When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I got my very first warning in the display when out on my usual Sunday drive/cruise and my heart skipped a few beats and sweat started to form on my forehead.
A few days ago, I topped the car up with about 1/2 liter oil and realized that each bar only accounts for about 0.2 liters so I filled 'er up a tiny more than I should have. Anyway, the display showed the oil to be full (as expected) and I have driven the car very sporadic and only for smaller trips (less than 5-10 min per drive). Engine sounds perfect as always...
So, Yesterday, while driving I hear a a beep, looked in the display and saw that oil canister symbol followed by the text "oil indicator failure". My heart skipped a few beats but I was thinking this cannot have any devastating effect as
1) The oil is topped up,
2) The oil pressure is still a 2.5 when pushing in the clutch and letting the car roll jumping to 5 when releasing the clutch and pressing the accelerator,
3) No red warning light in the display.
Drove home, parked the car, and saw the ! in front of messages.
Switched off the engine, waited a few minutes, turned the key to do the oil measurement again and the warning had gone and the oil was measured as expected.
What now? I gather this was just a misreading somewhere in the system and I should probably say this to the garage when taking the car for service next time or should I have this looked at now immediately?
I have seen some other posts around the net on the subject, but people have a tendency to jump the gun and draw up conclusions which cases even more panic than doing anything good.
Just replaced my oil sender unit. $55 at the dealer. I wasn't exhibiting those symptoms, but just jumpy and errorneous readings. Get a 19 mm crowsfoot, a long extension and socket ratchet. Easily done. Took all of 15 minutes.
This happened to me literally a block after driving away as the new owner of my car. As those say above, the oil pressure sender in these cars can get a bit wonky. You might try cleaning off the contacts before you replace it. Sometimes it is just a bad contact.
Funny. I have the C2 in at the dealer for preventative water pump replacement. I tell the service writer that I am in no hurry as I have the C4S and it is running great with the new engine that Porsche donated to me last April. I get a mile from home and warning indicator goes off and oil pressure gauge drops to zero then bounces to max and back to zero. But I don't sweat because it happened to me twice in the C2 - two replaced senders. Sender on the C4S is under warranty since it came with the new engine. Not sure if the sender is different but it is mounted differently - up top on the right - looks like it would be and easy DIY but I'll let the warranty cover it.
As the dealer says, there is a reason that they keep a ton of these in stock.
OK, now it came back on and this time the oil pressure indicator on the right side of the dash, fell to 1 and then went up to 5 and stayed put. I drove home (5 min drive) and restarted the engine and it seemed like it went back to normal.
Now, not knowing if this is just an indication error or actually the oil pump (?) maybe I should drive the car to my Porsche garage and leave it there for repairs? It's only 20 miles (about 30 km) away...
I'm getting worried now...
How would I know if the oil pump has folded? Is there anything else I should have "looked" at or replaced while they are at it in that area?
Cheerio,
F
PS. Still not as much as one drop of oil is leaking if it makes any difference...
It is not the pump, it is the archaic sensor. Some oil pressure sensors for our cars are already malfunctioning when new.
Symptoms of the dead/dying sensor are the "oil indicator failure" and oil pressure gauge falling to zero. Few seconds/minutes later gauge jumps back to 5. I had this happening once a week for over a year, never bothered with sensor replacement.
Frank - Did you ever replace your old sensor? If not, then you should. I've not had to do it myself, but from all indications, it is a cheap, easy and common repair - kind of like the ignition switch. Until you do change it, it will probably continue to give you wonky readings - it isn't likely to fix itself. Plus, if you have a real problem with your oil system, a bad sensor may hide that problem.
kcattorney, I must confess, bow my head in shame and say no :-( As it only popped up this one time I didn't pay it much more attention and did get to drive around before it came up again. As you can read, first time the oil pressure indicator in the dash board did not react to the warning but second time around it did.
I have booked time with Porsche in Bern (the one in Switzerland) for the following week after the next to have it fixed. Just hope they have and open spot for me...
I'm anything but an DIY person and especially as I do not have a private garage but rather have the car parked in the secure communal parking basement at my home.
Thanks all for your feedback and pointers with this issue... Anything oil makes me VERY nervous tbh ;-)
I had the same thing 2 weeks ago. At first, my heart skipped a beat. Then I listen to the engine, checked my mirrors for any smoke, watched the tach carefully and all was good. Although oil pressure had dropped for a second, it had come up to normal range and no CEL. I figured it's either the sensor or it's connections or an electrical glitch. Got home and 2 hours later when I came back the warning was gone. Checked with my mechanic and he said just stope by at some point to replace sensor but not an emergency.
09-15-2014, 03:26 AM
My first warning: "oil indicator failure"
