When I come to a stop (e.g. at light), and try to move again - the engine shuts off. I can easily restart the engine and go. Dealer said I was really low on oil; had oil change @ 6k miles ago. (No I don’t check it often enough - please don’t yell at me! 
) Dealer said there is a ‘low oil shutoff’ sensor (not his exact words) which makes no sense to me, cuz then I shouldn’t be able to restart the car. When the car shuts off - the oil light does flash; but is not on otherwise to indicate low oil. Does low oil have anything to do with this? (seems not) what would cause my car to shut off when stopped? It has not done this while moving. Thanks for your time
Kelly
2015 rav4; 167k miles; bought used
It really seems to me you have answered your own question. Check your oil on a regular basis and go by the book for change frequency. It could be the passages are partially clogged and it takes a little time to get back to the bottom for a sensor to let you drive.
This is much too simple . Check your oil level every Saturday or Sunday before you start the vehicle . If it below the full mark add enough to put it back at full . If that solves your stalling problem then good . If not then at least you have eliminated one thing.
1 Like
Try cleaning the throttle body to prevent the stalling. But keep the oil level up, or it’ll eventually stall really assertively one final time!
1 Like
The engine oil pressure will generally be lowest when the engine rpm is the lowest; i.e. at idle. If the oil level is low, any oil pressure problem will show up first at idle. So low oil level is the most likely explanation. The way to prove it is to return the oil level to the proper level, and see if that indeed solves the low-oil-pressure shut-off problem when coming to a stop.
I thought that was basicaly what I posted 3 hours ago.
Good question now come up with a good answer.
Wow @weekend-warrior ! Seriously!! You’re that much of a Sexist!! that Both of your little photos have women in them - and not men - as tho men are so absolutely fool-proof about doing everything they are supposed to do Exactly the way they are Supposed to do it and they do it Everytime they are supposed to!!
FYI: My oil is changed at the Dealer per THEIR stated intervals!! There is no ‘check Engine Light’ on - There is NO oil pressure light/oil level light on indicating a problem!
You can either choose to provide useful content or not reply at all if you have nothing constructive to add and can only show your biases/ignorance!
Seriously - @Renegade - You think this is a “good” question (referring to 'distressed woman") If you do not have a “good answer” to MY question - well - I don’t need comments from the peanut gallery
As for all those trying to provide useful comments - if the engine is shutting off due to low oil - how exactly would that work? I imagine there are many many thousands of people who miss the fact that they are low on oil and I’ve never heard of this problem: cars stalling due to low oil? Been on the planet awhile now - seems this would have crossed my path somehow. But perhaps not - so if someone could elaborate:
how would low oil cause the engine to stall?
Why doesn’t my ‘oil light’ (for simplicity) come on as a warning? My Subaru oil light comes on when I’ve been a bit late in checking my oil level. Seems there’s a bigger problem here.
is that better? if you cant have a little fun in life, then its not worth living.
and I gave you good advice… the 3rd picture.
check your oil regularly and keep it full and your problem will go away.
it had nothing to do with you being a women.
4 Likes
I am not a mechanic just a DIYer but I do know that some engines are designed to shut down and have had one that would shut down with a low oil level.
Agree on this it is just the way we are and has nothing to do with you being a woman no offense meant.
Don’t be so sensistive for Petes sake. Those silly pictures were posted because of your statements that you were told the engine stalled because you were low on oil . You also admit the your oil light on the Subaru comes on because you don’t check the oil level often enough . It seems your problems are self inflicted .
Now back to the original problem . Check the oil level once a week and see if the stalling problem is solved . That is a no cost effort .
4 Likes
Not true at all.
If you reread her opening post, it says the oil light only comes on when the car shuts off.
It does not appear the problem is related to low oil, since the oil light doesn’t come on when the engine is running, and the engine only stalls when the car comes to a stop.
2 Likes
Some cars are wired so that, if the oil pressure sensor senses a very low oil pressure, it shuts off the fuel pump.
Low oil (level) and low oil pressure are not the same thing, but they are related.
Alright! Thanks @JoeMario - for pointing out what I actually said
So . . let’s clear up the question: 2015 Rav4
- the engine shuts off at a stop; easy to restart
- dealer said ‘low on oil’; but the oil light did NOT come on in the Rav4 - to indicate I was low on oil. So if I was low on oil - why isn’t the oil light on?
Thanks @shanonia - OK - that could ‘work’: low oil triggers sensor which shuts off fuel pump. (and yes, I get that low level and low pressure are different but related). But - again - the oil light did not come on (except for a flash at shut off); and if the oil is that low to trigger a sensor - why would it start again? - oil draining back into the pan when the engine shuts off - for those 20-30 seconds at a light - … could that ‘create’ enough oil to increase the pressure??
It just seems that adding oil is not diagnosing the problem - if for no other reason that the oil light did not come on!
Obviously, I’ll see what happens in the next 5k+ miles till I run low on oil again. Just seems that something else is going on.
Low oil, or oil pressure, may not be why the car shuts off when you stop. I would suspect a problem with the throttle body (sticky throttle due to gummy dirt on the walls of the throttle body) or idle air control motor (or whatever equivalent system is there.)
It’s important to check the oil yourself with the dipstick. Don’t expect a warning light or an oil-change schedule to take the place of that! But you’ve already heard that from many here.
Best of luck. Please let us know if and how the shut-off problem is solved.
