I have a 2005 Malibu LT 3.5L 6cyl and have noticed the same thing when using the 5QT jugs.
I drain the car while on ramps, so it's not 100% level but it's not far off given the driveway slopes somewhat. The car will take about 4.75 with filter for me to hit the max line. In fact I'm usually over by about 2mm on the dip stick.
With 67K on the car now, I've noticed that the oil level drops slightly over the course of about 4K miles. I usually change filter and oil every 3-5K.
Like noted already though, I figure this can't be an exact science. Those quarts and jugs the oil comes in are probably off by some margin (hopefully in the consumers favor...) and the car isn't going to throw a fit if your a tad over the max fill mark.
Oh and I appreciate the fact that the filter is insanely easy to access on the 3.5L - even if it's a mess to remove
I drain the car while on ramps, so it's not 100% level but it's not far off given the driveway slopes somewhat. The car will take about 4.75 with filter for me to hit the max line. In fact I'm usually over by about 2mm on the dip stick.
With 67K on the car now, I've noticed that the oil level drops slightly over the course of about 4K miles. I usually change filter and oil every 3-5K.
Like noted already though, I figure this can't be an exact science. Those quarts and jugs the oil comes in are probably off by some margin (hopefully in the consumers favor...) and the car isn't going to throw a fit if your a tad over the max fill mark.
Oh and I appreciate the fact that the filter is insanely easy to access on the 3.5L - even if it's a mess to remove
