welland 54 Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 This weekend, my 2006 rx400h began to give intermittent warnings about low engine oil level. Yesterday, the warning was displayed for a few seconds after starting the car and it went away by itself. Then there were several trips when the warning was not displayed. Today, the warning was displayed at the start of one trip, and did not go away until i stopped and restarted the car. Then there were several trips when no warning was displayed. I have checked the dipstick and it shows the level to be about half way between Min and Max. So, is the electronic level sensor correctly warning of low level? In other words, if I top up the oil, will the warning stop? Or, is there a fault that's causing the warning to display when it shouldn't. Any thoughts? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PCM 659 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 No harm in toping it up a bit? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
royoftherovers 2,494 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, PCM said: No harm in toping it up a bit? Spot on Piers.That is the first logical step he should have taken. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PCM 659 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Oil changed recently, or not for a long time? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
welland 54 Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 13 hours ago, royoftherovers said: Spot on Piers.That is the first logical step he should have taken. Not necessarily logical to add more oil. According to the dipstick it is not low. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
welland 54 Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 12 hours ago, PCM said: Oil changed recently, or not for a long time? Last changed in 2019, but not done many miles this year, for obvious reasons. Oil still looks clean and golden in colour, same as it did when new. How is the age of the oil relevant to the level? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
royoftherovers 2,494 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 10 minutes ago, welland said: Not necessarily logical to add more oil. According to the dipstick it is not low. Depends on one`s perspective Peter. I gave an answer from my perspective, I was not criticising you Peter. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The-Acre 2,186 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 On 12/6/2020 at 11:55 PM, welland said: This weekend, my 2006 rx400h began to give intermittent warnings about low engine oil level. Yesterday, the warning was displayed for a few seconds after starting the car and it went away by itself. Then there were several trips when the warning was not displayed. Today, the warning was displayed at the start of one trip, and did not go away until i stopped and restarted the car. Then there were several trips when no warning was displayed. I have checked the dipstick and it shows the level to be about half way between Min and Max. So, is the electronic level sensor correctly warning of low level? In other words, if I top up the oil, will the warning stop? Or, is there a fault that's causing the warning to display when it shouldn't. Any thoughts? Unlikely topping up the oil would make a difference if it's between the levels. I'd consider the oil pressure switch to be suspect. It could also be the oil pump failing. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
welland 54 Posted Sunday at 12:43 PM Author Share Posted Sunday at 12:43 PM Thought I'd give you a long-overdue update. A few days after my original post, I was driving along and there was no warning about low oil level, until I descended a steepish hill, whereupon the low oil level warning illuminated again. I realised that there is a possibility that the oil level might be fine on level ground, but that it might give a low reading on a gradient, so decided to top up the oil after all. After topping up the oil, the warning has not been displayed again for a couple of months, so I think that was the problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m4rkw 408 Posted Sunday at 09:25 PM Share Posted Sunday at 09:25 PM If the car isn't level when you check the dipstick you'll get an inaccurate reading. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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