bought an 05 grand cherokee a few months ago. 98000 miles, runs and drives great, no noises, no leaks, seems to have been taken care of. the red oil can light just started coming on. i went ahead and had the oil changed at a fast lube since i was traveling out of town. the light came back during my trip home. i waited till the next day and had autozone check it for codes. no codes were recorded. now i smell burnt oil a little bit when i get out of the car. it runs great. water temp and tranny temp are normal. there is no oil pressure gauge though. i have crawled underneath and looked all over the engine compartment and i can't find any leaks. i am going to take it by the dealer monday and see if they can pull a code. what are some possible causes of the light and burnt smell?

 

i would redo the oil change yourself and be sure to use the correct weight and the right amount. unless this was happening before you took it to the lube place

 

the light came on a few days before i had the oil changed. i didn't notice the burnt smell until the day after the oil change. i used mobile 5w30 full synthetic. that is the oil listed on the oil change window sticker from the previous owners last oil change. according to the sticker i changed the oil at about 3500 miles. i have checked the oil since the burnt smell started and the level is correct and it is still clear.

i am just looking for some worst case scenarios that don't cause performance problems (the thing runs like a dream). just so i don't get taken off guard when the dealer diagnoses it.

any ideas?

 

Well it could really only be one of two things, a bad oil pressure sending unit, or a bad oil pump. Doubt its a pump cause motor would be toast by now. Could be loose clearences in the the bearings also.

 

could be they spilled some oil while changing it and maybe a bad sending unit.

 

that's what i am hoping. but i just can't find any spilled oil or leaks. it crossed my mind to just drive it a while and see if the smell goes away (burn away all spilled oil). but that is risky if there is an internal problem.

 

Buy a gauge and check the pressure manually. If you have good pressure, after its warmed up. Change the sending unit. If you change the sending unit and it still persist I would suspect the bearings are warn and clearances are opening up.

 

Bad sending unit. Tiny oil leak through sending unit burning on exhaust. Thanks for the help.

 

glad to hear that!!