EA888.3 Low Oil Pressure at Idle: Common Causes and Fixes
Meet AVB
AVB is an automotive enthusiast and has a special place in his heart for Volkswagen and Audi vehicles of all shaped and sizes. An avid lover of cars since early childhood, but his VW Life started with his MK3 Jetta. Since then he has owned and raced many VWs from MK1 Rabbits all the way to his current MK7 GTI. With this range in VW comes a lot of knowledge on the do’s and don’t. When AVB is writing articles he is working his GTI or dreaming up the next build he wants to run at the track. AVB is the primary writer for VW Tuning.
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Low Oil Pressure at Idle
Our shop car has recently started displaying a ‘Low Oil Pressure’ light, but only at idle. After doing extensive research on this, it appears that it happens to a lot of early-year MK7s and is especially common if you have the engine code CXCA.
Low Oil Pressure at Idle Symptoms
Symptoms that come along with the Low Oil Pressure light.
- Typically occurs when the car warms up ~100 degrees Fahrenheit
- Only happens at idle. Warning will disappear when RPMs are above 1000.
- Possible EPC Light
- No audible or physical difference to car performance.
Causes of Low Oil Pressure
The various forums and Reddit posts have different resolutions, and we will go over the different fixes we try on the shop car. We will also have how-to articles for the various tests we do.
1. Oil Filter Housing
If you start getting a ‘Low Oil Pressure’ light after an oil change the cause could be your oil filter housing. There is a filter adapter valve inside of the filter housing. The valve is very finicky and if it is not seated correctly it will trip the light at idle.
Repair 1
This repair will require a 32MM Socket, a ratchet, and a torque wrench that can handle a minimum of 25nm.
To remove the housing, loosen it with the socket attached to the ratchet. After that, you can remove it with your hands. Inspect the O-ring and the valve inside. Ensure that everything is connected correctly. It may be a good time to change out the O-ring. Make sure to rub oil on the O-ring and then fit it in. View the video below, and you can see the procedures for the removal and installation of the housing. When reinstalling, set your torque wrench to 25nm and, once done, add another 5nm.
Video: ECS Tuning Oil Change
DIY Difficulty: Easy
Repair 2
There is also a revised oil filter housing and with it a new revision to the valve as well. ECS Tuning carries both of these and we will be purchasing them to test. You can follow the video from Repair 1 above for the removal and installation of the housing.
Buy Here: Revised Oil Filter Housing
Buy Here: Revised Filter Adapter Valve
DIY Difficulty: Easy
2. Oil Pressure Sender and Switch
There are two oil sensors located next to the alternator. You should have one blue oil pressure sender and one brown oil pressure switch. These are both connected to the oil cooler bracket and control the EPC and low oil warning lights. The switch is a true/false Boolean, meaning that it won’t indicate to you or the car the actual oil pressure, but rather whether it is above the minimum (good) or below the minimum (bad). If either of these sensors fails, it can cause the system to incorrectly detect a pressure issue when none exists. The sensors are conveniently located and easy to swap out.
Buy Here: Oil Pressure Sender – Blue
Buy Here: Oil Pressure Switch – Brown
DIY Difficulty: Easy
