oil warning light

Mr-White

Mr-White

Mr-White

Soldato
Joined
12 Nov 2002
Posts
14,600
Location
In my own little world
My oil warning light came on today, slightly shocked I automatically assumed I had a problem as I've never topped up oil in a car before. I check my levels but never needed to as they always made it to the next service without any help.

I get to my destination and check the oil, and it says i'm below the minimum mark. So I phone the garage who say it was serviced in Feb (garage serviced it before i bought it) and only done 4k miles in it since. I've spoken to Audi who says it takes 3.8L and should be topped up every 600-1000 miles and takes 5w30 oil and that I should only put in 0.5L in case of air bubbles. I get home after topping up oil in a local garage and check my levels again and now its showing just over max. So from below minimum to just above max it only takes 0.5L of oil, so for the sake of less than 0.5L, did I over react ? :confused:

MW
 
How often have you checked it in the last 4000 miles? If you haven't checked it since the service then nothing to worry about (other than needing to check it more often); if you checked it 100 miles ago and it was still on max then you may well have a problem.
 
Car had done about 10 miles by the time I could first checked it when the warning light first came on. Left it an hour, drove to the garage to get some oil, topped it up and then drove 8 miles home where I checked it again.

Cars an Audi A4 2.0 tdi

Tbh I haven't check it recently, i'll check it again tomorrow morning. At least I now have 1.5L of oil in my boot when I next need it :D

MW
 
Could be oil temperature warning rather then oil level, there is a combined sensor in the bottom of the sump which are fairly rubbish.
 
Was it oil pressure light or oil level? How long did the light stay on / how far did you drive with it on?
 
The light came on while I was cornering a little harshly. It stayed on for about 3-4 miles until I stopped. However it didn't come on again when I went to get oil.

The oil symbol was definitely yellow but didn't say min

warningsymbols.jpg


MW
 
yellow is good :) topped it up chances are all is fine.
as peeps are gonna tell you if its a red one , Do not drive with it on !

Checking your oil level and your tyres at least once a month and more often is better should be the least amount of maintenence you do.
 
Just keep a regular eye on the oil level, you'll soon be back down to max level & then with regular checks & taking your mileage into account you'll sort of "know" when a top up is required.

I keep an old rag folded & tucked in between the coolant expansion tank & the side of the engine compartment to assist a quick oil check.
 
All cars should be equipped with variable oil level lights.

Ie.. 'top up your oil' = yellow
'top up or die' = orange
'too late son' = red

Can't understand why this isn't the case..


I know on my car if you see the oil light, it's game over :/
 
bledd. said:
All cars should be equipped with variable oil level lights.

Ie.. 'top up your oil' = yellow
'top up or die' = orange
'too late son' = red

Can't understand why this isn't the case..
Click to expand...

You really can't understand?
1) They cost money
2) It's very difficult to make them read the level reliably.
 
bledd. said:
All cars should be equipped with variable oil level lights.

Ie.. 'top up your oil' = yellow
'top up or die' = orange
'too late son' = red

Can't understand why this isn't the case..


I know on my car if you see the oil light, it's game over :/
Click to expand...


Why not just go back to having a gauge that shows the oil pressure like old cars had?
 
ubersonic said:
Why not just go back to having a gauge that shows the oil pressure like old cars had?
Click to expand...

Because by the time the oil pressure drops to zero the engine is dead.

This can happen instantaneously with low oil.

Oil level is only reliable when you start the car in the morning on a level surface.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom