The manufacturers probably don’t make cars that will shut down due to low oil pressure to prevent damage to the engine because most people would rather continue driving the car to a location that is more convenient for them rather than have the car stop running just because the engine is in grave danger. Having the engine shut down before it is toast without the option to continue driving it is probably viewed as a lawsuit waiting to happen. “It wasn’t safe to stop, but this POS just quit running and nearly caused an accident!” You have to think like the average consumer.
Apparently the OP may not return to answer the question about checking the oil level.
Two days ago the oil light was on. The next day the car was being driven.
It’s pretty obvious what happened here and also pretty obvious why warranty is not and should not pay one single dime of this, just like the incident with the prior poster.
Tragic it’s true, but neglect is on the shoulders of the car owner.
I think BMW got rid of their oil dip sticks on some models now, and just have some kind of oil level monitor in the car
Your posting is missing some important information.
First, was this your oil pressure light? How far did you drive once it came on?
Second, was the engine low on oil when it died? When was the last time you checked it before that and what was the level at that time?
For us to be any help.
What is the reason for denial of warranty?
Have you check the oil level over that 15,000 miles?
Thank you all for answering and sharing your comments. The first answere is no, I did not check for oil. I believed that (as previously done) when the oil indicator lit up advising me to 15% oil life, that it was telling me oil need changing. Obviously I am not mechanically incliened at all… I believed that purchasing a newer car would help me in this, Obviously I was wrong. It will most likely be a very upsetting lesson to learn. Funny, is that when I owned older cars I wooried more about the oil, and stuff… the extended warrenty is to 80,000 miles covering manufacturing defects, not horse trainers that look under the hoofs, not the hoods.
Well, you have discovered that the oil life reminder is an item that really should be ignored.
That reminder does not tell you what the oil level in the engine actually is and often those reminders stretch the interval out way too far between changes.
Regarding oil change intervals, that varies depending on the type of driving, environmental conditions, engine upkeep, etc.
Mostly highway driving means you can stretch the intervals out to 6 or 7k miles (a bit much anyway in my opinion) but should never be strung out to 10k or more miles.
In some really severe cases, changing the oil every 2k miles or 3/4 months may be in order.
No matter the interval, the hood should come up at least every couple of weeks or every 1000 or so miles to check not just the engine oil but all fluids.
Failure to do this, and with that annoying oil reminder, can allow the fluid situation to get clean away from you.
The oil life indicator does not actually read anything about oil itself. It is a change based on your driving habits(engine computer) which are likely many miles on highway if going to 15k between changes. It has no idea if no oil is in sump or full and topped.
Basically as your oil level gets lower the remaining oil left works harder and harder. Over 15k miles you likely dropped a 1qt -2+ qts. Consumption is normal.
A basic part of car brand new to old ownership is checking and possibly topping the oil every 3-4 fuel fillups. This would have saved your engine. The (overwhelming) owners manual covers this.
I think Honda dropped the ball in offering this indicator but not giving a low oil level light some cars offer.
Anyway you know now. Life’s lessons unfortunately are the most expensive ones. Look at replacing the engine with one from a wreck besides fixing it. It may be less expensive.
Given her 68,000 miles since 2009, this car is driven likely pure highway and oil led a very easy life except not at proper level.
I think I speak for everyone who is a regular here, ianamartina, when I say that we appreciate your honesty about not checking the oil level on this car. Many people come here and either dodge the question or outright lie about it to try to see answers they want rather than the truth. One thing to keep in mind about modern internal combustion engines is that, as much as they have improved over the last 100+ years, they are still the same basic design, and oil consumption is pretty much impossible to engineer out of such a design. Some engines will not lose an appreciable amount of oil between oil changes, while others may consume a fair amount. I have had cars that lose anywhere from half a quart every 6k miles to a quart every 800 miles. I suggest that, once your Fit is repaired, check the oil level frequently until you know for sure how much oil it uses, and how many miles or how much time it takes to lose it. Then check the oil level at appropriate intervals. As an added bonus, if consumption changes suddenly, you will know there is a problem and can get it corrected. If you make this a habit with all your cars, you will most likely never have to endure a problem like this again.
“How hard would it be then to wire the car in such a way that when the “oil” pressure light goes on showing low or no oil pressure the power to the fuel pump or fuel injectors is cut off?”
My 1975 Civic did this with a simple relay on the electric fuel pump.
The main purpose was to not waste fuel in a hot carb if the ignition’s on and the engine not running.
“they have improved over the last 100+ years”
Read what had to be done to drive 2000 miles in 1902:
I don’t understand some of what you have said in your posts.
I can understand the Oil Life monitor telling you to not change the oil for 10k to 15k miles, under your mostly highway, and lots of it, driving conditions. There is nothing wrong with that, IF you are using oil that is just as good as what Honda originally put in the car.
Chances are, Honda’s 5W-20 oil is a full synthetic oil.
If you are going to Jiffy Lube, and getting the $10 oil change specials, then that oil IS NOT as good as the Synthetic stuff from Honda, and shouldn’t be run through the entire range of the Oil Life Monitor.
Now, when you say the Oil Light came on, are you referring to the Oil Life Monitor, or are you referring to the Red Oil Light on your dash?
I know you haven’t checked the oil level in the past 15k miles, but was the oil level actually low? Did your mechanic tell you it was actually low?
And, this is most important:
Why exactly is Honda denying your claim?
What is their exact words?
Tell your mechanic you want it in writing from Honda North America.
You should be able to get the engine replaced.
BC.
Actually, it was a safety requirement. You can’t keep pumping fuel out of the gas tank if the engine is not running. In the 70’s, the easiest way to tell if the engine was not running was to wire to the oil pressure switch. Now with electronics, the PCM already knows if the engine is turning or not.
I knew there was a better reason than I could think of…
I’ll never understand people who do not read their owners’ manual.
…nor will I.
As to the reasons why folks do not bother to read their manuals, I will offer two possibilities:
The mistaken notion that the Owner’s Manual is technical in nature, or that it is very difficult to comprehend. Despite the reality that these manuals are intentionally written on an 8th grade reading level, some folks apparently believe that these little books are the equivalent to a Doctoral Thesis. In fact, when we discussed this topic in the forum a couple of years ago, a woman chimed in with something along the lines of…“who could possibly understand the stuff in those books”. I can only assume that the woman was…less than fully literate…or had never actually opened an Owner’s Manual in order to see what was contained in it.
The inclusion of too much “legally required” content.
I still recall reading the manual for my Accord, which contained–if I recall correctly–20 pages on how to use your seatbelt! Perhaps some folks have seen this type of overkill, and decided to stop reading after the first chapter.
In any event, these folks are only cheating themselves, especially the masses of people who do not seem to comprehend the dire nature of an oil pressure warning light.
Maybe the annoying seatbelt buzzer/beeper should go off when the oil pressure light comes on.
But disabled when the engine isn’t running, and for a few seconds after starting.
In my 1988 VW Jetta GLI the buzzer went off annoyingly when the oil pressure light came on. It caught your attention.
Fortunately and not surprising it was the electrical sensor failing. That VW did not have a single mechanical issue, just electrical gremlins.
I can’t imagine that.
When I bought my brand new '07 Altima back on 12/26/06, as soon as I got it home, the very first thing i did was bring the owners manual inside the house, and go through everything I could find in the owners manual, with the exception on how to use the seat belt, and install a child safety seat section.
I know how to use a seat belt, but I don’t have any children, so the child seat installation instructions aren’t very useful to me. Luckily, my little sister who came to visit with her young one, knew exactly how to use the back seat anchor points. So, even when I needed that section, I didn’t.
When I bought my '98 Porsche Boxster, again, I spent days reading that owners manual, along with everything else I had, and it was an 11 year old car when I bought it. Again, i skipped the whole part about seat belts, but no child seat anchors in this car. Heh heh.
From reading the owners manuals, I have learned how much oil the engine needs, how much manual transmission fluid, how much coolant, what replacement headlight and tail light bulbs, how often to change my air filters, and how to change a flat tire.
I’ve also learned what that “clunk” noise is when I first start driving my car at the beginning of the day is, not to mention how to change the time on my clock when DST either begins or ends.
The only thing the owners manual doesn’t give me is winning lotto numbers.
If it did, it would be the second most powerful book in the world.
It would also answer the questions of about 55% of the people who come here on the first try. That would take away from some of our fun, however.
BC.