Last week I checked my oil and saw that it was just above the bottom hole of the dipstick. It had only been 5050 miles since the last oil change. I thought at the time that the service interval was 7500 miles but evidently in my area (Cape Cod, Mass, USA) the dealer uses 5000 miles as a service interval. The low oil light had not come on. I called the dealership and set up an appointment for oil/filter change and asked them to look for oil consumption problems. They found none. I was told that if the low oil light comes on that I should bring it in for an oil consumption analysis (or words to that effect). I emailed the service manager and asked him how long I could drive the car safely when the low oil light was on. He responded by saying "It's only a quart low so far enough to add oil." ? I wanted to know how many *miles* I could drive safely with the oil light on. I'm 15 miles from the dealership. So far he has not responded to my question. Soooooo how many miles can I drive safely once the low oil light is on and what do you think of his response? Thank you.

 

Golly, I haven't owned a car that burned that much oil for 50 years lol. I think you need have the drivetrain examined unless either the oil filter or oil drain plug was loose.

 

Did you check the oil level at the time the oil change was done, or at least at some point not too far removed from that date and mileage?

 

After I got home from having the oil changed and new oil filter I waited til the next morning to see what the oil level was. It was 2/3 up from the bottom hole. There's o evidence of oil leakage where the car is parked when I am home.

 

It may be as M5X said. But that would be inexcusable for me. I HOPE a dealership wouldn't make that mistake! Modern cars should not burn hardly ANY oil. My 2002 Ranger doesn't burn a pint of oil in 5,000 miles, neither have my Toyotas or this Mazda.

 

I had checked the oil last Thursday and it was just above the bottom hole. It went in for oil change and filter on Tuesday and I asked them to look for any problems with oil consumption. They said they found nothing. On Wednesday morning (maybe 35 miles after the oil change) I looked at the oil level when the car was cold and it was 2/3 up from the bottom hole on the dipstick. I still haven't had an answer to my question of "How many miles can I safely drive after the low-oil light comes on?" I'd really like to know that because the dealership wants me to come in without topping it off if the low oil light comes on again and I am 15 miles from the dealer so I want to know if I can do that safely. Thanks.

 

My bad because I didn't ask my question the right way, so I'll try again to make sure we're talking about the same thing. What I really want to know is if you checked the oil right after the PREVIOUS oil change (i.e. the one done before the 5050 mile interval that you mentioned in your OP.).

 

No one can answer that because it depends on the cause. If you punched a hole in your oil pan or the oil pan plug fell out then you should turn he car off. But in another post someone said the light goes on when the oil is two quarts low so would probably be safe to drive 15 miles. If the oil is on the dipstick then I'd have no problem driving it to the dealership.

 

No I did not but I will be sure to check oil levels right after oil changes from now on.

 

Hi, Thanks for a common-sense answer. I thought I read somewhere that if the low-oil light comes on, that means it is 0.8 quart low. Don't know which is right - 2 quarts or 0.8 quart. But I will keep your answer in mind. I used to check the oil every month but will start checking every two weeks from now on. That may be a bit of overkill but better safe than sorry. Thanks again.