Drove to the local Kroger tonight and when I was turning in the parking lot I got an audible alarm bell and warning message that said Oil Pressure Low - Stop Engine. Popped the hood and checked the level…bone dry - literally. In my 36 years of driving I have never seen a stick absolutely devoid of oil but this was.
I bought two quarts of oil and added one to get home. The second is a spare to use to get to a shop. Saturday Before last we had the oil changed at our local Big-O. Been going there for years and trust them implicitly - a great shop. Twelve days days later no oil. The following Friday, 6 days after that, we took the car to a dealer because of a coolant leak (getting engine overheat messages). They replaced one of the coolant hoses that had a split/leak.
Car ran like a top after that until the warning tonight. It could be coincidental but my instinct tells me that it is related to one of the two services recently. Just curious as to what you guys think given that we lost 4 quarts of oil in 12 days or less.
I appreciate any insight.
Edit for updated info - no obvious puddles, drips, or other signs that the oil was being lost -this makes me wonder if it wasn’t a heavy loss that just happened today. Car has 60K miles and has been a great car thus far. We did not check the oil after the change - never have honestly - perhaps we’re too trusting?
The overheating issue was first and separate with cooler reservoir empty. The dealer fixed this and car seemed fine. The oil change was 6 days before that. How likely is it that there is a connection between the two - overheat caused oil leakage?
Assumed that oil change was a full 4 qt change and that level was correct. No oil issues I was aware of until alarm tonight. Added some oil to get home and have spare to add tomorrow to get to a close shop.
My guess, the overheating was related to a low oil condition. What caused the low oil condition? That remains up in the air without add’l info. Did someone besides the oil change shop check the dipstick after the oil was changed out? For example did the place that fixed the hose problem also check the oil level? Any signs of leaks from the drain plug or the oil filter gasket?
BTW: No oil on the dipstick doesn’t necessary imply there was absolutely no oil in the crankcase, There could well still have been a quart or two in there.
At least put in enough oil to reach full mark on stick. You don’t need more engine damage than you already have. You had to have oil when you left oil change place or you would not have made it home. Have you looked to see if you have oil on the drive or all over the under side of car?
I think at this point you just have to start from square one. You really don’t know anything at this point, whether you have a leak or they didn’t put oil in. First make sure the oil is full. Then check it every day at least to monitor if it is losing oil. If it is, then start looking around the engine for oil residue. Some items only leak when the engine is running and can dump a lot of oil in a short period of time. At this point its more important to see if you have a leak than trying to figure out who was responsible.
if it was a Subaru Outback, it has its famous “engine protection shield”, which has a felt pad capable to soak a couple of gallons of oil with no drips you would notice on the floor
probably would be a good idea to slightly raise the front and look under, if any fresh oil would be visible on the engine below
They way I read it, the OP has added oil as necessary over the last 12 days totaling 4 qts.
However, the low oil pressure warning wouldn’t typically happen if it was only 1 qt low. Usually happens due to many quarts low and the pickup isn’t submerged OR you already have significant engine damage from running low for too long.
There are many inconsistencies in the tale as it has been written. For example-
Twelve days days later no oil. The following Friday, 6 days after that, we took the car to a dealer because of a coolant leak (getting engine overheat messages). They replaced one of the coolant hoses that had a split/leak.
Why would you not have them look at the oil consumption problem at the same time? It is significant.
Something seems amiss with the timeline of events. Perhaps you can expand on your explanation to fill in the blanks a bit. That may help people understand the situation better and make educated suggestions on how best to proceed…