I posted this in the repair area as well. Wasnt sure where it went. Mods do your thing if i didnt follow the rules. :-)


Ok peeps. Little background first.

2 weeks back, my oil pressure warning light was going off. I look over at the gauge and sure enough that needle is going down to ZERO when the car is idling. If i hit the accelerator, the needle goes up to the first line.. So of course i freak out. Check the oil level, and it "looks" low. I say looks because that dang dip stick is difficult to put in and pull out. By the time i yank it out, the oil reading line is a mess...

So i take it to the dealership. I already had an appt for the oil change and to fix the window grease as well as look at my tire feathering.

The call and say they changed the oil and checked the oil pump. Say it is working fine. Im like WTF?. nothing wrong with it?

So of course now im worried about it and i look at the oil pressure gauge more often then ever. So this is what i notice now. When i first start the car and drive it, the oil pressure needle sits at the half way mark when idle, and when i accelerate, the needle goes all the way up to 120.. after driving it for a bout 10 min, the needle sits between the first line and the 60... when i accelerate it goes up just pas the 60 or so.

What im worried about is when i first drive it. Should the needle be up that high? If everyones elses does it, then i wont worry..

2nd,

I notice that if i accelerate hard, i smell fumes in the car. Its not to a point that i have to put the windows down, but it is certainly noticible... anyone elses do that?

so here is a guess.. maybe.. my engine is burning oil somewhat. I notice that when i clean the bumper of the car, the rag turns black from the exaust fumes sticking to the bumper.. it doesnt burn oil that i see a white cloud.. but maybe its enough that it burns oil, and thats why possible the oil was "possibly" low when i checked it. Low oil could have been the reason i had low oil pressure. The nimrods at the dealer could have not checked the "issue" until AFTER they changed the oil, which had the correct amount of oil...

So its a guess, im gonna have the dealer check it out.. but im skeptical they will really check due to the "nothing wrong" claim i got before.

The car is being dropped off to have the tires replaced, free of charge, on friday due to feathering.. Im going to aks them to check out my "theory" with the oil burning.....

So if you guys could take a peek at your oil gauges when you first start the car after it has been sitting for a couple hours, i would appreciate it.

Also any thing else you can poiint out wiht my "theory" would be great. prove me wrong, prove me right.. i dont care.

just wanna hear from you smart guys. I am definately not a motor/engine guy....

oh and they fixed the window grease issue when i dropped it off the first time.

 

When the car is not warmed up (when your first driving it) the oil pressure is insanely high. You shouldnt be dirving hard the first 5 minutes you start your car up, allow it to warm up first. My oil pressure does exactly what you describe above. It is perfectly normal. You probably were low on oil. Your problem seems to be fixed if you ask me. Unless your blowing smoke out the exhaust or something.

 

try a lower weight oil if your in a cold area it could cause oil pressure to be mcuh higher in cold areas before warmed up.

 

thanks fellas! what bout the fumes smell?

anyone else have that?

 

Your oil pressure is normal and the fumes are probably due to an increase in emissions that coincides with an increasingly open throttle. Your bumper may just be dirty or maybe, if it is exhaust remains, your exhaust tips could be to far under the bumper, which seems unlikely. Anyways, most cars will puff out a little black smoke when the gas is floored due to a sudden increase in fuel delivery, not all of it is going to get burned for a split second and it makes its way out. There are probably a ton of reasons why you smell fumes; shoot, I smell them every now and then. I don't think anything is wrong with your car at all.

 

On your new oil reading mine are the same if that helps as are a friends and we consider the readings normal.

As mentione let it warm up first and let the guages get within spec before driving it hard.

After warm-up and driving my oil pressure at idle is 15 and under load it's around 60 and I smell stuff too, car stuff.

 

I had the same oil problem. Turns out I am burning a quart every 800 miles. Dealer has ordered a new engine. I know of 4 others with this oil consumption issue.

Demand an oil consumption test every 1000 miles. There is a good chance your motor is bad too. Be sure you do it now before the warranty is up.

Good luck

JB

 

is an oil consumption test free?

 

Thanks for the feedback. I was feeling better about it until you mentioned the engine replacement.


I'll have them check all that out.
Ill let you know what they say.

 

The dealer will perform an oil consumption test if they think the car is burning or losing oil somehow. If you suspect you are burning oil, have the dealer do an oil change. Drive the car about 1000 to 1500 miles and check the dip stick. If it is low, bring it back and ask for a consumption test. If you have the oil changed at Jiffy Lube or a place like that, the dealer will not offer the consumption test....they will blame it on the oil change company/mechanic.

Good Luck

JB

 

Excellent I was close to posting the same topic. I am glad I searched. I just picked up and 03 last week. The oil pressure I noticed changes a good amount through the rpm band. I just wanted to make sure everything was right. Thanks.

 

Just a heads up. The dealer did the oil consumption test and said all was normal. Higher oil pressure in the beginning was considered normal as well...