Cause
Faulty engine oil temperature sensor
The sensor governing oil-dependent systems — variable valve timing, and on many engines the service interval calculation. A wrong reading makes the module refuse to command those systems rather than break them, so the symptom is a flat engine with no mechanical fault, and a service light that arrives at the wrong time.
Typically a moderate job.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
1 of the 6 codes this can cause indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. Which one you have matters more than the cause does — read the code's own page before deciding.
Codes this can cause (6)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P0195 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Circuit Likely for this code Moderate
- P0196 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Range/Performance Likely for this code Moderate
- P0197 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Circuit Low Likely for this code Moderate
- P0198 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Circuit High Likely for this code Moderate
- P0199 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Circuit Intermittent/Erratic Moderate
- P0298 Engine Oil Over Temperature Stop driving Critical
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
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