Hi,

Reversed my car out of the drive this morning and the engine oil warning light came on. Flashes red on the dashboard, checked the oil and it is a few mm below the minimum on the dip stick. I checked the manual and it says 'fill up as soon as possible' but doesn't give an indication as to how many miles I can do before my engine will go POP.

I am very concerned because to goto work and back is a 35 mile round trip and we can't get any oil until tonight.

Will it be ok to drive it until then? When the warning light appears how many miles can I cover before it needs changing. Will 35 be ok???

PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks, Chris.

Should think that as long as you dont drive on the limiter, it will be ok

The engine wont go "pop" it could sieze. Is the driveway on a slope? (if it is then try restarting the engine on the flat - the light may go out) I assume there are no signs of a leak?

Ring your boss, tell him whats up, get some oil, then go to work.

It should be fine cos its a low level light not low pressure light.

Just dont cane it and fill up as soon as poss.

Yeah, get on. It will be OK. They won't just pop due to having slightly less oil than normal. If there was NO oil in it, it would be a different matter.

I'm with Goochie on this...

I imagine it will be ok, just take it steady and fill up ASAP.

It should be fine cos its a low level light not low pressure light.

Just dont cane it and fill up as soon as poss.

Doesn't that depend how much oil is in there though. The low-level light will also come on when there is no oil in the system at all! Personally, I'd ring my dealer and seek their advice - if they say it's ok (and are happy to put that formally) then they should be happy to pick up the pieces if anything is damaged.....

Chris

on the octy the low oil level light is yellow/orange ,and the low oil pressure light is

red .First time the oil level light lit up I was travelling at speed through mid wales and it frightened me to death ,first sign of how much oil the 2.0 8v engine used on a regular basis ( one litre per 850 miles is considered normal says my dealer )

paul

IDIOT MODE (BUT STILL CONCERNED)

It's the Engine coolant warning light which keeps flashing not the Oil warning light. Started the car at lunch time and the light has disappeared?

I'm worried now!

Is it just a dodgy sensor or if it is low (not checked yet) can I just fill it up with water until it gets it's 30k service in 3 weeks time.

Thanks for any help.

On my vRS this meant 'Top up the coolant tank, level is below min'.

Don't forget the anti-freeze. Best check engine oil cap and water resevoir for any sign of mixing - mayo - in case of head gasket failure.

Is it just a dodgy sensor or if it is low (not checked yet) can I just fill it up with water until it gets it's 30k service in 3 weeks time.

I'd wager it's the sensor (not that I've had a few go and seen similar things reported on here).

Check the coolant reservoir level, if it's above min you'll be alright. As postman pat says, it's worth checking there's no mixing of oil and antifreeze.

If that's all in order, will probably be a knackered sensor - I found mine would flash up when I started the car, but if I then turned the engine off and on again, it wouldn't reappear until the next cold start...

Rob.

Thanks for all the replies.

Me, I'd take a sickie.