2001 Cadillac Seville STS - Check Engine Oil

[CadillacMe]

Here's what's basically been the norm for the past year.

Everytime I make a 3 hour trip, the "Check Engine Oil" light comes on.

It only happens when I make a long trip involving highway driving. Can anyone guess where the oil is leaking from?

[submariner409]

If it's leaking that much there will be drips in the driveway. If it's burning that much the cars behind you are choking on blue smoke.

2 quarts from a Northstar in 180 miles (60 mph X 3 hours) is 10+ quarts/1,000 miles.

You have more serious problems than a low oil warning.........

[Ranger]

If it is leaking that bad, there should be no guessing as to where it is leaking from. It should be very obvious.

[CadillacMe]

Is it possible that there might be a bad sensor or something?

When I just use my car for driving around town, the Check Engine Oil does not come on at all.

However, right after I make a long highway trip, the Check Engine Oil message shows up.

I have never noticed any blue smoke and I have frequently checked to see if it's leaving any puddles, but the floor is always clean.

[NHRATA01]

It could be a sensor, they tend to be problematic. In that case the best bet is to just pull the dipstick and visually check the level.

[cadillacroadside]

if its the oil level light, and you check the oil and the oil is full.....then there is a problem with the level sensor or that circuit, if your oil is empty...its going somewhere, either leaking or burning

[submariner409]

As NHRATA01 indicated, level sensors are sort of like the old "Idiot Light" that plagued cars when real gauges were dropped from the instrument panels: They only come on when the problem is already catastrophic.

Make sure your oil level is at halfway up the dipstick hashmark. That's about the correct level for a Northstar. Every few days, check the dipstick after a trip which was long enough to heat the oil thoroughly (10 miles +). Keep track of the rate of oil level drop, if any, and only add enough to refill to the halfway mark. (Some Northstars tend to burn off that first half quart from Full in short order.)

In your first post you did not mention having to add any oil. Are you adding oil, how much, and does that extinguish the oil warning? That isn't supposed to go on until two quarts low.....

[Harry Yarnell]

Is this the "check engine' light? Does it really say 'oil'?