P0298: Engine Oil Over Temperature
Do not keep driving
Stop as soon as it is safe and let the engine cool. Do not treat a normal coolant temperature as reassurance — oil and coolant temperatures are different measurements, and bearing damage from overheated oil is progressive and expensive. Check the oil level once cool.
What this code means
Engine oil has exceeded its safe temperature. Oil is not only a lubricant but the engine's secondary cooling system, and once too hot it thins, oxidises and stops protecting bearing surfaces. Because oil temperature can climb well above coolant temperature under sustained load, this code can appear with the coolant gauge reading entirely normal — which is precisely why it deserves attention rather than dismissal.
Likely causes
Start here
- Low or dirty engine oil · easy
- Failed oil cooler · moderate
- Excessive load or towing · easy
Less common
- Incorrect engine oil viscosity · easy
- Blocked or restricted radiator · moderate
- Faulty engine oil temperature sensor · moderate
Rare
- Worn oil pump · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
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.
Community experience
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- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
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