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The key here is that it does not get too low. When you first start the car, i.e. a cold start, your oil pressure may be as high as 100 psi. When your oil warms up, the viscosity drops, and the pressure will be lower. Please see the owner's manual for normal oil pressure range.
Rules of thumb:
At COLD idle/on cold starts, your oil pressure should be about 40-90 psi.
At normal operating temperature idle, your oil pressure should be about 15-30 psi. (If your idle has been raised it may read a little higher. If you are running without your A/C it will read a little lower. These are just ballpark numbers.)
Don't redline the car or drive hard until the oil warms up and the oil pressure at idle drops. At high RPM the pressure may go off the scale. That is OK as long as the car is warmed up.
Note: it takes longer for your oil to warm up than it takes for your coolant to warm up. Don't go by the temperature gauge on the dash board to determine if the car is 100% warmed up...
If you think you're having oil pressure issues, first get an oil change and see if the pressure goes to the normal range. Using different viscosities of oil will result in slightly different pressure behavior. The recommended oil for your car is 5W-30 (usual choice, good for winter), 10W-30 (also typical choice, good for summer), and 10W-40 (usually used only for extremely high temperature conditions). If you go too long without an oil change, your oil can start to exhibit viscous breakdown, and your oil pressure may drop below normal.
Oil pressure and oil level are NOT THE SAME. Low pressure does not necessarily mean low oil. But low pressure DOES mean you should probably change the oil.
If the oil change does not solve your pressure problems, there could be a problem with your oil pressure sensor. Damage to this sensor CAN occur if a mechanic is careless underneath your car.
Rules of thumb:
At COLD idle/on cold starts, your oil pressure should be about 40-90 psi.
At normal operating temperature idle, your oil pressure should be about 15-30 psi. (If your idle has been raised it may read a little higher. If you are running without your A/C it will read a little lower. These are just ballpark numbers.)
Don't redline the car or drive hard until the oil warms up and the oil pressure at idle drops. At high RPM the pressure may go off the scale. That is OK as long as the car is warmed up.
Note: it takes longer for your oil to warm up than it takes for your coolant to warm up. Don't go by the temperature gauge on the dash board to determine if the car is 100% warmed up...
If you think you're having oil pressure issues, first get an oil change and see if the pressure goes to the normal range. Using different viscosities of oil will result in slightly different pressure behavior. The recommended oil for your car is 5W-30 (usual choice, good for winter), 10W-30 (also typical choice, good for summer), and 10W-40 (usually used only for extremely high temperature conditions). If you go too long without an oil change, your oil can start to exhibit viscous breakdown, and your oil pressure may drop below normal.
Oil pressure and oil level are NOT THE SAME. Low pressure does not necessarily mean low oil. But low pressure DOES mean you should probably change the oil.
If the oil change does not solve your pressure problems, there could be a problem with your oil pressure sensor. Damage to this sensor CAN occur if a mechanic is careless underneath your car.