle doesn't have enough. After driving, the oil level should rise on the dipstick and that is why oil is checked with a cold engine. Also, by the time a light comes on, the vehicle is down more than a quart, so my suggestion is to see what happens when adding a quart. Then, check the level again with the engine cold. There is no reason that having your vehicle serviced one time (A.K.A. oil change) should cause the oil dipstick to change, so it is possible that the shop did not add enough oil. The only other possibility would be that a different filter was used, but as weird as this sounds, I had that happen to me. I used to frequent Valvoline for my oil changes, and I was serviced in November and then April, and by pure accident I discovered that the filter changed. I researched online and found out that Valvoline carried two nearly identical filters, so they discontinued the one. It was a very small change in width, but enough evidently to make a difference because I have noticed that my readings measure but not exactly at the 'Full' mark. I don't worry about it, however, you may have a completely different situation, and I wouldn't think the dipstick would simply "go bad".