I bought a new oil pressure sensor for my '03 Buick LeSabre Custom in March 2020 per my mech suggestion. He said the leaking oil from a busted bellows on the CV Shaft Axle damaged the oil pressure sensor. Now 9 months later, I went to a Valvoline Oil change shop for an oil change. Four days after the oil change I get the oil light indicating low oil pressure. I took the car back to the oil change shop and demonstrated the low oil pressure. The claimed to get a manager to review the recording of the installation and get back to me. What are the possible causes of failure in this scenario?
Those oil change chains are terrible with plenty of horror stories coming out of them. If you're lucky they just knocked the connector off the sensor part way and it finally came loose. Or, the new sensor went bad. Just about anything else is going to be much worse, unfortunately. Is there enough oil in the engine? What does the dipstick show?
had i 4x4 at work with low oil symbol, senor was working, pressure tested at sensor port on block read 2 bar on diesel engine low. put thicker oil in and retested engine pressure raise up to 4 bar. manufacturer stated 6 bar.
ask my foreman head mechanic told me low oil pressure and is symptom of warn engine bearings.
could be wrong oil or loose connector/faulty sensor or warn bearings-- oil pump never fails,
Thanks for the insights
I am also a victim of Vavoline. They enticed me with their coupons that ultimately ended up charging me $100 just to get my oil changed anyway and 20 miles later my car would not start. I took it to a mechanic who wrote it off said I need an entirely new engine due to no pressure took it to my cousin who is a mechanic also, he change the catalytic converter but the low pressure oil light is still continuing to come on when I come to a stop and then when I give it gas it shut off . I will never go to Vavoline ever again and I don’t recommend anybody else going either.
Is there enough oil in the engine? What does the dipstick show?
The dipstick shows normal oil levels. The pressure was dropping and erratic after the car warmed up during normal driving. I constantly monitored the oil pressure while driving, but now the oil pressure is near zero. I figured I can inspect and clean the sensor and wiring with the CRC electrical cleaner and degrease the area to see how it works. If not replace the oil pressure sensor.
Is it possible that the engine is getting pressure and the oil pressure sensor is giving bad readings? Can I visually observe the oil circulating by running the engine with the oil cap removed?
The way to really check it is to temporarily hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge in place of the sending unit. That will show you right away what the oil pressure really is. Might be worth checking the oil filter since it's conceivable that might cause a problem.
I have changed the filter already. Is that how they check it at the oil change shops?
The oil change shops typically are not competent to check anything mechanical. Their employees are not mechanics, they are usually minimum-wage workers with a bare minimum of training. Using a mechanical gauge is the most reliable way to find out the true oil pressure. If you're unable to do this yourself I would get a mechanic to do it but have the car towed or use a traveling mechanic, don't drive it or even run the engine for more than a few seconds until you know what's going on.
Thanks for the guidance.
to them and victim of Vavoline. They told me they put in oil that is modified exactly for a high mileage vehicle and immediately after getting my oil changed my car started acting funny to the point where she wouldn’t start within approximately 20 miles after my oil change. I had my vehicle towed to two different mechanics. The first mechanic told me there’s absolutely nothing I can do. He said I would need an entirely new engine and perhaps that’s his way of being polite without really telling me he didn’t want to have to do any work on my car. And then took my vehicle to my cousin who replaced the catalytic converter, and when he gave me my car back running, he was just concerned that a muffler place should take a look underneath. or he installed it properly because that is definitely a part that he does not work on frequentlySsll
