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    The spanner and oil-can warning lights stay illuminated for around one or two minutes after my car has started

    The spanner and oil-can warning lights stay illuminated for around one or two minutes after my car has started, then go off. It was just serviced two months ago and the oil level is good. Is this a major problem or an easy fix? There's no excess noise from the motor.

    Answered by CarsGuide
    22 May 2023
    David Morley

    Without knowing the make and model of your car, I'm flying blind here. But, the spanner warning light suggests to me that the car is trying to tell you it needs to be serviced. If that's the case, and the service was only a few weeks ago, I'd suggest the mechanic who serviced it hasn't electronically turned off the service-reminder warning (the spanner symbol showing up on your dashboard).

    The oil-can warning light could either be suggesting that the engine needs an oil top-up (which you've checked and it doesn't) or the light is telling you that the engine has lost oil pressure. But if it was the latter, you'd expect the light to illuminate after you'd been driving for a while and the oil thins out as it gets hotter. For the light to be on when the engine is cold and then turn itself off could be a case of a faulty sensor which is giving the dashboard a false warning. This is actually more common than you might imagine. Some Holden Commodores, for instance, had a very common fault where a bad sensor would suggest either low oil pressure or low oil level, even though the engine was perfectly fine. Other makes and models can suffer this, too.

    The bottom line, however, is that no warning light should be ignored and having the car scanned to check any fault codes and making sure the light is a false alarm is the smart way to proceed.

    Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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