My current vette is my second one. My first was a 99 six speed coupe. It had around 80,000 miles on it, and never needed oil, even when the oil life only had a couple of percent left....However, my current 2001 (wich I've had for a few months now) needed oil today. When I bought it the level was right on the "add" mark. There were no signs of oil usage, and the car, (while the exterior wasn't 100% clean) didn't have any signs of oil spots near the rear, nor did it "puff" even the slightest bit on startup ( either warm or cold ). (The only issue it had was a squeeky belt I've since cleaned the pullies a bit and changed the belt, and the squeek stopped)....sorry for digressing there...anyway, it now has exactly 40k miles, and the oil lif is at 32% remaining life. I've made a point to check the vette's oil eveytime I change the oil in one of my other vehicles (the vette is not a daily driver since I travel alot with wok)...and the oil has always been at the same point- right on the mark. Even today when the "low oil level" warning appeard, the level was still right on the mark...I intentionally haven't filled it to the full mark this whole time just so that I culd get a sense of if it was burning oil...it doesnt appear to be, the level never seems to change! So should I be worried? The pressure is always in the mid 40's (i dont push it too hard) and coolant tep stays rigt at 200 degrees...I'm not panicing but I just would like to know if this is something I should be worried about. (by the way, the carfax was good...the car actually stayed in my hometown area its whole life....) I've had bigger problems to worry about on other cars, but is there an issue here I should be antcipating?

This forum rocks, by the way. Alot of cool cars an great advice with all of you involved!

 

I see no reason to worry based on what you said. Whatbrand, type, and viscosityof oil are you using, and what oil pressures are you getting at idle and 3000 RPM, hot and cold?

 

2001s, especially early model year ones, were notorious for losing oil past the rings due to "fluttering" of these rings during high rpm decceleration. Many 01s had to be re-ringed at the dealership. Those LS1 engines were consuming one quart every 800 miles. Although my 01 is a very late model year one, I do need to add a quart every 2500-3000 miles - not bad, but not as good as some C5s, especially those with automatic trannies.

Another thing: You will find that when you change oil, 6.5 quarts (the factory-specified fill amount) will produce an oil level line that is halfway up the dipstick, between "add" and "full". Some people will add another half quart (overfill), which may not hurt, but is not necessary. I'm not sure if this were corrected in 2002, but the factory erred in 01 when they changed either the dipstick or the tube in which it is seated.

Dave

 

Like I said ive only had the car a few months. Ive put about 3000 miles on it. Im not sure what was the last oil put in it, but i picked up a quart of mobile 1 10W 30, fully synthetic. Is the computer always so good at catching it if the level is just a hair low? So is it really no big deal...? Is there a recall or someting I need to check for?

 

Actually, I never saw a low-oil level message. I usually add a half-quart at a time, so the level falls low enough to trigger the warning. There was no recall -most re-ring jobs were done either under warranty, either factory or extended. If you can get 2000-3000 miles between adding oil, you shouldn't worry. Anything under that may be cause for concern. By the way, 10W-30 is somewhat obsolete. The 5W-30 provides faster startup protection, better cold weather protectionAND the same high temperature protection compared to the 10W-30 oil.

Dave

 

I don't put alot of miles on my car each year (7-8K) so I change the oil once each year and the oil life monitor is usually down to 40-50% life left. If I were you I would go ahead and change the oil now. I only use Mobil-One synthetic. I would recommend that you change it yourself, if you know how. You will need special ramps or have to use 2x10's to place at front of regular ramps to avoid dragging your front air dam. There is a possibility that you were sitting on a steep incline which caused the oil to lean to one side of your oil pan causing the low oil lite to activate. I have a Ford truck that does that frequently if I stop it on my steep driveway.