No Oil In Tank, NO WARNING DISPLAYED/ Mustang 2015

[Deleted member 35786]

If there's no sensor, then what is that thing sticking out of the side of the pan that Ford calls a "level sensor"? Is it just for show?

Apparently no one has got their oil level low enough to activate it, if so what does it do? Warning light, cut engine etc.. Someone test this out..

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[Pero]

I am 68 years old, have had muscle cars off and on since the late 1960s, have raced, including motorcycles and airplanes, and have never even heard of a low oil sensor.

No such a diverse historical on my side but my DS-5 (and few previous cars) had a low oil level sensor.
If oil level is just below the bottom mark on dipstick, sensor is triggered and warning sign is lit accompanied by warning text "Oil level low".
SERVICE light on dash will also be illuminated, but car is still able to drive normally.

How would it know? When the engine is running, the oil is thrown all over the place. You could set up an oil level when the engine is off and disable it when you start up, but I have never see or heard of it being done.

Oil level sensor is checked during engine start sequence, just before
the crank shaft start to rotate.
Warning light is latched till next engine start-up.

 

[HeelToeHero]

A leak to cause that much oil loss would have been significant. You didn't notice any leaking oil? The size of said leak usually dictates the frequency one checks the oil level.

 

[DickR]

FYI according to research using parts.ford.com plus owner manuals for 2015 - 2018 GT's and the Ford service manual CD's for 2015 and 2018, as well as my memory:

2015 - 2017 5.0's used either an oil level warning light/symbol (automatics) or an oil pressure light (manuals). GT PP's which were only manuals get the pressure light/symbol plus a gauge. Warning lights in general are supplemented by audible or visual messages or chimes but the manual isn't clear exactly what happens when other than we "should" see and/or hear something to alert us.

It looks like all 2018 5.0's get the oil pressure light/symbol (no oil level indicator on the parts site or the service manual ) and the GT PP's also get the pressure gauge.

As a bit of history I'm pretty sure my 88 5.0 had an oil level sensor/indicator because those engines had "low tension oil control rings" and tended to use a lot of oil when driven hard.

As others have said, a sudden loss of oil due to damage or drastic under fill should result in a warning light and a message whether the engine uses a level sensor or a pressure sensor if/when the level is too low. Usually this will be apparent during cornering.

 

[rocky5517]

I had a 67 Riviera with the 430 Wildcat engine. The manual said it took 5 qts but when I would change it and check the dipstick it would read almost 6 qts. The first time I saw this, I drained some oil out. then someone told me to check the bottom of the oil pan, as it's common for those cars to 'bottom out" and dent the bottom of the pan. The stick was giving me a false reading.

 

[Lime1GT]

I'm going to assume before you changed the oil and filter every thing was fine. Yes, engines do use small amounts of oil so you'll never drain out as much as you're going to put in. You never mentioned what the oil leak fix was. Was it that the old filter gasket was stuck to the filter base and created the leak? Was the new filter not tightened properly? Was the oil pan plug not re-tightened correctly? Was the correct amount of oil refilled? After the oil change, was the engine run and checked for possible leaks? Even if a sensor is there to signal low oil level it's up to the owner to check the oil level once a month or at least look at the ground to see if any leaks, oil, coolant, transmission or power steering is present. With modern day sealants no leaks should be present. Not like the cork gaskets of old days. Hose leaks are general maintenance. Same goes for checking your lights occasionally to see if your brake lights or headlight bulbs are burnt out.

 

[GT Pony]

If it's there being 2 qts low in an 18 won't set it off is all I can say. No one seems to be aware of a low level warning light either?

I don't think the Gen3 has the low oil level sensor. Ford dropped at some point. My 2015 has the oil level sensor on the side of the oil pan. This is the warning message you get when the sensor trips from a low oil level - per the oweners manual.

 

[GT Pony]

Idiot lights are just that...for idiots.

If you can't pull a dipstick and check it periodically the absence of a light isn't your problem. You probably couldn't refill it even if you did.

If a major oil leak happens while driving, the low oil warning is supposed to go off BEFORE the oil pan is empty and the engine starves of oil and smokes itself.

So it's an early warning of possible major danger. Without a low oil level warning, the next indication is low or no oil pressure, but if you see that the engine is probably already being damaged. So it actually does have a useful purpose.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I don't think the Gen3 has the low oil level sensor. Ford dropped at some point. My 2015 has the oil level sensor on the side of the oil pan. This is the warning message you get when the sensor trips from a low oil level - per the oweners manual.

I'm not disagreeing, but from just that, I can't tell if the light is for low oil. The same message would make sense if it was from intermittent low pressure. Telling you to check the oil level would be logical since that would be the most likely reason for low pressure. That plus calling low oil a malfunction seems strange unless the person writing it knows its for low pressure. Does the manual actually say that message is tripped by a low level sensor?

 

[DickR]

2018 5.0's do not have oil level sensors.

Per the shop manual wiring diagrams 2015 automatics have oil level sensors and manuals have oil pressure sensors. parts.ford.com however shows the level sensor with no distinction between autos and manuals. Both activate the oil warning light and probably trigger an audible or visual message.

2015 PP and 2018 PP cars have an oll pressure sensor and gauge in addition to the pressure or level sensor.

I had a massive oil leak over 40 years ago after changing the oil in my mother's car and not tightening the filter properly. The oil spill on the driveway as I backed out of the garage was a really good visual indicator. No loose oil filters since.
The second time I changed the oil on my 18 I didn't get the plastic drain pan plug installed properly. The puddle of fresh oil on the garage floor was a very effective indicator.

 

[nobetterthanpony12]

First I want to thank everyone who replied. I always keep my eye on the oil level. The leak was because I didn't change the filter (I know should have, but my lazy ass done otherwise).
My main question was; when the reservoir was almost empty, shouldn't it at least pop up a warning at the dashboard? When oil level gets low would the latest model usually appear a warning? (I'm asking cause in my case it didn't and want to find if my car computer might be faulty).

To everyone who criticized, the warning is just for critical situations like leaks and I'm not the type of person that keep their car unchecked. Hope you understand that my main concern is to display warning to avoid further problems and escalations.
Again thanks to everyone who took time to reply. Greatly appreciated.

 

[88lx50]

I am 68 years old, have had muscle cars off and on since the late 1960s, have raced, including motorcycles and airplanes, and have never even heard of a low oil sensor.

YOU are responsible for the oil level. Every one of mine has had a low oil pressure sensor, but no low oil level sensor.

How would it know? When the engine is running, the oil is thrown all over the place. You could set up an oil level when the engine is off and disable it when you start up, but I have never see or heard of it being done.

My 1990 5.0 Mustang had a low oil level sensor. And that car was bare bones.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

First I want to thank everyone who replied. I always keep my eye on the oil level. The leak was because I didn't change the filter (I know should have, but my lazy ass done otherwise).
My main question was; when the reservoir was almost empty, shouldn't it at least pop up a warning at the dashboard? When oil level gets low would the latest model usually appear a warning? (I'm asking cause in my case it didn't and want to find if my car computer might be faulty).

I don't think you mentioned how many quarts low it was. How many quarts did it take to fill it or how many quarts came out if you drained it again first? Empty implies to me that virtually none came out if you drained again or you had to add close to the documented capacity to fill it back up. I only ask because if there was supposed to be a low warning, no warning if just below the dip stick is less a concern than no warning if almost dry.

What caused the leak? You say it was from not changing the filter, but its not clear how not changing it could cause a leak. Did you remove it and put it back on?

 

[DickR]

My 1990 5.0 Mustang had a low oil level sensor. And that car was bare bones.

I had an 88 5.0 and I'm pretty sure the reason for the level sensor was the relatively high oil consumption of that engine (low tension oil control rings was one reason I remember from back in the day. Plus didn't it have a double sump oil pan to clear the steering rack, etc. and only 5 Qt capacity which meant very little reserve if the level was even a Qt low? I do know that the oil warning light never came on in my 88 even when running it hard on a race track.

It is interesting if my memory and reading of the shop manual are correct that the 2015 automatic GT has a low level sensor but the manual has a low pressure sensor.

Note also that the Gen 3 18's have a "fancy" 10 Qt baffled pan compared to the Gen 2 8 Qt metal pan which I don't think is baffled.

Lots of things we don't know.

 

[Ebm]

Here's the thing... our cars have so much oil recirculating in them that it would take a disaster of a situation for you to lock up your engine. If the situation went to disaster level, you would either see oil spilling out everywhere or smell oil burning on your exhaust or hot engine parts. A disaster level oil loss wouldn't be saved by a message on your dash either. It would be too late at that point.

The number 1 cause of oil loss in our modern days isn't your engine burning oil, but neglect. Neglect by either you or whoever changes your oil. They either put the wrong type of oil in, didn't tighten the oil filter right, or didn't put in the right amount of oil. This happens all too much these days when these techs are being pushed for a 5 minute oil job. Do yourself a favor and change the oil yourself. Buy a torque wrench and call it a day.

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