P0298
Engine Oil Over Temperature
- Severity
- Critical
- Driving
- Stop driving
The engine oil is too hot. Oil does not just lubricate - it carries heat away from the bearings and the pistons, and above a certain temperature it loses the film strength that keeps metal surfaces apart. Overheated oil leads to bearing damage, and bearing damage leads to an engine rebuild.
Possible causes
- CommonLow oil level
- CommonEngine coolant overheating as well, heating the oil with it
- CommonBlocked or bypassed oil cooler
- CommonOil of the wrong grade, or long overdue for changing
- PossibleSustained heavy load - towing, track use, a long climb
- PossibleFaulty oil temperature sensor
- PossibleFailing oil pump or a restricted pickup
What you might notice
- Oil temperature warning
- Oil pressure warning as the hot oil thins
- Coolant temperature high as well
- Loss of power
- Knocking or rumbling from the engine
What to check, in order
- Stop and switch the engine off. Hot oil thins, oil pressure falls, and bearing damage follows quickly.
- Check the oil level once the engine has cooled a little - but do not open a hot cooling system while investigating.
- Check the coolant temperature as well. Oil and coolant temperatures usually rise together, and the coolant side is the more common origin.
- Check the oil cooler and its lines for blockage and leaks.
- Check what oil grade was last used and when it was changed.
- If the engine was knocking or rumbling before you stopped, do not restart it to move the car. Have it recovered.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Fuel and air metering - injector circuits
P0200P0201P0202P0203P0204P0205P0206P0207P0208P0209P0210P0211P0212P0213P0214P0215P0216P0217P0218P0219P0220P0221P0222P0223P0224P0225P0226P0227P0228P0229P0230P0231P0232P0233P0234P0235P0236P0237P0238P0239P0240P0241P0242P0243P0244P0245P0246P0247P0248P0249P0250P0251P0252P0253P0254P0255P0256P0257P0258P0259P0260P0261P0262P0263P0264P0265P0266P0267P0268P0269P0270P0271P0272P0273P0274P0275P0276P0277P0278P0279P0280P0281P0282P0283P0284P0285P0286P0287P0288P0289P0290P0291P0292P0293P0294P0295P0296P0297P0298P0299