Okay, someone help! my car's oil light keeps coming on. why would this be???

Question

i bought my cadillac catera (1997' 80,000 miles) a couple months ago, and i have kept up with my oil changes. my car always seems to need more oil and antifreeze. one day my oil light came on 5 times, i added more oil to it, and it kept going off. so i took it to a shop to get the oil change and ask why the light keeps coming on. basically they tried to over charge me by checking my sensor..when they could have just checked the oil pump,so i got mad and left. when i went home that day i checked to see that they did everything okay.i noticed there was no antifreeze.so i went and bought some, and added it. the next day i drove my car to work and then i went straight home.when i turned my car off it started smoking ALOT from under the hood. later i checked it again and all the antifreeze was gone. this was within a days time of refilling it! i just went outside to check my car and there is a leak, im guessin its antifreeze. couldnt there just be a leak in a hose?

Answer 1

you have a cracked head

Answer 2

Wow, you got problems. Well yes you could have leaks on your oil and your anti-freeze (radiator cooling system). If the anti-freeze leaked out that quick, I figure you got a leak. It could be a hose, or it could be the radiator, or the water pump. Do you live in a cold climate and did it freeze that night? It could have frozen in your car and broke that way by pressure. If you get the water hose, and put it into your radiator and let it run until it is filled up, then crank your car and run it and make sure it stays full, you will be able to see if it is leaking. Also, leave the radiator cap off and look to see if the water pumps and moves inside the radiator after it runs a while and gets warmed up. It may take a little while, but you should see the water move if your thermostat is working right, it should cut on and allow the water to circulate, so you see water moving in the radiator. If you find a leak, you have to fix what ever is leaking. Oil could be leaking from several places too, Try to see if you see it leaking and making it get smoky in the engine area. It may leak by the valve covers and onto the exhaust system which will burn the oil making the smoke. Or the smoke could have just been steam from the water leaking. Hope you have a mechanic friend, you may need one. If only the hoses are leaking, you can fix that. Good luck, hope it helps. You may want to buy a Chilton Repair Manual for your car, it could help you too.

Answer 3

For starters don't add oil just because your light comes on.Check the dipstick. Your sensor could be mallfunctioning. Do you have antifreeze in your oil pan? Can you see where you are leaking antifreeze from a hose or from any section of the motor? Could have head gasket leak?
Where is the oil smoke comming from ....the dipstick hole or the 'add oil cap' hole?
Should check all these out and get back to us.

Answer 4

Yes, there probably is a leak in the hose or in the tank. I suggest that you take it to a dealership and order a complete diagnostic review of the fluid systems. This way they should discover any hose or tank damage. And, you are in luck because they should be able to order after market parts to repair it with on premises!

One could also request a diagnostic of the light warning system to determine if there is a reason for the oil light's persistence. Is it accurately reflecting the oil fluid amounts or is there a 'bug' in the warning light system?

________

The excerpt below is from the source below:

Lemon laws are United States state laws that remedies to consumers for automobiles that repeatedly fail to meet certain standards of quality and performance. These vehicles are called lemons. The federal lemon law (the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) protects citizens of all states. State lemon laws vary by state and may not necessarily cover used or leased vehicles. The rights afforded to consumers by lemon laws may exceed the warranties expressed in purchase contracts. Lemon law is the common nickname for these laws, but each state has different names for the laws and acts.

In California, lemon laws cover anything mechanical, including a toaster, as does the federal lemon law. The federal lemon law also provides the warrantor may be obligated to pay your attorney fees if you prevail in a lemon law suit, as do most state lemon laws.

Engine problems

Transmission problems
Water leaks
Paint defects
Electrical problems
Brake problems
Steering problems
Vibrations
Bad smells
Rattles
And many other defects

Answer 5

It sounds to me such as you have the two a foul head gasket or a cracked cylinder head or on the worst, a cracked engine block. verify your oil and spot if evidently to be watered down or seems to have water in it (oil and water do no longer mixture, quite in a motor vehicle engine.) make certain your antifreeze does not have oil in it additionally, make certain there are no longer any leaks below the motor vehicle. you're able to try this by using making use of parking the motor vehicle over a flattened cardboard field in one day and noting the place the leaks are the subsequent morning. Oil is black or brown, antifreeze is green and transmission fluid is pink or reddish brown. a foul cylinder head-gasket is the least confusing and least confusing restoration. A cylinder head is the subsequent worst, and a cracked engine block, nicely, you would be searching for a clean motor vehicle.

Answer 6

Sounds like a warped or cracked head. Have the car checked at a reputable repair shop, not an oil change place.

Answer 7

oil light is linked most likely into a sensor on ur engine go to auto zone and ask them to use thier diagnostic handheld computer on ur car if ur car is ODB2 cert meaning newer then i think 94 they should be able to plug into ur cars computer system and see if ur car spits out any error codes then they can look those error codes up and figure it out better, or head gaskets, does ur car have any whire smoke from under the hood in heavy usage if so ur head gaskets need changed, if ur car smokes white from the tail pipe only that it more of a internal valve seal problem or worm gaps in ur cylinder walls that are letting oil leak past into the combustion chamber and then it ignited with ur gas mixture and that gives u a white smoke out ur tail pipe, now if the white smoke is tinted blue u have a totaly diff prob also if ur car only smoke when first starting that ussaly mean is a series of gaskets that oil leaks past only when ur car is sitting,....make sure ur cars cooling fan kicks on as well, check ur hoses from ur radiator and make sure they all are locked tight if they are wet then u kno whitch one is leaking, use a thick antifreeze, in walgreens they sell this lil eye dropper thingy that has diff colored balls in it buy one for 5bucks and dip it in ur radiator coolant it will show u by how many balls float ur boiling point and if its too low u need to get a coolent flush done as weel and get new coolant..try going with a 10-40 oil thats thicker,, also go to autozone get stp smoke stop it should be a bottle of oil thats super fudge thick it bonds to ur seals, helping elimnate smoking.

ur oil light is ussaly only triped by factory miles setting and maybe by sensors so if it keeping goin off u have a sensor that bad or corroded or possible a electrical faluire try dissconnecting ur battery a few times and see if u can trip the oil light off .

check ur oil and ur tranny fluid, do they look normal or do they look thin as if water has mixxed with them ?

if you have hot rodded the car or drove it even 20miles with out enough oil u could have seriously screwed the motor, just as my friend did to his 93 caddie last week his car smokes when starting and running and when u turn it off... make sure ur front motor seal arnt leaking,......if you have to go buy uv dye kit for 50bucks and put he dye in ur car and at night use a uv light or buy the kit and ull find exactly where leaks are comming from if there is any....also check for hoses that are dry rotted and may have a crack in then thats not noticable till u bend the hose...check for holes in ur radiator, if the fins are bent realine them with a butter knife works good it saved my old acura once! other thing is ur sensor might be screwed up but still works and is kicking on ur fans at the wrong times ur engine gets hotter then it should burns up oil and coolent and u might have a combination of worn piston rings or head thats leading to the smoking if it smokes for only a min then when u drive it it dont smoke but then it smoke if ur engine get hot then its rings and valve stem gasket and ur hood smokes because of head gaskets , hope i helped !!

Answer 8

The first two answers are on the mark. And you can't keep driving this unless you are prepared to replace the engine or the car. No oil and no anti-freeze mean trouble. That's why these indicators are often RED - means STOP.

Answer 9

My guess would be you have a blown head gasket
and it is sucking the oil and antifreeze inti one of the cylinders

A compression test will tell.

Yes, it is expensive and if you don't get it fixed it will ruin the engine.

Answer 10

If you keep losing oil maybe you've got a blown head gasket.