Only half a qt came out
 

^^^

Who changes/drains their own oil without removing the oil filler cap?
You don't appear qualified to do your own oil changes.?

Telcoman

You better check your oil level you may be grossly over filled.

Or you burn oil and need to regularly keep an eye on the level, which is not uncommon.

It's very possible you only had 1/2 qt left in the crankcase. How often do you check your oil level? You should be checking weekly, it takes 10 seconds, always check on a cold engine before starting.

Is this an AWD model, i.e. G35X ? Just wondering 'cause the front differential drain plug is close to the oil filter and it holds just a little over a 1/2 quart.

Did you just buy this (recently) ?

Excellent thought Hall.

I have to believe it was fairly low when they checked it too. That should have been a 'red flag' to the inspector that has been ran with low oil levels. They just mentioned that it needed an oil change ? I'm surprised they didn't put a quart or two of oil in just to be nice.

Definitely sounds like it was very, very low. Oh well, no point dwelling on it now. Check it every day or every two days for a couple of weeks and see how the level changes. You may be able to get away with checking it once a week or once every two weeks if it's not losing oil too fast. Is it leaving oil spots when you park it ?

New/fresh oil can be hard to read on dipsticks. As others have said, check it when it has sat for hours - the longer the better. My tips:

1) Remove the dipstick, wipe it off, and leave it out. Cover the dipstick tube if you want to be extra cautious. Wait 5 minutes (??), re-insert it, pull it out and check the level. I suggest leaving it out because it seems that when you pull the dipstick out, it can 'drag' oil up the tube and when you quickly re-insert it, some of that oil can get on the dipstick, making it hard to get a clear reading. The thinner the dipstick tube the worse this is.
2) Before you remove the dipstick for your reading, take a paper towel and lay it flat somewhere on the engine. Remove the dipstick, lay the end with oil on the towel and press it down. Pull the dipstick towards you, only move it a 1/2", and keep it "straight". It should leave a "trail" on the paper towel. Where the trail stops, where does it line up on the dipstick ? That's your reading.

The oil light is pretty much useless I've found and if it comes on you're pretty much empty. Source - ran an 03 coupe down to 2 quarts ish once as an uninformed driver. Every time I hit the brakes hard the light would come on. Keep a really close eye on the level from now on and pray that the engine is alright

I think it's more a testament to how well the oil pump design is, that it takes such a drastic loss of volume to trigger the dummy light means it's incredibly well designed to scavenge every last drop from the pan.

That light is really only there in case of a hemorrhage situation anyways, you're SUPPOSED to check oil regularly but if you hit debris on the highway or rupture the oil filter gaskeat and dump your crankcase quickly you need the light so your motor doesn't seize.

I definitely agree, wasn't intending to bag on the oil pump. Was just saying that going off of the light is pointless Lol, but considering the fact I ran down to sub 2 quarts with no engine damage whatsoever is really impressive