On an average car, how far can you/do you drive after the oil warning light on the dashboard glows red?

Answer 1

It really depends on why it is glowing red.

If it's just normal usage you should be able to get to a garage and get a top up, even driving quite a distance. You should have an idea that it's normal usage as the oil light will come on briefly whilst doing sharp cornering on roundabouts etc, or on hills. There should still be enough in the sump to get you somewhere safe to top up if this is the case. Though you should top up the oil at the first sign of the warning lamp coming on briefly.

If it comes on with no warning, check your rear mirrors and see if there's an unusually high amount of smoke being emitted. This would indicate something seriously wrong and you are losing a lot of oil quickly. If this is the case you need to pull over as soon as possible, including on motorways etc. If not the rate of oil loss will will cause you to lose so much oil that your engine will cease and thats expensive, if not fatal to a car! You should, if safe, drop the clutch and engage neutral and cost to the hard shoulder if safe to do so on motorways, if it is an engine failure you will lose power very quickly, and if the engine does cease it will be like someone putting the handbrake on!

If there are no signs of oil loss, smoke etc, you should proceed to a place where you can stop safely, services or next junction on motorways. Drive with care, keeping an eye out for smoke from exhaust, and keeping engine revs as low as you can without becoming a hazard to other vehicles.

It's always a good idea to keep a small bottle of oil in the boot for top ups, but it's a better idea to check your oil level regularly.

Having had a couple of engines 'fail' on me due to oil leaks within the engine the amount of smoke caused was amazing, and if you ever see a car on the motorway suddenly start to emit large amounts of smoke, you can be sure they will not get very far before the engine ceases.

Answer 2

Aircraft section with a car question. Interesting
Many many moons ago a mate of mine came up with a great solution to this.
His oil light kept blinking at him in his old Ford banger.
He employed a short strip of black electricians tape over the bulb.
Then bunged in a pint of cheap oil in now and then.
Sold the thing before it blew up.
Not really recommended, though.
Mind, when ex-pat, I hired a car that only had about 600miles on the clock when visiting relatives up north on leave.
The oil red light came on, on a remote stretch of the M6.
It blew up big-time a few more miles on.
The AA bloke tried jump leads to re-start the horrible thing.
Er, have a look underneath, mate.
I have left a scattering of vital bottom end components behind.
Big hole in the sump pan.
So to play it safe I would top up the thing as soon as possible, then find out where the old oil has gone to.
Is there any in the radiator ? If so. it is likely that the head gasket is no longer for this world.
If the thing is dripping it out from underneath then a loose sump bung or a knackered sump gasket may be the culprit.

As for how far you go with the warning light on, I would say that you are probably OK on a short, easy-going local hop, but not for any considerable motorway distance.

All the best with it. I have to replenish the grease in the stern greaser every other day, where the prop shft exits to the propeller, and I haven't got a clue as to where it all dissapears to. Hey Ho.

Bob the Boat

Answer 3

I would find a safe place to stop (as soon as possible) and make arrangements to top up the oil imediately.

However, the warning light might be an oil pressure warning light rather than an oil level light, so check it again once the oil has been topped up. If it still shows have an technician look at the engine.

Driving with insufficient oil, or low oil pressure will seroiusly damage the engine and it may jam.

Answer 4

What red warning light? If it its the oil pressure warning light, you may have a bad sensor, but it is likely that you have excessive engine wear or contaminated oil. If the oil is too thin, it will sense low oil pressure, especially once it warms up (in 3 miles) You may have gas in your oil that is thinning it. If your engine has been abused or has a lot of miles on it, there may be too much clearance between the bearings and the crank which will cause the oil pressure to be low. It will only get lower as the oil heats up.

Answer 5

This question is obviously directed at people who do not maintain there vehicle.

I've driven over a million miles on the UK roads and have never ever seen the light come on.
Regular and correct servicing & inspections are always strictly adhered to, plus I've always changed oil at 3000 miles religiously!

I have never called the breakdown services even though I've always had cover!
What a shame!!

To answer the distance part of the question, then the book states that you must pull over to a safe place asap and check oil level etc.

Answer 6

Bad,bad,bad sign.Never drive if that light comes on unless you wont to risk seazing up the engine .Oil is much cheaper than a new engine.If your car leaks oil check it regually,depending on the severity of the leak.If you don't have much money put some stop leak in the oil reservor.Otherwise check were it leaking an fix it.Who knows it might be just a gasket leak.Thats why when I by a used car I don't like to buy a car with a clean engine.They could be hiding a oil leak.Goodluck.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

What a stupid question considering you are a member of the AA.You find a safe place to pull over and stop the engine at once.How do you define an average car?Your average patrol person is not going to be well pleased to be called out because you were trying to find out how far the car could travel with the oil warning light on.Regards Mick Harsh but fair.

Answer 9

Depends if the car is yours or not
A works van a few years vago got driven for about 500 miles with no oil at all in it,everyone thought the other driver had mended it,so no-one did.Luckily I have a Slick50 obsession,and i do all my vehicles with it.Found out,slung some oil in,didnt seem to have done much damage.
Not reccomended on your car though,and bike engines tend to weld themselves into a lump of useless ally

Answer 10

It is a warning and further progress in the vehicle is dependant on ignoring the warning or otherwise.
Advice - pull into the nearest garage provided you are not shedding oil onto the road surface or unless there is heavy black/blue smoke coming from you engine compartment or exhaust when, in either case, you should stop as soon as safely possible.