The item about the number of cars with low oil levels made me think about the number of threads I've seen on here which included the words "oil didn't even reach the dipstick" You have to admire the bravery of those who admit they hadn't checked the oil level of their performance car for 6 months?
The comical thing was when the oil was drained from that poor Proton and it was driven until it died. It went for ages before it started rattling! According to many on here, you just need a Scoob which hasn't had the infamous "****" oil change and it will knock the ends out without bothering to drain the oil!
I remember a popular item at the Middlesex RS owners club day, where the oil and water was drained from an old Fiesta and it was run at 4000rpm until it expired. They sold raffle tickets where you could guess the time it took! One year the damn thing went on for nearly 10 minutes!

JohnD

 

I LMAO at the woman that removed the dipstick and tried to dip it into the oil filler

 

That was the best bit, I was worried that people dont know this most basic of things.
Whilst I thought it was a bit stupid doing in a public road, after all he could have stalled in the middle of a roundabout or something it was a great article.

I like Tim Shaw, he is one of those presenters that's you can take at face value.
It did remind me to check the oil in the family hawkeye too (which was a bit low)

 

FiveFWD - Tim?s oil campaign video from Fifth Gear

 

Guess it is a coincidence that most car manufacturers dont install oil level indicators in their cars...........some people might just forget to check!

 

Crazy how people dont check the oil regularly, probably the same people who dont service their car's either

How low does the oil have to be for the dash warning light to come on?

 

I check it once a week and if it has moved even a tiny bit i top it up.
The level gauges on the dash of cars are crap my better half's car said it was full and the dipstick had got to that dry stage described above.

 

You're asking how low the engine oil level needs to be to illuminate the dash warning lamp on an Impreza?

The answer to that is almost completely empty. It has to be low enough to suck air through the pickup (i.e. nearly dry). The dash lamp is an oil pressure warning, not a level warning.

 

I see, so its a engine rebuild indicator

Dont worry, I havent never seen it light up on any before. I check my oil level at least every couple of weeks

 

In practice, probably. Either that or an oil pressure sensor failure indicator.

 

Defo engine rebuild at that stage!

 

Mine came on once, whilst the Defi's showed the pressure and temperature were both fine.

HTH

dunx

P.S. Still running fine, once a litre of CFS was added the light went off.