2004 SE, 39000 miles

I can't recall seeing the oil gauge move as much in my other cars, but I could have a short memory.

I've taken pictures of the minimum and maximum pressures that I see.

Low point is around 700 rpm at idle
High point is around 2000 rpm cruising down the road.

Does this look normal?





Sorry guys.. just VERY overcautious after the recent purchase..

That looks normal to me.
Maybe one of the 2000 guys could verify theirs and chime in here.

I am pretty sure it should read higher when you have open throttle

completely normal.

thanks guys.. on the high end, it may not have been right at 2000rpm.. i was trying to watch the road too..

hey, sorry for this and any other dumb questions i may ask. i would rather be safe than sorry, and i'm not going to pretend that i know much about cars!

Mine is the same on the high side, and usually around 40 at idle after it'* warmed up.

Whoa... you put 87 octane into an SSEi.... I'm not sure you understand the oil pressure readings on a series 2 well enough to be taken seriously on this one.

Those pressure readings are in the right range.. And since pressure is a scale with rpm..it would be higher above the 2000 rpm he'* mentioning.

Oil pressure is a function of RPMs and oil temp, as thicker oil (as when the engine is cold) will produce higher pressures. A lot of oil pressure gauges in modern cars (some GM, and many others as well) are basically switches. If there'* more than about 6-8 psi, the gauge will go to a middle range happy zone and stay there. It'* so people don't ask, "Why is my oil pressure moving around?" Some cars have an actual gauge, which will move around quite a bit based on operating conditions. My 2000 SE, on an average 60 degree day, will show about 60-70 psi at idle when the engine is cold. Later, when the oil is warmed up and flowing, it will show 40ish under the same circumstances. A general rule of thumb is 10psi minimum for every 1000 rpms of the engine. A little more than that is fine. Drawbacks of unusually high oil pressure are oil leaks caused by seal failures, and that a pump putting out a lot of oil pressure is more drag on the engine.

Cliff'* notes: As stated, what you're seeing is normal.

My 04 SE will occasionally do exactly what you describe, which had me worried. 95% of the time though, it holds around 65psi without moving no matter what rpm/temp. Must be normal.

My 01 does the same and it looks norm. And I just had the oil sending switch changed, so it should be right!