Q: Red oil light just came on - 2010 Ford Flex
Driving to a rural area on vacation when oil light came on and stayed on. Oil was changed 1000 mile ago. Oil level is good. Check engine light has not come on. The one mechanic in town said replace sensor. I asked him to hook car to obd reader. He did and while engine was off, the computer said there were no errors at all. He didn't start the engine with the obd reader attached but I don't know if that is necessary. New sensor could aririve today but I don't know if I need to put vacation on hold and wait for it or if I can continue to drive car.
My car has 91000 miles.
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A quick "diagnosis" can be obtained by unscrewing the pressure sensor and installing an external oil pressure test gauge. YourMechanic will compare the oil pressure at idle to the factory spec., but normally at idle you should see approximately 10 PSI of pressure, rising to perhaps 40-65 PSI at highway speed.
If the pressure is "normal", obviously you can use the car for the time being as the activation of the warning light would obviously be due to a malfunction in the circuit (including the "sensor"). If the pressure does turn out to be too low, the reason has to be determined, and repairs made, because driving the car with low oil pressure will ruin the engine.
If you are lucky, it might be something simple like a defective oil filter but if not, the entire lubrication system will have to be diagnosed. To avoid any unnecessary repairs, have one of our mobile technicians come to your home to further diagnose the warning light and help you make the necessary repairs.
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