Low oil pressure?

[Grimes]

Hello! Still lurking around here from time to time. I've had my 2010 Tahoe for around 9 months now and am happy, but one thing that is concerning me is the oil pressure. In my '03 I was used to pressure being high-er, towards 60, as the norm. However in the 2010 It is almost never above 40, usually around 30, and I've recently seen it at 40. I'll have to pay more attention to the trend as I drive this weekend, but it really seems to be pretty random. If anything, I'll say the oil pressure actually decreases as the drive time increases. No 0 or 80 readings/bounces, never dropped below 20, but I here 30 is the magic number for concern. No related history for the vehicle from the records I have, which are pretty comprehensive.

Getting an oil change next week after about 5.5k and 5 months (full synthetic), just wondering if I need to get something fixed before they do the change. I've read oil pump and an o-ring, something about a "sender", the pressure sensor, and the gauge itself. Any ideas on what to expect?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[AVY202]

Hello! Still lurking around here from time to time. I've had my 2010 Tahoe for around 9 months now and am happy, but one thing that is concerning me is the oil pressure. In my '03 I was used to pressure being high-er, towards 60, as the norm. However in the 2010 It is almost never above 40, usually around 30, and I've recently seen it at 40. I'll have to pay more attention to the trend as I drive this weekend, but it really seems to be pretty random. If anything, I'll say the oil pressure actually decreases as the drive time increases. No 0 or 80 readings/bounces, never dropped below 20, but I here 30 is the magic number for concern. No related history for the vehicle from the records I have, which are pretty comprehensive.

Getting an oil change next week after about 5.5k and 5 months (full synthetic), just wondering if I need to get something fixed before they do the change. I've read oil pump and an o-ring, something about a "sender", the pressure sensor, and the gauge itself. Any ideas on what to expect?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[AVY202]

I have the same issue with 2012 Avalanche. Start out just under 40 and drops down to 20 when warm.

 

[AVY202]

I have the same issue with 2012 Avalanche. Start out just under 40 and drops down to 20 when warm.

 

[FrankU]

20 hot 40 cold is fine. When you change the oil and filter use the proper weight oil (5w30).

 

[Grimes]

20 hot 40 cold is fine. When you change the oil and filter use the proper weight oil (5w30).

Now why is that? Wouldn't pressure increase as temperature increased?

5w30 every time, always full synthetic, usually Mobil1.

 

[FrankU]

It's a viscosity thing. Google it , there are plenty of You tube video's about it also. Main thing is , no worries the pressure swing is normal.

 

[VA929RR]

I run 5w30 and always have... I'm lucky if it hits 30...... 25 is about the norm for mine..

09 Denali.....

It hasn't blown up and it has 75K on it... So I'm not going to worry about it....

 

[Grimes]

Had the oil changed yesterday and they made no mention of it as an issue. I've found that it'll start cold at 35-40, then operate warm at around 30-35, and at full stops on longer trip (>30 mins) it dips to 20. Kicks right back up upon acceleration though.

 

[Austin Schmidt]

i had an issue when i bought my 07 tahoe at first with the oil pressure. was jumping around and even gave me the "low oil pressure shut off engine" message. I was low on oil and i read that cheap filters play a role in the lower range. I buy the more expensive filters and havent had an issue since, also read that on the oil pressure switch there is a screen that gets clogged that you can clean or remove.