Those 318 Dodge/Plymouths were tough as nails....I'm sure Ford and GM V8's were too. My b-i-l had a van with a SBC back in the 80's...I asked him if it "burned oil"...he said "it would if it got it'...I laughed at that but it was true...he didn't check it often...
how low on oil can a standard car get before there is a mechanical problem
- Thread starter BrianApp
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At your rate of oil consumption, I would either change the oil when it hits the low mark or top off as needed. Oil is so cheap, there's no way to justify deliberately running below the ADD mark on the dipstick (unless you're running an experiment on a beater or something like that). As to the title question, there is no answer... every engine is a different design, with different oil capacities and different oil pumps & filter designs, owned by different people with different driving styles & habits and different adherence to maintenance schedules (which means your engine's condition is different from another with identical mileage and age). So, one engine that's a quart below the ADD mark may run perfectly fine, while another may suffer severe damage.
My vehicles don't consume oil so I'm generally OK running the level toward the low mark but never below. If the interval has seen more hard usage than normal, I will change the oil sooner but see no need to add oil if it's in the safe zone on the dipstick.
My vehicles don't consume oil so I'm generally OK running the level toward the low mark but never below. If the interval has seen more hard usage than normal, I will change the oil sooner but see no need to add oil if it's in the safe zone on the dipstick.
If you are one of those people that never checks their oil when you find out let us know! 
I believe it was about four years ago when my 2001 Volvo blew an oil seal. At the time this happened I was driving at 65-70 MPH in the mountains of West Virginia. I don't know exactly where it happened, but I did notice that a number of cars that had been running with me suddenly backed off at least a quarter of a mile. After cresting a mountain there was at least a five mile glide down to the next valley, albeit still running at 65-70 MPH.
Once I got to that valley I exited the four lane highway and drove through a small town at 30-35 MPH. There were no obvious signs of trouble yet. Once leaving town and picking up the pace a bit, the oil light came on briefly while rounding a curve, but went right back out as soon as the road straightened out. The engine still sounded fine, but this oil warning started repeating with every meaningful curve in the road. By this time I had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but I pressed on 12 miles to the next town and stopped at a NAPA shop. This vehicle has a six quart oil change and it took four quarts to bring it back to the full mark, meaning I was driving it four quarts low. Granted this is a European car designed to run on the German Autobahn. At the time I was running 0w-40 Mobil 1.
After adding those four quarts, I tried to find a shop that would look at the car, then turned around and retraced the last twelve miles to see if maybe somehow I could baby the vehicle back towards home or at least a shop that knew something about European cars. In sixteen miles of driving I lost another three quarts of oil! Suffice it to say the car wasn't going any farther without repair.
Rolling the clock forward, that vehicle now has another 50K miles on the odometer and is still running strong. Wear metals were running in the single digits until last year, and roughly half the Blackstone universal averages for that engine. Keep in mind that this engine has a large sump, but it seems to me that you probably shouldn't lose any sleep if you were to briefly run your vehicle more than a quart low. The most important word in that last sentence was "briefly" and also note that I never got a steady low oil pressure warning.
Once I got to that valley I exited the four lane highway and drove through a small town at 30-35 MPH. There were no obvious signs of trouble yet. Once leaving town and picking up the pace a bit, the oil light came on briefly while rounding a curve, but went right back out as soon as the road straightened out. The engine still sounded fine, but this oil warning started repeating with every meaningful curve in the road. By this time I had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but I pressed on 12 miles to the next town and stopped at a NAPA shop. This vehicle has a six quart oil change and it took four quarts to bring it back to the full mark, meaning I was driving it four quarts low. Granted this is a European car designed to run on the German Autobahn. At the time I was running 0w-40 Mobil 1.
After adding those four quarts, I tried to find a shop that would look at the car, then turned around and retraced the last twelve miles to see if maybe somehow I could baby the vehicle back towards home or at least a shop that knew something about European cars. In sixteen miles of driving I lost another three quarts of oil! Suffice it to say the car wasn't going any farther without repair.
Rolling the clock forward, that vehicle now has another 50K miles on the odometer and is still running strong. Wear metals were running in the single digits until last year, and roughly half the Blackstone universal averages for that engine. Keep in mind that this engine has a large sump, but it seems to me that you probably shouldn't lose any sleep if you were to briefly run your vehicle more than a quart low. The most important word in that last sentence was "briefly" and also note that I never got a steady low oil pressure warning.
Many engines have the timing chain splash oiled, and when the oil is low that may not work as well, resulting in much quicker wearing out of that / those chain(s). This alone is a good reason to keep the oil level near the top mark on the dipstick.
I am not talking about 1 qt below the ADD line. I am talking about 1 QT below the FULL line. Basically is anything bad happening at the ADD line (1 quart below full) for the last 500 mi before an oil change. The stick only goes about 1/4 quart below the add line anyway. I take this to mean the engineers are trying to say, if you go below 1/4 qt below our ADD line it doesn't matter how much is left, just add some oil RIGHT NOW. This is not to say they wouldn't also have a problem with running it at the ADD line for 500 miles.
I burned up a 340 Mopar many years ago. It was 3 qts low and there was no way I was going to pay almost $3 a qt for oil at a gas station! Learned a lesson that day
The ADD line is just that. ADD. It’s not the getting lower line or the get ready to worry line.
Keep oil handy and ADD it when it gets low. Your motor will thank you.
My Corolla really uses very little oil less than a half quart in an OCI I check it a minimum of once a week and again if we are going on a trip.
4 quarts total isn't exactally a lot of oil to start with. Down one quart. That's 25% of the engine oil capacity gone. 1/2 quart more is close to 62% of the engine oil capacity left. Just 1/2 quart more for a total of two quarts low is 50% of the oil capacity.
How many miles are you going on oil changes?
Have you considered a continuous oil change say if you are burning more than 1 quart every 1000 miles?
You have some oil left over if you did your own oil change? My Corolla takes near 4 quarts. I monitor it closely. The dipstick shows full after an oil change. I've never had a problem with topping off a car because it fell below full. However I realize some peoples MMV. Using your top off oil never hurt a car that I've had in 61 years I've been driving!
$9.00 was more money than an engine?
1 quart below the FULL line would probably read between the marks on most engines... likely much closer to the ADD line, but still between the two. Anywhere between the FULL and ADD marks means the level is OK. The engine is low on oil if the level is below the ADD mark. I have run my Tacoma for a full service interval (7000 miles) with the oil level barely above the ADD mark and it ran perfectly fine.
Have you heard the one about the Penguin that had to take his car to the transmission shop?Well, there was an Ice Cream shop next door. I'll elaborate if I must.
When the low oil light goes on-Stop immediately and add one quart and see if the light goes off. Please report back. Ed
I guess it really depends, how much hotter is the oil temp when it is a quart low?
1983 Buick V6 drained 1/2 c. oil. She lasted some years after that.
1995 Saturn 8 valve needed 3 quarts to bring to FULL.
1997 Ford 4.6l clacked 'cause it was 3 qt. down. "The acceleration is smoother!", the owner exclaimed.
1995 Saturn 8 valve needed 3 quarts to bring to FULL.
1997 Ford 4.6l clacked 'cause it was 3 qt. down. "The acceleration is smoother!", the owner exclaimed.
Honestly I don't want to find out "how low on oil can a standard car get before there is a mechanical problem." There's a safe zone on a dipstick for a reason. If I have the hood up and the engine needs oil, even if it's only a pint I'd add it. I would imagine in a 5 quart sump being down 1.5 quarts or more is going to cause problems if left that low long enough. I'd rather not find out how long is long enough.
Lady friend with 04 rav4 helped her change oil got one quart very dark,it holds 4.5 quart, car still running okay but warn her to get aggressive on changing it to at least every 6 months rather than when she remember it -yearly? It has 141k miles.
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