Would low engine oil cause the check engine light to come on in my 2002 Toyota Corolla
Driving down the highway today, I noticed that the engine light came on. I immediately pulled over to the nearest, safest area to assess the problem. I discovered that my oil is nearly empty.
I refilled it with motor oil and kept driving.
My question is – have I damaged something after driving the car for at least 15 minutes with little to no oil in the engine?
Also, I found it odd that the oil light didn't come on, just the engine light. I drove for another hour until I reached my destination
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Diverse natural reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a lot.
Low oil pressure is a common cause of a check engine light turning on, and it can seriously interfere with your car`s performance. Usually, if this is the case, your oil light will also appear.
It will have a black cap and a negative (–) symbol. Using a wrench, loosen the nut on the negative battery terminal and pull the negative connector from the battery. Keep it disconnected for 30 to 60 seconds. Reconnect the negative cable and re-tighten it using your wrench.
If your warning light turns on, you have low oil pressure, and that probably means you need a top-up. When there isn`t enough oil, a sensor picks up the deficit and lets you know. Even if the oil warning light only flickers, you need to have things checked.
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If you’d like, a YourMechanic certified mechanic can come to your home or place of business to inspect the vehicle and perform an oil pressure light is on inspection to diagnose the vehicle and suggest potential repairs.
As you may know, these lights are designed to come on at specific mileage intervals that are preset by the factory. When your mileage exceeds a certain amount relative to the last oil change, this will trigger the lights to come on. Typically this will include the oil light and the check engine light as there are also other basic service items that are checked during oil changes. I would recommend obtaining an owner’s manual for your car if you do not already have one. This will usually indicate the specific service intervals and recommended maintenance items for your vehicle at the various mileage intervals.
The tire pressure monitor will also come on when the air pressure in the tires has reached a specific threshold relative to the tire design specification. Tire pressure is also impacted by the outside air temperature. For every 10° drop in air temperature outside your tires will lose about 1% in PSI or inflation. As you may know, as the temperature of the air changes the density of the air changes as well causing the tire pressure to be impacted by this. When this happens, the sensors in the wheels will detect this change in tire pressure and cause the tire pressure light to come on. Aside from replacing faulty tire pressure sensors, another way to help prevent this type of fluctuation in tire pressure is by the use of Nitrogen in your tires rather than regular air. As you may know, air is approximately 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and the rest is water vapor and some other small concentrations of gases. Nitrogen is much less likely to migrate through tire rubber than oxygen. This will maintain your tire pressure much more consistently during large temperature fluctuations.
Since this fault has lasted after the engine was replaced it could be a oil pressure sensor, wiring harness fault, ECU fault, oil pump, oil strainer clogged, or low oil pressure.
To diagnose this issue properly you need a complete vehicle inspection to start from square one and identify the root cause of all this.
From what you describe it would not appear to me that something went wrong during your oil change.
If the level is correct on the dipstick and the engine runs and sounds okay, then it is probably something else.
A likely cause for a problem such as this can be a defective oil pressure sensor, or wiring.
Virtually all vehicles have a dedicated oil sensor that will monitor oil pressure of the engine and set off a warning light if it falls to low, in order to protect the engine. If the sensor fails however, it can send a false reading to the computer or gauge, and cause the warning light to activate by mistake.
I would recommend having the vehicle’s oil pressure sensor tested for accuracy, and if necessary the engine’s oil pressure to make sure that there is no issue with the oil pump or system of the engine, as unlikely as that may be.
I’d recommend having a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle for you, they will be able to check for these failures and diagnose your Check Engine Light in order to get your car running normally again.
Regards,
Eduardo
YourMechanic