Engine oil light on

Tiny
IRELAND76
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
  • 4 CYL
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 103,000 MILES
Engine oil light comes on when slowing down or idling but at 50 miles an hour it is off. Oil is changed regularly with synthetic 5/20 and filter at every 5000. Checked oil still where it should be. Bought a hyundia engine oil sending switch to see if it is that but cannot find location of where the switch is.
Thursday, April 9th, 2015 AT 7:44 AM

14 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,055 POSTS
Most likely, it's just the switch. However, have you checked oil pressure using a mechanical gauge to confirm there isn't a problem?
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Thursday, April 9th, 2015 AT 8:12 AM
Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
Just to add to this one, I agree about checking the oil pressure first to confirm no problem exist there but if it is the switch, the switch is located right above the oil filter housing.

See the picture below for location of the oil pressure sender/switch
Image (Click to make bigger)
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Thursday, April 9th, 2015 AT 9:46 AM
Tiny
IRELAND76
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
It is actually a 6 cylinder engine, my mistake. To check the oil pressure not sure where to find it on the engine
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Thursday, April 9th, 2015 AT 10:01 AM
Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
I believe the oil switch is somewhere behind and to the right of the alternator. I cannot find a diagram so I apologize but if you can find the connector that runs up, just follow it back down. The best way to monitor the oil pressure is to use a scan tool that uses live data. I would visit your local hyundai dealer and consult a pro. Labor shouldn't be more than an hour.
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Thursday, April 9th, 2015 AT 5:41 PM
Tiny
RDSGRM
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
  • 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
  • 2.7L
  • V6
  • TURBO
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 103,000 MILES
Bought used car from Huyndai dealer 5 days ago. No warranty given. Is not consistent but came on 2-3 days, not while idling for 5-10 mins but after starting to drive. Stayed on for 20 mins or more. Is this serious engine problem? Got fitness assessment from them before buying. They did oil change and changed the oil filters. There is no oil leak and the engine oil is full. Power steering fluid is less though. Please advise what to do!
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
So is it the low oil pressure light?
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RDSGRM
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Yes, it is the low oil pressure warming light.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
It could be a bad oil pressure sending unit they do go bad. Or a issue with the actual oil pressure itself. The best thing to do is get a oil pressure gauge when the light is coming on an see wat the actual pressure is at idle and at like 2,000 rpms. Or you could get a oil pressure sending unit and replace it an see if it fixes it.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RDSGRM
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
  • 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
  • 2.7L
  • V6
  • TURBO
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 103,000 MILES
Bought used car from Huyndai dealer 5 days ago. No warranty given. Is not consistent but came on 2-3 days, not while idling for 5-10 mins but after starting to drive. Stayed on for 20 mins or more. Is this serious engine problem? Please advise what to do!
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Yes it can be very serious. It may be a bad oil filter that does this however so try a Purolator, bosch, Wix or Napa but also put a manual gauge on it to see what the pressure is. If it's very low it' could mean a bearing problem.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RDSGRM
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Before I bought it, I had engine oil and oil filter changed. Engine oil is full and there is no external oil leak that I can see. Dealer says might just be a switch problem. I am just worried if something is going wrong with the engine.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Ye sit cold be a switch but you check it with a manual gauge to see what you have the switch will only come on when there is 4 psi which you should have at least 20 at idle and dont' check it cold do it with a warm/hot engine.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
2CP-ARCHIVES
  • MEMBER
  • 4,540 POSTS
  • 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
  • 147,000 MILES
My oil was very low and oil light cam on and cars temp went to hot and now I have ticking sound coming from engine and I did full oil change with filter and put stp in and still ticking but I have not driven it because ticking gets worse Ty Paul
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Where is the noise coming from, top or bottom of engine? If it is top, that would be due to presence of air in the valve lifters and some running of the engine should reduce or eliminate the noise as the lifters self bleed.

If it is from bottom of engine, that would be bad news, most likely the connecting rod bearings are worn due to lack of lubrication.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 AT 7:49 PM (Merged)

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