[anandpadhye]

Low Oil Level warning lamp (steady yellow) came on last night when I started my 8 years old 56000km run Skoda Laura 1.8 TSI. This was in my office parking when I was about to leave. I switched the engine off immediately, checked the oil level, it was below "Min". Like all Skoda owners, I keep a can of Shell Helix Ultra in the car. I poured it in and topped up till the "Max". Yet, the low oil level lamp (steady yellow) stayed on and just would not go out! This lamp goes away once the bonnet is opened and closed (the bonnet latch sensor is wired to the oil level sensor) - this is documented in owner manual and I have experienced it in the past 2 occasions when the oil level had dropped. This time, the lamp just stayed on - regardless of the the top-up to "Max".

I feared the worst but kept calm as I had read in the manual that:
Yellow - indicates low oil level and top-up actually resolves it
Red - indicates low oil pressure and this is serious

In addition,
Yellow flashing - indicates oil level sensor fault
Red flashing - means oil pressure sensor fault

As my case was "Yellow steady", I decided not to press the panic button and try googling before calling the tow truck.

Here is what I found:
The bonnet latch sensor may develop issues (it can be dirty - to the level that the opening and closing doesn't work fully, or the wiring to this sensor can be loose/cut).

Being a Skoda owner, I keep a spanner and screw driver set in the boot (though I have very limited DIY skills). Called a couple of friends to help in general, and used a screw driver to press the bonnet latch sensor, it went down upon pressing but did not come back up fully when I lifted the screw driver. Seemed like it was dirty and not moving smoothly (or just aging effect). A friends had WD40 type 3M lubricator spray in his car, applied some of it on the sensor and it's mechanism and it started moving smoothly - and like a magic - the low oil level warning lamp went off!

References:

http://uk-mkivs.net/topic/86922-yell...-car-solution/

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/319308-engine-oil-light-and-bonnet-catch-sensor/

Pictures:

Bonnet Latch:


Bonnet Latch Sensor (Top View):


Bonnet Latch Sensor Top View 2:


Bonnet Latch Sensor wiring (which we did not have to touch):


Spanner set (overkill for this particular problem, but very useful in general):


Owner Manual excerpt:


Thank you internet and the online VW and Skoda community - for saving me an expensive tow truck trip to the dealer!

Sharing with the hope that this may help other Skoda/VW owners.

Thanks!

[abhi1309]

Very good information, thanks for sharing. This may come handy for Laura owners like me.