WHY IS MY PEUGEOT’S OIL WARNING LIGHT COMING ON?

Q My 2016 Peugeot 308 1.2 Puretech has done 59,000 miles. Lately, the oil warning light has been flickering on and off. My garage could find no fault, nor engine leaks, so topped up the oil. Six weeks later it happened again; the garage suggested that the engine may be burning oil. Their suggestions: change the engine, change the car or carry a can of oil in the car. Do you have any alternative solutions? – SN

A The first thing to establish is whether the warning light relates to the oil level or oil pressure. If it’s the former, the garage may be right that the car is burning oil, especially if there are no signs of leakage.

This is a known issue with the Puretech engine, though I have to say that it usually happens at much higher mileages, unless the vehicle has been poorly maintained. While your car isn’t exactly new, neither would I consider it particularly old at eight years, nor with the below-average mileage you mention.

If the engine is burning oil, it’s likely to be caused by worn piston rings, which eventually will require comprehensive remedial work, or a new engine. Keeping the oil level topped up should prevent further damage in the short-term, but you’ll need to get the work done soon – or replace the car.

However, I would consider it more likely that the issue is with oil pressure, rather than its level. This is all the more likely because another of the Puretech engine’s known faults is degradation of the rubber timing belt, which runs through the oil to keep it lubricated.

When the belt degrades, minute particles of rubber can clog the oil filter and pump, causing the former to block and the latter to perform less effectively. The result is lower oil pressure and less effective lubrication, which of course is bad for your engine.

Peugeot has revised the timing belt intervals to require the first change at six years or 62,500 miles, so if your car hasn’t yet had a replacement belt a change is overdue; I wouldn’t be surprised if it has started to degrade.

The remedy can be relatively simple, though not exactly cheap: remove and replace the timing belt and, while doing so, inspect the oil pick-up in the sump and the oil pump for accumulations of rubber particles.

iIs there an affordable alternative to continually topping up the engine oil level?