CHANGE OIL SOON message

[jobloggs]

Hi all,

I hope I've put this in the right place.

I have a Megane Expression 1.6 2005 Auto, bought in October last year. I'm not 100% on the mileage as I have it set to how many miles I've got left before I need to get petrol but I would imagine it's around 17,000 as it was very low mileage c. 14,000 when I bought it.

I started the car last night and noticed that where it usually says OIL OK (or whatever it says), it said CHANGE OIL SOON with a little spanner icon. My question is, does this mean there is not enough oil, oil not clean enough or purely a prompt to get a service? Baring in mind that I thought a service was a way off as it had only 'apparently' been serviced when I bought it 6 months ago.

I've got to drive to the inlaws today which is a 140 mile round trip and I'm worrying in case I damage the car?

Does anyone know what I need to do, is it imminent? If not, how long do I have on average to change the oil and finally, how do I go about changing oil!!!

Thanks

Jo.

[nbray67]

Hi Jo,

I posted a similar question regards this 'change oil soon' icon that appeared, so far, the people who have read the post don't know the answer as I 've had no answers to my post, good luck with it tho.

We could do with more Renault Mechanics on the forum, they'd be able to answer the more common queries on here.

Regards

[busternlouie]

Hi all,

I hope I've put this in the right place.

I have a Megane Expression 1.6 2005 Auto, bought in October last year. I'm not 100% on the mileage as I have it set to how many miles I've got left before I need to get petrol but I would imagine it's around 17,000 as it was very low mileage c. 14,000 when I bought it.

I started the car last night and noticed that where it usually says OIL OK (or whatever it says), it said CHANGE OIL SOON with a little spanner icon. My question is, does this mean there is not enough oil, oil not clean enough or purely a prompt to get a service? Baring in mind that I thought a service was a way off as it had only 'apparently' been serviced when I bought it 6 months ago.

I've got to drive to the inlaws today which is a 140 mile round trip and I'm worrying in case I damage the car?

Does anyone know what I need to do, is it imminent? If not, how long do I have on average to change the oil and finally, how do I go about changing oil!!!

Thanks

Jo.

Are you sure the service was carried out 6months ago? If so, then it is more than likely whoever carried out the service forgot to reset the counter on the dash.
If you're in any doubt there's no substitute for actually opening the bonnet and physically checking the level of the oil.
Service intervals are generally 18k miles / 2yrs, but its recommended to change the oil more frequently than that.

Hi Jo,

I posted a similar question regards this 'change oil soon' icon that appeared, so far, the people who have read the post don't know the answer as I 've had no answers to my post, good luck with it tho.

We could do with more Renault Mechanics on the forum, they'd be able to answer the more common queries on here.

Regards

Your original question was posted in the "Megane 225" section, granted this maybe the correct section for your car but with the 'problem' you encountered not being model specific then you would have more chance of a quicker reply if posted in "Ownership Problems".
Also there is a search button.....

[busternlouie]

Shame on the regulars for not pointing out the obvious and for having lives!

Consider myself well and truly shamed!!

[jobloggs]

Thanks for the responses

I did check the oil yesterday after I posted and am even more confused. I wasn't sure whether to check the oil on a warm or cold engine, so from lots of different google searches I summised that if you check on a cold engine the oil level will be lower than on a warm one??

So, I check the oil which was above the max line, I tested it a few times, each time cleaning the dipstick and each time it was over the max. I'm obviously no professional but the oil didn't look too dirty, just a lot of it!

I then switched the car on and the message didn't come up but then did come on later in the day after driving a 140 mile round trip, would the engine heat have something to do with the icon lighting up??

My car was only under a 3 month warranty but would it be worth ringing the showroom I got it from to find out what they did? Would they know? I don't want them to carry out any work on it as they charge about 200 quid just to drive it onto the forecourt!

[jobloggs]

It was right up to the top of the dipstick, probably an inch above the max line.

Might not be brain surgery to you but to me it is!! It might not need resetting, it might have a problem?? Am I wrong?

[busternlouie]

...that just get a small independent garage to drain a bit out shouldn't charge much tis about 10min job...

Or park over a grid, crack off the sump plug and let some out.




I'm joking by the way!!

[jobloggs]

...that just get a small independent garage to drain a bit out shouldn't charge much tis about 10min job...

Or park over a grid, crack off the sump plug and let some out.

[nbray67]

Cheers Freddymecurystwin for the reset link. Follo'd the instructions and Bingo, no 'change oil soon' message.

There was no sarcasm intended in my post to Jo, like lots of 'new' members, knowing where to look etc.... is not always as obvious as it may seem.

Jo, follo the link from above but only after you've had the oil changed or at least drained some oil, you've got to much in there if its an inch above the 'max' mark on your dipstick, this will damage seals trying to push to much oil round, i'd suggest getting it sorted asap.

Regards :