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On inspection of my regularly serviced 6-yr old Honda Odyssey, I noticed that my engine oil was almost empty after driving about 300Km.
Can a 6-yr old regularly serviced car with no-leaked detected loose too much oil in just 5 months after a mechanic did an oil change?
Oil indicator has not come on, does this indicate that my engine is still alright?
Is my engine cooked or damaged in the long term?
If oil level drops that dramatically (to "min" mark in dipstick):
AND/OR
If the mechanic did a oil change, my guess is that perhaps something was left loose enough for under-work leaks. It may not leak when the car is off, but would leak small drops when it is running and hot. This is common when the oil filter was not tight enough, or its rubber seal got hard.
A warning light on the dashboard of the car and low levels of oil on a dipstick reading are two of the most common ways of checking if an engine is low on oil. A warning light indicates there is a problem, while a dipstick is a guide that shows whether or not the oil is filled to the correct level. Strange engine noises as well as the color of the oil in the engine are two other signs of low oil.
Keep in mind that having a low oil level is not a harmful event in itself. The only thing that matters is that there is enough oil to keep the oil pump pickup tube submerged so it can keep the bearings lubricated. Most of the oil capacity of a typical car is excess capacity designed to ensure that even when you brake or go around a corner really fast the sloshing oil doesn't uncover the oil pump pickup. The oil warning light/gauge is what tells you whether or not this has happened.
Oil warning light is typically an "oh shit light" on most cars that indicates pressure. Even on most cars with a gauge that indicates actual pressures, the gauge is often designed to read full pressure until it is catastrophically low. It's basically a light that tells you why your engine is dead unless you notice it immediately and stop the engine for repairs. And even then it's usually an indication that something is very seriously wrong (for example, there is a major breach in your oil galley that feeds the bearings).
My instinct with a 5 year old honda is that it probably isn't burning oil yet. Ensure your dipstick is actually going in all the way and not catching on anything and then add oil to the engine a quart at a time until it shows as being properly full on the dipstick again.
