Q: Oil pressure warning light flashing
I was driving home and getting off the highway, and I noticed a yellow triangle flashing, and the MFD said "Low Engine Oil Pressure," and then the car beeped. The light was on for a few seconds, and then it turned off. The off ramp off the highway was a big looping one, and I was driving around 55 MPH. My car has over 100,000 miles. What should I do about this?
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The first thing I would recommend doing after seeing a warning like that on your vehicle is to check the engine oil level. When the oil level goes low, this can cause the oil pressure to go low as well. If your oil level is low you may have an oil leak somewhere. Some potential oil leak sources would include:
- valve cover gaskets,
- oil pan gaskets,
- timing cover gaskets,
- oil filters,
- drain plugs,
- and oil pressure sensors, just to name a few.
If you believe your vehicle is leaking engine oil, I would recommend having your vehicle inspected for an oil leak. Ensure that this job gets performed by a qualified mechanic. Once the source of your leak is found, you can make a repair decision.
If the oil level is fine, then I would recommend having the engine oil pressure checked.
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