Red light oil symbol/low oil?
Posted by Hungry-Mix-283@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Hey everyone! Please do not roast me for asking this question, I am a girl who knows absolutely nothing about vehicles. At my last oil change, they forgot to give me a mileage sticker for my next oil change so I’ve been going off the vehicle maintenance information on my car.
My car was at 30% oil so I was about to schedule my oil change, however, today when driving the red oil light started to flicker. It didn’t stay on consistently, and ended up turning off. I obviously know not to drive with that on, so luckily by the time it happened I had just arrived to my house.
My car has been making an odd rattling sound lately and was going to have them check it out while changing my oil. I know that driving with low oil is not good at all, I usually keep up with oil changes but thought I could go off my cars reading since I didn’t have the sticker from my previous oil changes. I’m wondering did I just really mess up my car? I’m wondering if the sound I’ve been hearing has been contributed to low oil. I’m super nervous I did something really bad to mess up my car. Again, I know virtually nothing about vehicles so I feel like a complete idiot right now and am panicking :(
Tinyberzerker@reddit
One thing I tell my customers is to spend some time with their owner's manual. It has tons of info in it to avoid issues like this. I am a woman who's dad taught me the basics in high school and I went on to run repair shops for decades. It's never too late to learn new things. I say this gently. Your car is a huge investment, and depending on what you're driving, the motor may be damaged. Have it towed to a shop and hope for the best. Feel free to reach out if you need assistance going forward.
ActionJackson75@reddit
It's abnormal for a car to lose oil for any reason between regular interval oil changes. The question is where is it going? Yes you should get you oil changed but you should also top it up before driving it again, it's worth it to 'waste' a couple quarts of oil by topping it off right before getting it changed. I'll throw out a few questions to try to get you on the right track to finding out what's wrong.
1 - how quickly is it losing oil? Check it every time you fill up on gas and keep notes.
2 - Do you park in the same spot every day? look for oil spots on the ground
3 - Does it smoke when driven a while? Sometimes oil leaks don't show on the ground because they burn off and you'll see smoke coming from the engine.
4 - does the exhaust appear darker or thicker than other cars like yours? If it's not dripping out of the engine it's burning inside the engine and going out the exhaust.
5 - is your coolant the right color? This is kinda a worst case scenario since oil and coolant are never supposed to mix but it's one place the oil could be going.
The rattling is a whole separate issue and is hard to even know where to start with that but the best way to separate the question is to figure out if there's a pattern to when it rattles. Does it change with vehicle speed, engine RPM, or road roughness?
Substantial_Team6751@reddit
Many cars use oil between oil changes. There is nothing abnormal about it. Lots of manufactures will tell you that losing a quart of oil every 1000 miles is still within parameters.
Gunk_Olgidar@reddit
Check the dipstick. Add oil as necessary. Oil type is in your owner's manual and printed on the oil fill cap.
It's something you should do at least monthly. I do it every time I fill up my gas tank on all my vehicles, as well as check the other fluid levels. Got nothing else to do for the minute and a half while I wait for the pump handle to click off. Rear your owner's manual or watch a youtube vid to learn for yourself.
Hungry-Mix-283@reddit (OP)
Thank you! I do know how to check the oil, so I did when I got home. It’s very low. I’m super nervous I messed up my car. The light wasn’t consistently on, it came on for like 3 seconds and then turned off right away. I’m hoping my car will still be okay.
SqueakyCleanRubbish@reddit
Have it towed to a garage if anyone of the first four steps fail.
1) top it off with oil and look for leaks
2) turn the car on, listen to the engine, and make sure the oil light doesn't come on
4) rev to 2k rpms for a few seconds and check for leaks
5) take it to a mechanic for an oil change. Let the mechanic know what happened and ask the mechanic to check the old oil and oil filter media for forbidden glitter.
Substantial_Team6751@reddit
Towed? You go to the nearest gas station, walmart, 7-11, grocery store and buy a bottle of oil and install it.
djltoronto@reddit
There's absolutely no reason to have it towed, simply correct the oil level and then drive it anywhere you want.
trader45nj@reddit
You're conflating oil level with changing oil based on mileage and/or months. Oil needs to be changed because it gets dirty and contaminated, even if none needs to be added. Oil gets consumed by all engines. A new engine and engines in excellent shape will consume little oil and may not need any added between oil changes. Many engines, older engines though will need to have oil added between changes. How much depends on the condition of the engine, if it has any leaks, etc. Some cars could need a quart added every 1000 miles or less.
Prudent_Situation_29@reddit
What does your sex have to do with it? I'm always hearing women are just as smart as men. You're as capable of understanding engineering as I am.
I'll give you a hint: the owner's manual.
Hungry-Mix-283@reddit (OP)
It doesn’t have anything to do with it. Just saying I am a girl who knows nothing about vehicles. I know plenty of women who are good with this stuff, but me, not so much, which is why I am reaching out for help. I made a big mistake and am learning from it.
Anachronism--@reddit
If the oil is too low it can slosh to the side when you turn and the pump is left dry.
If the car has been sitting a while you don’t even have to wipe the dipstick. If it’s below the add mark find out the appropriate type of oil and add it.
The maintenance reminder is for the age and wear of the oil, not the level. But if your car uses some oil between changes the longer time period could allow it to drop lower.
tamale-smuggler5526@reddit
Hope and pray that nothing internally is damaged. Sounds like this is your first car. You want to keep up on top of stuff like this and inform yourself. YouTube is a good spot to learn and do it yourself for many simple things. Have a competent mechanic take a look and change the oil.
Back in college, a friends friend ran her car for 2 years without any oil changes. She was surprised when her engine was toast. But her dad bought her another used car. Haha, don’t be this person. Cheers!
rudbri93@reddit
Check your oil level. Yes driving with low oil can result in low oil pressure, which can kill an engine. Top it up and see if its still making noise.
nueroticalyme@reddit
A red oil light means low oil pressure. This is very bad and can lead to major engine failure. If you ever see that light you should park the vehicle and turn it off as fast as possible. Do you know how to check your oil? If not, you really need to learn. It would be easiest to have someone you know show you in person, but there are tons of good youtube videos. We can not answer questions about the noise without having the vehicle in front of us pr having a good quality vidoe or audio clip.
SeasonalBlackout@reddit
It's time to learn how to check your oil level. Watch and learn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNNyu9S65E4