Oil pressure light – That genie lamp (oil warning light) on your dashboard is turned on. Well, unlike the actual genie lamp, it won’t grant you wishes but rather gift your car troubles. Your oil pressure light can come on or start to blink for a variety of reasons – and all the bad ones. But no need to panic. If you are driving a new vehicle, you could still be in luck.
Newer cars come with two dashboard oil pressure lights: an orange “reminder” light and a red “dangerous” light. The orange light, when turned on, is a reminder for a quick oil change whenever possible. On the flip side, the red dashboard light flicking on likely presents a serious issue that needs immediate assistance from Towing service Dallas.
Knowing about the crucial components of your vehicle helps you, in the long run, to take the best care of it, and the oil warning light is no exception. So, read ahead to know more about the reason and meaning of your oil light coming on.
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Common reasons for oil pressure light to come on
From reading errors to mechanical faults, there are a lot of reasons why an oil light may come on. Here are the most common ones
- Fault in the oil pump
- Clogged oil filter
- Low engine oil
- Inappropriate engine oil type
- Faulty pressor sensors
- Lack of vehicle maintenance
What to do if the oil pressure light comes on
As soon as the oil warning light on your dashboard comes on, you need to stop your engine. To do that, slow down and pull over to the shoulder whenever it’s safe. Then, try to move to a safe place for yourself and other driving vehicles because it’s likely you won’t be able to use your car. Now, get out of the vehicle investigate the issue.
First and foremost, raise your hood and check the engine oil levels. If it’s low, top it up to appropriate levels using the dipstick. In case you don’t have a spare bottle of engine oil, call reliable roadside assistance and ask them to send a nearest towing service to assist you.
What might happen if you don’t stop
Driving with an oil warning light turned on can be dangerous. Like in most cases, if your light comes on due to low oil pressure in the vehicle, your engine may suddenly stop. This is because the friction on internal components may increase and produce excessive heat, resulting in engine seize and ultimately catastrophic accidents.