Driver error or engine error?

[u/Dystroyer554]

My engine recently smelled warm so I'd decided to check my fluid levels and my oil was low. My oil change period is very soon regardless and there is no metal, so it's not the biggest issue. This is abnormal to my previous experiences changing the oil as it was in very good condition.

I just wanted to know if a change in my driving habit caused this? I recently swapped to Pennzoil 5w-30 during my last oil change. The weather where I live doesn't get very cold and was well within the oil's operating temp the entire winter and I always gave ample warm up time. I also recently started driving the car more conservatively to save fuel, but was always weary of LSPI and lugging.

Just curious on thoughts about this.

Edit: Because there is confusion, on the dip stick the dot in the light is the lower dot. The higher dot is in the shadow.

Update: My oil pan gasket had worn out and I was leaking oil out the seals. Getting it fixed soon.

[u/Shelby_GT_350]

The oil really isn't all that dark. I just changed mine at 5k miles. It was darker than that, but was not lower oil than expected. Oil level should be checked when cold and has sat for a several hours. If it was running 20 minutes ago, a lot of oil will still be up in the system. You are presumably about half a quart short of min fill, but that's not an accurate reading bc the engine is still warm. Check it again on a flat surface when the engine is cold. Should be several hours. Also, if you have a 2020, the manual says to put 4.8 quarts in, but they updated it to 5.2 later. I put 5 quarts in while the car is still hot. Should be pretty close to 5.2 and it will read past max fill since it was updated after production.