Can I Drive My Car With 0 Oil Life?( Let’s Find Out)

You might notice your oil gauge pressure indicating a 0% oil life while driving. It constantly keeps alerting you to refill the oil tank immediately. This persistent warning might worry you about the well-being of your car.

That brings up a question- can I drive my car with 0 oil life?

In short, yes, you can. 0 oil life is just an indicator of your car running extremely low on oil. This indicator is used as a reminder to refill the oil tank as soon as possible. You can still drive your car without any trouble for a few miles.

Don’t leave just yet! There’s a ton of information you are still unaware of about the topic. We’re here to help you understand the subject better.

Interested? Let’s not waste any more time then!

What Does 0 Oil Life Mean?

When the oil pressure gauge indicates a 0% oil life, it means that oil is critically low. The car will give you an emergency warning to refill the oil in your tank.

The car’s computer receives information about the car from the electronic sensors throughout the drivetrain. This information usually includes engine revolution, driving time, engine temperature, and various other aspects.

The computer runs this data through various mathematical algorithms and predicts the oil life.

After calculating, the car sends the warning light well in advance to get the car serviced. A 0% oil life means service on your car engine is overdue.

A better understanding of the mileage situation requires a good head-up display. Check out these top head-up displays for your car that we have picked for your convenience-

But don’t always take the measurement for granted. The technology isn’t yet advanced enough to give an accurate reading of the oil life percentage. The car estimates your oil life by calculating your driving tendency.

Should You Be Worried About Having 0 Oil Life?

Having a 0% oil life is nothing to be concerned about. You can still manage to squeeze out a decent mileage from the car.

You can drive anywhere between 5,000 to 6,000 miles with no oil life. But distance heavily depends on the engine condition of your car and its components.

And besides that, how many miles you can go also depends on the remaining oil.

Another thing you should consider is the oil life monitor. The oil life monitor doesn’t reset itself once you change the oil in the engine.

So, it might show wrong oil life indications when you are driving the car. You need to reset the oil life monitor every time after changing the oil

Here are some available oil life reset tools that we handpicked for you. We recommend you use the products to reset the oil life of your car-

With all that said, you should be able to drive for a while with 0 oil life. But be quick to change the oils as you are already overdue for your oil replacement.

Why You Shouldn’t Drive With 0 OIl Life?

Driving with 0 oil life will deal fatal damage to your car in the long run. The engine needs to be well lubricated for its rapidly moving parts to function smoothly.

Changing the oil keeps the components lubricated and helps to avoid friction.

We strongly oppose running the engine without oil. It might run for 20-30 minutes before conceding heavy damage to the engine.

Due to not having enough lubrication, friction increases among the rapidly moving parts. This can overheat the engine and damage the engine components.

That means, even if you can drive in such conditions, don’t make it a habit.

What Should You Do?

The idea to drive the car past the 0 oil life is never a good idea. The sludge and other particles present in the oil will reduce the durability of the engine.

Most professionals will suggest you change your oil every 5,000-7,500 miles. It’s important to reset the oil life monitor every time after changing the oil. The oil life monitor doesn’t reset itself.

The oil is cheaper than engines. So it’s best to change the car oil often to keep your engines in good shape.

Speaking of oil, here is some top-quality car oil that you should consider using-

That’s everything you need to know about having 0 oil life in your car. Try avoiding such conditions as much as possible and change the oil regularly. It’ll help to improve the longevity of your engine and keep it in good shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How far can I drive with a 5% oil life?

Answer: You can drive as much as about 1000 miles or less with a 5% oil life. A 5% oil life is not something you should sweat over. You should be able to cover a decent amount of ground before considering a refill.

Question: How many miles is it safe to go over my oil change?

Answer: Your car can go as far as 5,000-7,500 miles between oil changes. If you want an accurate figure, check your owner’s manual. The old recommendation was to change oil for every 3,000 miles of driving. But cars have evolved over the years and can go further than that.

Question: What happens if you go too long without an oil change?

Answer: Not changing your oil for too long can eventually cost you your car. The motor oil won’t draw heat from the engine once it becomes sludge. This can overheat your engine and warp the components in your engine. So be careful to change the oil after regular intervals of driving.

Final Words

There you have it. That answers the question, can I drive my car with 0 oil life?

Make sure to avoid reaching 0 oil life as much as possible. Try not to make it a habit and change the car oil regularly. It can save you a lot of fortune for the future.

With that said, hope you found this article helpful and informative. Have a great day!

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Rob Dahm

My name is Rob Dham. I am the founder & managing editor of greaseandgears.com. I am trying to offer invaluable insights and solutions to everyday vehicle-related challenges.