If the oil is down, add enough to bring it back up to the mark and then start the car. If the oil pressure is fine , then you will have check the oil level every few hundred to 1000 miles and keep it up.
You will have to decide if the oil is being leaked or burned and how best to fix it.
If there is lots of oil,and the light stays on, then you should not drive the car. there may be serious problems or a simple loose wire.
The newer oils that are synthetic blended can go 5000 easy. But you really need to pull the dip stick and look at it yourself, don't rely on a gauge or a light. Being an '04 with 120k I'm betting on it being low on oil. Bet the filler cap says 5w-20, use the oil recommended by the engineer. Watch the under side of the car, find out if there's a leak and how bad is it?
Low oil pressue means one of two things.
1) Low on oil
2) Excessive bearing clearance. You must replace rod/main bearings.
you will know it is time to change oil when your oil to the touch will be runny and not dense, smelly and black instead of golden or whatever color it was when new. Yes you can touch the oil and smell it.
hello,
i got a 2004 mercury ford card. got 120k miles on it.
how do i really know it is time to change the engine oil.
i usually dont stick to the 3k miles oil change..
but i just saw a message on the dashboard that says
LOW OIL PRESSURE
what does it mean..is it time to change the oil..
it has been 5k miles since my last oil change
