low oil kill switch
 

We have heard that a lot of vehicles put a sensor that will disable the engine before letting it burn up from no oil. Is this true?

Have any of you heard of this feature? The windows on our '99 Montero Sport started rolling down very slowly, the clock and radio quit working, and when we turned the vehicle off, it wouldn't restart. After checking the battery and alternator, both of which were fine, we checked all of the fluids.

The oil was low, as in not even on the stick. So, we added about three quarts of oil, and the truck started back up with no problem. All windows work, the clock and radio work, everything seems fine.

Other than the fact that the oil light never came on and we obviously have an oil leak since we are only 1500 miles into an oi change, everything else is back to normal.

There is no such switch that I've ever heard of. And if there was such a device it would only be useful if it shut the engine off immediately (very dangerous if you were in traffic or flying round a curve) Slowing down your windows and turning off your radio would be not a very helpful alert that your engine is about to seize! That's what the oil pressure warning light is for. The fact that yours did not come on means the oil pick up was still getting oil so you were lucky to find low oil level when you did.

The electrical symptoms and non-starting are an electrical problem. Good that it seemed to go away (for now) but it had nothing to do with oil level.

Ron

"We have heard that a lot of vehicles put a sensor that will disable the engine before letting it burn up from no oil. Is this true?"

Yes. They are used on race cars all the time. They are based on oil pressure. When it gets too low it shuts off the fuel flow and/or the ignition, or both. Check with your local race shop.