Oil pressure light

Xcellor

The other day when I was driving back from Dublin to Longford, I was practically in Longford when the oil pressure light started to come on, flicker, go off but become more on than off. A ticking developed. At that point I pulled over to the closest service station and checked oil levels. Oil was low but not completely dry. Anyway, I fill up and dip again and the oil level is now fine.

Turn the car back on and light gone, noise gone, happy motoring. Was driving into Athlone today, about 30-40 miles at the end of the journey, the same behaviour occured. I pulled over immediately, checked oil levels again and they were fine.I turned the car back on and the noise was gone and light also was gone

Car is Toyota Avensis 02 old model.

I have not seen this behaviour in the 4 years driving it. I must say I haven't serviced it in a while other than breaks.

Could this be failing oil pump? Or could it just be oil filter needs changed?

Nissan doctor

It may simply be a faulty oil pressure switch but you wouldn't want to take a chance.

You'd need to get the oil pressure checked to be sure its ok.

Xcellor

Nissan doctor wrote: »

It may simply be a faulty oil pressure switch but you wouldn't want to take a chance.

You'd need to get the oil pressure checked to be sure its ok.

My father in law in a mechanic and he is going to change oil filter+oil and will see.

I'm just going to drive conservatively on the way home. If the light even flickers I will pull over check oil.. turn back on again (this seems to alleviate the issue.)

Ill check the last service and see if filter was changed.

Xcellor

Just to update thread, changed oil and oil filter. Car working fine now.

The filter was heavy possibly indicating a lot of dirt. I suppose this explains the pressure issue.

Lesson learnt. Don't be cheap. Buy an oil filter they aren't expensive!

Xcellor

Spoke too soon. I thought issue was resolved since I drove two 60 mile round trips and not a prob but on the way to dublin airport from longford as I was pulling into the car park the oil pressure light came on I parked immediately, didn't have time to check anything since bringing someone to catch a flight.

When I came back and turned the car on the oil light went off, I drove all the way back to Longford without any issue.

Seems like oil pump? Or switch?

Avns1s

What mileage is on the car?

Those VVTI engines sometimes had issues with burning oil and wear in the lower chamber section and also had big end problems.

The fact that your oil change temporarily solved the issue would possibly suggest that the big end bearings are the problem. The new oil would be slightly thicker particularly when cold and the fact that the oil light is coming on on long runs would suggest that the oil pressure is dropping when the oil is hot.

Is there any ticking noise particularly under load?

It could of course be the oil pump or pickup also but given the issues that these engines had, I would be looking toward the short block first.

Xcellor

Avns1s wrote: »

What mileage is on the car?

Those VVTI engines sometimes had issues with burning oil and wear in the lower chamber section and also had big end problems.

The fact that your oil change temporarily solved the issue would possibly suggest that the big end bearings are the problem. The new oil would be slightly thicker particularly when cold and the fact that the oil light is coming on on long runs would suggest that the oil pressure is dropping when the oil is hot.

Is there any ticking noise particularly under load?

It could of course be the oil pump or pickup also but given the issues that these engines had, I would be looking toward the short block first.

Mileage is 135,000 miles.

In answer to the ticking noise, its not perceivable. The only time I noticed it was just before the light came on. I was driving motorway speeds before that with no discernable engine noise other than what I was hearing before in the last 4 years of motoring.

What kinds of costs are involved in repairing the issues you mention

"Those VVTI engines sometimes had issues with burning oil and wear in the lower chamber section and also had big end problems."

Should I be looking to change the car or is it fixable?

Tea drinker

Xcellor wrote: »

Mileage is 135,000 miles.

In answer to the ticking noise, its not perceivable. The only time I noticed it was just before the light came on. I was driving motorway speeds before that with no discernable engine noise other than what I was hearing before in the last 4 years of motoring.

What kinds of costs are involved in repairing the issues you mention

"Those VVTI engines sometimes had issues with burning oil and wear in the lower chamber section and also had big end problems."

Should I be looking to change the car or is it fixable?

Well hopefully you will tell the new owner of the problems? As regards fixing it, does it owe you much at this stage? Normally for an older car I would say put a thicker grade oil in it and hope for the best, VVT might not like thick oil though.

Apparently in UK at least a few years ago toyota extended the warranty to cover repairs on the engine, as long as it had full dealer history.
I wouldn't hold my breath on that though, partly because it's Oireland and partly because it's so old..... and you don't have full dealer history right?

Xcellor

Tea drinker wrote: »

Well hopefully you will tell the new owner of the problems? As regards fixing it, does it owe you much at this stage? Normally for an older car I would say put a thicker grade oil in it and hope for the best, VVT might not like thick oil though.

Apparently in UK at least a few years ago toyota extended the warranty to cover repairs on the engine, as long as it had full dealer history.
I wouldn't hold my breath on that though, partly because it's Oireland and partly because it's so old..... and you don't have full dealer history right?

I would probably trade it in against something else. I'd like to get something for it.

I like the car so I would prefer to fix it if it isn;t going to be crazy expensive. I checked the service book and it only has one stamp in it from when I bought it back at 70,000 miles. I have serviced it between that though. The last full service was 6 months ago.

Tea drinker

Maybe a secondhand motor is an option.... someone more knowledgeable than me could talk about transplanting one of the newer VVTi that didn't have this problem - gonna cost a fair lot for the transplant alone never mind the "new" motor though.

Have a look here, this guy might have somehting for you:
http://www.donedeal.co.uk/for-sale/carextras/1797274

Word of warning - you need to be 101% sure the new engine fits your car, a minor revision could send the whole idea in a tailspin. So engine codes and serial numbers along with some knowledge required.

Avns1s

When these engines had a problem, it would have kicked in a lot lot sooner than 135K.

Given that you have heard some ticking noise when the oil light has come on, it is clear that the pressure is dropping.

For the moment, I would be looking for a decent mechanic armed with a proper oil pressure gauge to check what exactly it is doing pressure wise and when. I would be looking at the oil pick up and the oil pump as a matter of course in the first instance.

Then moving on to whether or not there is a problem with the "short engine".

It is also possible that the "short engine" was changed by toyota who in fairness were pretty decent with most people who encountered the problem. Can you check? How long have you owned the car? The problem would ordinarily have been evident about 60K miles, sometimes less, depending on the servicing.

If you have the problem that those VVTI engines experienced, it is essentially a new "short engine" (basically all that is below the head. Don't know a cost but would be expecting something in the region of €2,000 at least.


I don't agree with the suggestion about going with an engine from one of the newer vvti's. These are different cars with different ecus and sensors. I would think you're lining yourself up for a litiny of problems if you consider going this route.

Xcellor

Avns1s wrote: »

When these engines had a problem, it would have kicked in a lot lot sooner than 135K.

Given that you have heard some ticking noise when the oil light has come on, it is clear that the pressure is dropping.

For the moment, I would be looking for a decent mechanic armed with a proper oil pressure gauge to check what exactly it is doing pressure wise and when. I would be looking at the oil pick up and the oil pump as a matter of course in the first instance.

Then moving on to whether or not there is a problem with the "short engine".

It is also possible that the "short engine" was changed by toyota who in fairness were pretty decent with most people who encountered the problem. Can you check? How long have you owned the car? The problem would ordinarily have been evident about 60K miles, sometimes less, depending on the servicing.

If you have the problem that those VVTI engines experienced, it is essentially a new "short engine" (basically all that is below the head. Don't know a cost but would be expecting something in the region of €2,000 at least.


I don't agree with the suggestion about going with an engine from one of the newer vvti's. These are different cars with different ecus and sensors. I would think you're lining yourself up for a litiny of problems if you consider going this route.

OK. The engine has always been a bit hungry with oil but I do drive a lot of miles a week but I always kept a check on the oil levels.

I'm going to book it into the garage next week and ask them to have a look. Since I've already done oil filter + oil I hope they will not try and do this again and say all is fine since the issue doesn't appear when you start from cold or even if you drive it for a while. I got a quote for oil pump and its around 140 euro. I was going to attempt to fix myself but I think this is above my comfort zone...


If the work exceeds 500-700 euros I wouldn't be interested since the car is probably only worth 2500-3000 tops.

Ill get it into a garage ASAP and hopefully will know more then... I'll make a decision then.

Cheers for input!
X

Xcellor

Xcellor wrote: »

OK. The engine has always been a bit hungry with oil but I do drive a lot of miles a week but I always kept a check on the oil levels.

I'm going to book it into the garage next week and ask them to have a look. Since I've already done oil filter + oil I hope they will not try and do this again and say all is fine since the issue doesn't appear when you start from cold or even if you drive it for a while. I got a quote for oil pump and its around 140 euro. I was going to attempt to fix myself but I think this is above my comfort zone...


If the work exceeds 500-700 euros I wouldn't be interested since the car is probably only worth 2500-3000 tops.

Ill get it into a garage ASAP and hopefully will know more then... I'll make a decision then.

Cheers for input!
X

I signed up with AA roadside assistance in case I get the noise mid journey. I'd prefer them to tow to the garage , they have an approved garage in my village.

Xcellor

Jacked the car up and had a listen to the bottom of the engine idling + revving to hear if there was any strange engine noises. There doesn't appear to be anything out of the normal. There is a slight noise coming from exhaust manifold but that has been there a couple of years (I was told this is a common issue but to fix costs around 200 euro and since it wasn't creating issues for car could just leave it).

I drove the car the normal 60 mile journey yesterday, no issues, lights, strange sounds. Checked oil levels, they are slightly above the recommended level. Could this create an issue in itself? Would it be better to drain some of the oil and bring it under the max?

Avns1s

Xcellor wrote: »

Jacked the car up and had a listen to the bottom of the engine idling + revving to hear if there was any strange engine noises. There doesn't appear to be anything out of the normal. There is a slight noise coming from exhaust manifold but that has been there a couple of years (I was told this is a common issue but to fix costs around 200 euro and since it wasn't creating issues for car could just leave it).

I drove the car the normal 60 mile journey yesterday, no issues, lights, strange sounds. Checked oil levels, they are slightly above the recommended level. Could this create an issue in itself? Would it be better to drain some of the oil and bring it under the max?

It depends on what "slightly above the recommended" actually is!

If you're talking in the region of say 7-8 mm or less then its absolutely no problem. In fact, part of the remedy that Toyota have for oil burners when they have replace the "short engine" is to raise the oil level by about 10mm and use a new dipstick.

If it's 10mm or more, you might be better reducing it.

whizbang

reminds me of a problem used to happen in older cars, where the breather hoses gunked up,: pressure inside the casing caused these symptoms.
the fact that it happens near the end of a journey would bear this out,as revs drop, oil pump cant keep up.
pull and check all the hoses, PCV, EGR etc.
and change the oil again!