Sounds silly, but lighting is really important. I had a lot of trouble reading the dip stick until I finally installed some brighter LED lights in my garage.
Other tips:
- Make sure you wipe the dip stick before taking a measurement
- Look at both sides of the dipstick. One side is usually smudged for me.
- Some recommend roughing up the dipstick with some sandpaper. I haven't dont this, so can't personally recommend.
