I am about 1k miles away from my service and for the first time I got a message saying low engine oil with a orange colour exclamation mark.

Here in the UK the service are done every 10k miles, and I have my service done every 10k and have never had issues with oil levels getting low in between services. I will check the dipstick in the morning and see how that is looking. As my service is 1k mile away, if my engine oil is low what should I do?

any advice would be really appreciated.

 

Add oil. Check for leaks. How low is it?

 

Obviously add more oil make sure you don't over fill it, bad for the engine.

 

Your other option is to do the 10k service at 9k.

 

just checked the dipstick and damn it is very low. its lower than the low mark. I thought the sensor would have alerted me way before it got that low. Anyway, the service department is closed today so I need to try and book it in tomorrow. But in the meantime, I dont want to drive the car and having read the user manual it says that you need to topup with the same engine oil that is in the car already. Problem with that is that I dont know what exact oil is in the car. Can I just get something that is compatible with the car and topup oil so that I can use the car until the service?

 

You don't need to top it up with the exact same oil that's already there. Just buy a 5W-30 or 5W-20 oil that meets the specs in the manual, top it up, and you should be fine.

I'd highly recommend getting into the habit of checking basic maintenance items such as oil level, tire pressures, etc. on a regular basis, rather than waiting for the electronic nannies to start complaining.

 

i've just purchased a small 1litre bottle for topping up but i'm getting confused with the dipstick. I pull out the dipstick and wipe it, then when i take it out to check the level, there is thin bits of oil all over the dipstick even above the max line, but there is a tick layer that ends just below the minimum mark. Is this the mark I should be following? why is there small amounts of oil elsewhere aswell?

 

Many oil lights are oil pressure lights not oil level lights. (Not sure what Lexus uses) Oil level can drop pretty low before a pressure light will trip. Once that happens oil needs added immediately. This is why it's important to check oil levels periodically. Don't rely on the warning lights.

 

Thank for your replies. I've topped up a little bit of oil and I am getting confused with the dipstick reading. When i initially pull out the dipstick, the oil is very high up above the max line but not a thick layer or anything just like splashes, but then when I wipe it with a tissue and re-insert it and check the line I get a more accurate reading. but there is also thin layer of oil marks going above the max line even though i wiped this down. Can any one tell me why this is?

I dont know which oil mark to actually use to determine oil level. I'm assuming that i use the line that has a thick layer of oil and that ends in a straighline and covers the dipstick 360 degrees. can someone please advise