Is It Safe To Keep Driving With The Oil Light On?

Your car's dashboard has a number of different warning lights and indicators. Any enterprising gearhead who has driven a lot of old cars can likely tell you how many times they have driven with the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Some lights are a little vague, like the generic Check Engine Light which can mean almost anything, and others are quite specific like the battery light. 

Both lights require attention if you aren't immediately aware of what's going wrong. If your car is acting fine in the moment, you can generally ignore a check engine light until you get a better idea of what's going on, especially if it's an older car. If you're driving along and the oil light rears its red and menacing head, you should take notice and take steps to rectify whatever the problem is as soon as possible. 

It could be something as simple as low engine oil, or something as annoying to diagnose as low oil pressure. Since oil is the substance that most prevents your car's engine from destroying itself, you should do something about it. The oil light is not one you can typically ignore. Car engines are fine tuned to run as efficiently as possible on specific viscosities and weights of oil. It's not something you want to mess with.

Unless you are driving somewhere that you can't safely stop, or you are just a few miles away from your home's garage or a local shop, you should stop driving the car. Low oil or low oil pressure means that the engine isn't undergoing optimal lubrication; extended use can destroy your engine. That's not hyperbole. 

You should pull into a mechanic's shop and have the issue fixed, or pop the hood yourself and get to work if you know your way around an engine bay. If your car is properly equipped, plugging a scanner into your car's OBD-II port could help pinpoint the issue. It could be something as simple as adding a quart or two of oil and going on your way, or it could be something as annoying to replace as an oil pump.

So, if the oil light pops up, you need to (safely) stop driving and figure out what triggered the light. It's not something you can ignore and hope it goes away. Your engine will thank you for keeping it happy and well fed with oil.