Hey guys, hoping for a little help here. I have a '06 3.9 LT. I had my oil changed about a week ago. Two days later, the 'LOW OIL LEVEL. ADD OIL' light has come on every time I start my car. I watched them put the oil in personally, the dipstick reads that the level is fine and there are absolutely no signs of leaking anywhere around the car.

Have any of you run into this problem before? I'm assuming this may be an electrical issue but I have no idea. Any suggestions?

 

when you get your oil changed, you have to reset the oil life sensor.

it's easy to do, your monte carlo manual will walk you through it, also good to learn how to reset your tire pressure monitor.

 

Ive got two procedures you can try. My owner's manual and my haynes manual have two different ways to reset the OIL LIFE on our 06 montes.

1) owners manual- Turn the ignition to RUN, with the engine off. 2) Fully press the accelerator pedal slowly three times within five seconds. If the Change Engine Oil Soon message flashes, the system is reset. However if it stays on it DID NOT RESET, repeat procedure if not reset. 3) turn the key to OFF. If the Change Oil Soon message comes back on when you start the car you need to repeat the procedure, it means it did not reset.

2)Haynes Manual- With the ignition turned to the Run position, display "Oil Life Reset" on the Drivers Information Center, then hold the set/reset button for more then 5 seconds, this should reset the system. The set/reset button is the big check mark button at the bottom next to the gauuge cluster.

Now this is what my two sources say to do, however i dont know why they say two different things. Like pressing the accelerator pedal three times in 5 seconds seems almost impossible to me and I always thought you didnt want to press the gas pedal with the car off. I would try the second option from the Haynes manual first, it seems the easiest. Please let me know how you do it if any of these ways works, im doin my first oil change on mine soon. Allrite end of this long post, hope this helps!!!!

 

If it's the oil life monitor, wouldn't it say "change engine oil"? That's what mine says because 2 changes ago we forgot ro reset it and it came on. You can try the reset but I think that's the wrong message.

 

UPDATE:

I've tried both procedures that were recommended and neither worked. It reset the oil life. It now reads 100% but I still get the LOW OIL warning. Any other suggestions you guys may be aware of?


By the way...

I think all these warning systems in cars now are absolutely insane. If you don't know when to change your oil or put air in your tires, you shouldn't be allowed to drive to begin with.

 

which procedure worked to reset the oil life?

If its the low oil light cant you just add some oil?

I agree on these warnig systems, im glad i dont have the TPMS system on my 06, it seems to me that it would be goin off everyday.

 

I agree that there are so many different warnings nowadays on cars that they make them so simple (yes, here comes the cliche) a caveman can drive one.

As for resetting the oil life on an 06 LT 3.9, its just a matter of going and hitting the top button until you see the Oil Life screen, then holding in the bottom button (the Check Mark) until it resets.

From what it sounds like is that the system isn't reading that you have oil in your system as if something is wrong with the car's computer. I'd see about getting it looked at.

 

Have you actually pulled your dipstick and checked your oil level? Maybe it's really low, or maybe the system is just whacky.

 

There is a oil level senser in the side of the oil pan. I would check to see if the connector was loosened or broken. Maybe even remove it and put it back on to make sure the connection is good. Your message has NOTHING to do with an oil change, unless........someone tampered with the oil level senser to create extra work in a bad economy. You didn't say who changed your oil. There are LOTS of shady techs out there that will pull on a wire to get something else broke, jusst to keep you coming back for more repairs. Charge you $100 to fix a bad wire, and of course, they new what to look for.

As for the oil life monitor, check out my other post which really addresses this issue, and GM's engineers ideas on this. Basically, they are saying that changing oil every 3,000 is a scam, that it's not needed anymore, or could be, but their system is a way of letting you go more than 3,000 miles to save you money. ASSUMING you use quality oils, and why wouldn't you?

 

The oil level is fine and the oil itself is spotless. I've checked that already. I'm completely aware of the check mark reset system. But what originally reset it were the 3 pumps of the gas pedal.

Actually, I recently put in a new air filter. The locking clasp snagged and it took a minute or two to get it out enough to change it. I wasn't aware of a sensor being around there. Is it anywhere near there? Could I have loosened it by accident? I took a look around the area but I'm not sure what I'm looking for.


Also...my 'TIGHTEN GAS CAP' warning light has come on twice in the last two days. I'm guessing there's some sort of computer error...UGH!