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Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:50 pm
by Ebatey
Hi,

Last week an oil warning came up on the touch screen once, then not again. Then last night the orange service spanner came up and the oil light flashing red. This morning I bought oil, then when I got home the warning light had gone. Checked oil, which was within normal range, put in a bit and no lights on. Tonight again the orange spanner and red flashing oil symbol.

Any ideas? Straight into the dealer? Will it be ok to drive there or should I get Citroen assist out to look (will they come out for a warning light?)

Sorry, so many questions!

It’s driving fine, no problems, no noises.

It’s a C3 aircross, 1.2. Almost 2 years old and 25,000 miles.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:02 pm
by routemaster1
Ebatey wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:50 pm Hi,

Last week an oil warning came up on the touch screen once, then not again. Then last night the orange service spanner came up and the oil light flashing red. This morning I bought oil, then when I got home the warning light had gone. Checked oil, which was within normal range, put in a bit and no lights on. Tonight again the orange spanner and red flashing oil symbol.

Any ideas? Straight into the dealer? Will it be ok to drive there or should I get Citroen assist out to look (will they come out for a warning light?)

Sorry, so many questions!

It’s driving fine, no problems, no noises.

It’s a C3 aircross, 1.2. Almost 2 years old and 25,000 miles.

Thanks in advance.
I would take it to a dealer as soon as possible. As long as you don't have the red STOP, a few miles of gently driving should be OK.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/12643 ... =22#manual

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/12643 ... =23#manual

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:24 pm
by Ebatey
Thank you. No stop light so I’ll get it booked in and hopefully get it there ok!

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:38 pm
by Jay R
If you start your car on a slope you get the oil light come up. If it's a small slope you get a "Check oil" warning that disappears, if it's a steeper slope it comes on with the spanner and stays on till you turn the engine off again. If that's the situation and you see that your oil is actually ok, don't worry.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:51 pm
by routemaster1
Jay R wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:38 pm If you start your car on a slope you get the oil light come up. If it's a small slope you get a "Check oil" warning that disappears, if it's a steeper slope it comes on with the spanner and stays on till you turn the engine off again. If that's the situation and you see that your oil is actually ok, don't worry.
I had this happen but I forgot about it. It happened at a friend's house when it was parked on a steep slope nose-up. I had the spanner and oil light on, andit went after a restart.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:40 am
by Ebatey
Thank you for your replies. It’s off again today. 🤷‍♂️ I phoned the dealer yesterday and they seemed to think that if it’s intermittent then it’s not urgent. It’s in for its 2 year service in 10 days so I’ve added that to my snagging list (alongside the constant touchscreen rebooting issue).

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:54 am
by cario
I have just experienced the exact same thing, so grateful to find this thread! I parked on a steep slope at a pub last night and when I drove home the spanner light was on in orange and the oil light was flashing in red. I was concerned about driving home and if doing so was going to cause any damage to the engine! This morning I have turned the engine on and left it for a couple of minutes, no lights. How very odd, but at least it appears there is nothing wrong with the engine and it's a weird quirk with this car and parking on a slope.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:21 pm
by Juan Sheet
I do hope this is just a 'steep incline' issue - but if the oil pressure light starts appearing again despite the levels being ok on normal roads, get it to the dealer as this is one of the first signs of oil blockage / starvation that can appear as a result of a shredding timing belt that has blocked up the oil galleys / filter system if you have a Petrol EB2 engine.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 1:04 pm
by routemaster1
I've had this on a C4 Picasso diesel and on our 1.2 petrol C3. It is due to the design of the engine where the dipstick and oil pick-up are at the front of the sump. The first time it happened to me was when our C4 Picasso was only a month old. We were going to drive to Austria so I parked the car nose-out on our drivem, which has a bit of a slope on it. When we left in the early hours we had the spanner only (iirc) and drove, perhaps raher foolishly, 180 miles to Folkestone like that. Of course, when we went to get on the train, no spanner.

Re: Spanner lit and oil light flashing

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 1:08 pm
by Juan Sheet
For those interested in the shortcomings of the EB2 engine, have a look at this video. There are English subtitles, but it shows various issues with the engine and the various extensive recalls undertaken. Note that the Oil used must meet PSA specifications on these engines.



You can always check the visual condition of your timing belt through the oil cap as show, Although not a conclusive indication of an issue - if you see it fraying or breaking up, I would get it checked.