What is the difference between the oil level light and the oil pressure light?

Colour, and it is the most important distinction on the dashboard. The amber oil level warning, usually an oil can with a wavy line or the word LEVEL, means the sump is low but oil is still circulating at the right pressure — top it up soon and you are fine. The red oil can with no wavy line is the oil pressure warning, and it means oil is not reaching the engine's moving parts. That one means stopping immediately and switching off, because an engine without oil pressure can seize in under a minute. If you are unsure which you are looking at, treat a red lamp as pressure and stop.

Can I drive with the low oil level light on?

Gently, and only as far as somewhere you can buy oil. The engine is still being lubricated, so this is not the emergency the red pressure lamp is, but a low sump has less margin for error and gets hot faster. Avoid high revs and heavy loads, top it up with the right specification, and check the level again after a few days to see whether it is going somewhere it should not.

How do I check the oil if my car has no dipstick?

Use the car's own electronic measurement, which is in the driver display menu, usually under vehicle status or service information. It only gives a valid reading under specific conditions: the car standing on level ground, the engine off for several minutes or up to half an hour depending on the make, and often at operating temperature. That is why the same car can report a different level morning and evening. The handbook states the exact procedure, and following it matters more than it sounds, because guessing leads to overfilling.

Why does my car keep losing oil?

Either it is burning it or it is leaking it, and the two look quite different. Burning shows as blue smoke, especially on start-up or under acceleration, and points at valve stem seals, piston rings or a turbocharger seal. Leaking leaves a wet engine, a smell of hot oil, or spots where you park, and commonly comes from the sump plug, the filter housing, the rocker cover gasket or the crankshaft seals. Some engines simply consume oil and manufacturers publish a rate they consider normal, but a car that suddenly starts drinking it when it never used to is worth investigating rather than topping up indefinitely.

Dashboard warning light

Oil level warning light

Last updated 27 July 2026

Quick answer

The sump is below the level the engine wants, but oil pressure is still fine — which is exactly why this lamp is amber. It is a top-it-up warning. The red oil can lamp is a different thing entirely and means stop the engine immediately.

What to do: Get it checked within days
Can you drive?: Briefly, gently

Why it is amber

A system has reported a malfunction, or something needs attention. The car is usually still driveable, but the fault will not clear itself and several amber lamps are an automatic MOT failure.

What turns it on

A level sensor in the sump takes a reading when the car has been standing on level ground with the engine off for a set period, which is why the warning often appears on start-up rather than while driving. Many modern engines have no dipstick at all and this sensor is the only measurement available, so the number on the driver display is the number you have to work with.

What to do about it

Check the level properly before adding anything. Park on level ground, switch off, and leave it several minutes — overnight is better — so the oil drains back to the sump. A reading taken on a hot engine two minutes after switching off will be low regardless.
Top up in small amounts and re-check between each. Overfilling is genuinely damaging: the crankshaft whips excess oil into foam, foam does not carry pressure, and you can end up with the red lamp you were trying to avoid.
Use the exact oil specification in the handbook, not just the viscosity grade. Modern engines are fussy, and the wrong specification can block a diesel particulate filter or cause trouble with timing chain and variable valve timing systems.
Work out where it went. Blue smoke on start-up or under load suggests it is being burnt; a wet engine or a patch on the drive suggests a leak; and on a short-trip diesel, a level that rises rather than falls means fuel getting into the oil from interrupted filter regenerations, which is its own serious problem.
If the red oil pressure lamp comes on at any point, stop immediately and switch off. That is not this warning and it does not wait.
Have an engine that uses a lot of oil between services looked at rather than simply keeping a bottle in the boot. Some engines are known for consumption, but a sudden change in how much it drinks is telling you something.

Can you keep driving?

Briefly, gently

Far enough to reach somewhere you can buy the right oil, driven gently and without high revs, and then top it up before going further. The amber lamp means the level is low, not that lubrication has failed, so there is no need to abandon the car by the roadside. The distinction to hold on to is the colour: amber is a warning about quantity and you have time, red is a warning about pressure and you have none.

What causes it

Ordinary consumption over the service interval, which some engines do far more of than others and manufacturers often consider acceptable up to a stated rate
An overdue oil change, so the level has simply drifted down since the last one
A leak from the sump plug, filter housing, rocker cover gasket or crankshaft seals
Worn valve stem seals or piston rings, which burn oil and show as blue smoke
A failing turbocharger seal drawing oil into the intake or exhaust
A failed or contaminated level sensor, which reports low with a correct level
Being parked on a slope when the reading was taken, which is a false alarm that clears itself

Does it fail an MOT?

No.

The MOT does not check the oil level, the oil condition or the service history, and there is no defect for this lamp. Two related things are worth knowing. A test station can refuse to test a vehicle that has too little oil to run the engine safely through the emissions check, so an oil warning is worth clearing before the appointment. And since 2018 a fluid leak capable of harming the environment or another road user is a recordable defect, so the leak causing a low level may well end up on the certificate even though the level itself never will.

Fault codes that turn this light on

The lamp tells you which system reported a problem. The code stored behind it names the check that failed, which is the difference between knowing something is wrong and knowing where to look. These are the ones that commonly sit behind this symbol.

P250FEngine Oil Level Too Low
P250AEngine Oil Level Sensor Circuit

Got a different code? Look it up — the index covers every standard OBD-II code.

Common questions

What is the difference between the oil level light and the oil pressure light?: Colour, and it is the most important distinction on the dashboard. The amber oil level warning, usually an oil can with a wavy line or the word LEVEL, means the sump is low but oil is still circulating at the right pressure — top it up soon and you are fine. The red oil can with no wavy line is the oil pressure warning, and it means oil is not reaching the engine's moving parts. That one means stopping immediately and switching off, because an engine without oil pressure can seize in under a minute. If you are unsure which you are looking at, treat a red lamp as pressure and stop.
Can I drive with the low oil level light on?: Gently, and only as far as somewhere you can buy oil. The engine is still being lubricated, so this is not the emergency the red pressure lamp is, but a low sump has less margin for error and gets hot faster. Avoid high revs and heavy loads, top it up with the right specification, and check the level again after a few days to see whether it is going somewhere it should not.
How do I check the oil if my car has no dipstick?: Use the car's own electronic measurement, which is in the driver display menu, usually under vehicle status or service information. It only gives a valid reading under specific conditions: the car standing on level ground, the engine off for several minutes or up to half an hour depending on the make, and often at operating temperature. That is why the same car can report a different level morning and evening. The handbook states the exact procedure, and following it matters more than it sounds, because guessing leads to overfilling.
Why does my car keep losing oil?: Either it is burning it or it is leaking it, and the two look quite different. Burning shows as blue smoke, especially on start-up or under acceleration, and points at valve stem seals, piston rings or a turbocharger seal. Leaking leaves a wet engine, a smell of hot oil, or spots where you park, and commonly comes from the sump plug, the filter housing, the rocker cover gasket or the crankshaft seals. Some engines simply consume oil and manufacturers publish a rate they consider normal, but a car that suddenly starts drinking it when it never used to is worth investigating rather than topping up indefinitely.

This is general guidance, not a diagnosis. Manufacturers draw the same system differently and reuse symbols for more than one function, so check the handbook for your own car before acting on anything here.

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