i was unaware that i was driving my 2007 vantage around aggressively while three quarts shy of motor oil. could i have damaged the motor or am i probably ok? please help. i'm worried. thanks, matt

 

Did you check the oil level at "engine cold" conditions according to the procedure outlined in the owners manual? If you checked it like a normal car which has an oil pan, the oil level will be low, as the oil will have drained back into the engine; the V8 engine is a "dry sump" configuration, with an external oil cooler as well; not sure about a V12, though.

If you checked the level according to the manual, and you were indeed at a low level, then if there was a problem with oil pressure/delivery to the engine, you should have seen the oil pressure dash light illuminate while you were driving.

If you have indeed used/burned three quarts/liters of oil since you last checked, then I think you may have another more serious problem...

 

thanks. i did follow procedures. i was bummed to see that i was so low. no oli in garage floor either. weird. i was just wondering if maybe i hurt the engine, but no light warnings came on. maybe i'm ok.i hope.

 

Considering that there is normally nearly 11 quarts of oil in the lubrication system, 3 quarts low is running about 73% of design capacity. One quart low on a normal 5 quart system is 80% of design. Hopefully, AM has designed in a margin of safety somewhat greater than a normal vehicle! And don't forget, most vehicles don't have an oil cooler in the system to help protect the engine from high oil temps...

I would recommend that you closely monitor your oil consumption in the future to be sure that there is not some underlying cause for your loss of oil.

I'm at 16k miles on my '07 and I've not had to add oil between changes...been to the track as well in the last year!!!

 

Speaking of oil levels, how much is too much? I read the manual and it says to check the oil level when the engine is cold and run it for about 20 seconds at around 2000 rpms. At that point, the manual says to check the oil and to fill it up until the oil level reaches the max mark on the dip stick.
According my AM technician, however, he only fills it up so that the oil level is in between the min. and max marks on the dip stick when the engine is cold. Given that oil expands when heated, he said you don't want to fill it up to the max mark when cold (as the manual suggests) because too much oil also causes problems.
This guy does a great job taking care of my baby, so I trust him. It just seems odd that the manual would provide different advice. Curious as to what you fellas do....

 

Firstly, thanks for writing, fellas. I will check the manual again and call my dealer for correct filling levels. I can only hope that either half way or topped off, re the dipstick level, is acceptable.
The lessons I learned are to check my oil regularly and to bring the car to the dealer instead of the private guy cuz I can't rule out the possibility that he's not the reason for my oil deficiency as he did the last oil change.
In any event, love the car. I drive it daily in nice weather. In my opinion, this relationship I have with the vantage requires more commitment than any other car I've owned. Still worth it, though. Just hope this episode of 'low oil' doesn't come back to haunt me

 

But remember that this is a dry sump system, so it doesn't rely on a particular level of oil in the sump to splash the stuff around like a conventional engine, the oil is pumped out of the sump into the reservoir, and its the level in there that matters.

If there is enough oil in the bottom of the reservoir, then you're OK. If there was too much, then that wouldn't matter either, so long as it doesn't spill out of the top.

So, if you didn't see a warning light, then everything should be fine.