• Make sure your car is on level ground and the engine is not hot to the touch before opening the hood.
  
• Your oil dipstick will be located either to the left or right of your engine, or at the front of the engine, as indicated below. It will have a loop at the end so you can extract it with ease. The dipstick leads down to the oil pan, not the transmission.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzNfY3OoWVA&feature=player_embedded#at=85  

• Pull out the dipstick, wipe it off with a towel and stick it back into the oil pan. Pull it out again and look to see where the oil reaches on the dipstick.
  
• Most dipsticks have two holes at the end - the lowest hole indicates your oil level is too low. The top hole indicates the level is too high. You want your oil level to fall somewhere in the middle of these two holes, as shown in the image below.
  
• If your oil level is too low, you will not have enough lubrication and run the risk of blowing out the motor. If it's too high, your engine could have too much compression and blow.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzNfY3OoWVA&feature=player_embedded#at=85 

Be sure to check out Mahalo's page on changing your oil to find out the best method to do so!