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Is it normal for the oil pressure gauge to move up and down on 07s?

13180 Views 13 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Chris01yz
it doesnt go to extreme hot, but it moves to little under mid and over mid constantly. is that normal on all other 07s?
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Mine shows high when cold. 3/8s when idling and a bit over half the guage under normal running conditions:cool:
Mine shows high when cold. 3/8s when idling and a bit over half the guage under normal running conditions:cool:
reason why i ask is because this doesnt happen on other vehicles i own. its about 70 degrees out and when i press on the gas the oil gauge jumps a little over half and when i brake or slow down it drops below half. just seems wierd that the gauge is always moving.
The guage is moving because the oil pump is driven off of the engine whose RPMs are changing.
Remember your vehicles have dual-VVTi too. The Oil pressure will always change variably with the load on the engine as well.

Sanosuke!
normal. its actually an accurate gauge, unlike the gm or american companies that stay pegged at a high setting constantly.
It is normal, and useful, with a real gauge, but it also confuses the uninitiated. My F-150 has an "idiot gauge" that is not a real gauge. As long as the oil pressure is above a certain, not very high, level the "gauge" reads in the middle. The dealer said that Ford received so many questions from new drivers that didn't understand how oil pressure fluctuates that they got rid of the real gauge. When the oil is cold the pressure will be higher because the oil is thicker. When the oil is very hot it will be lower. The engine water temperature, which is what the Temp gauge is measuring, will reach normal temperatures before the oil is completely warmed up. You can use this to let you know when it is OK to use full power. If you are towing, or climbing, and the oil pressure starts to get low you know that the oil is getting hot, and thin, and you might want to pull over for a while. This used to be common knowledge for us old guys. I suspect the Tundra will never have this problem with its oil coolers.
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It's completely normal, as Toyota does not use a static oil pressure gauge like the domestics do. All they do is tell you if there's oil there.

This 07 Tundra oil gauge shows you the increased pressure (which is normal) at startup, and the fluctuation of oil pressure at varying RPMs when at normal operating temperature. I actually like seeing what's going on with my oil.
Thanks for this post. Its really clear and informative. :ts:

It is normal, and useful, with a real gauge, but it also confuses the uninitiated. My F-150 has an "idiot gauge" that is not a real gauge. As long as the oil pressure is above a certain, not very high, level the "gauge" reads in the middle. The dealer said that Ford received so many questions from new drivers that didn't understand how oil pressure fluctuates that they got rid of the real gauge. When the oil is cold the pressure will be higher because the oil is thicker. When the oil is very hot it will be lower. The engine water temperature, which is what the Temp gauge is measuring, will reach normal temperatures before the oil is completely warmed up. You can use this to let you know when it is OK to use full power. If you are towing, or climbing, and the oil pressure starts to get low you know that the oil is getting hot, and thin, and you might want to pull over for a while. This used to be common knowledge for us old guys. I suspect the Tundra will never have this problem with its oil coolers.
oil pressure fluctuations are normal for all engines. oil pressure is directly affected by engine rpm because the oil pump is driven by the crankshaft in most applications. at idle the pressure is low and higher when rpm is increased. that is just how the system works. think of the oil pump as a fan. when the fan is on low you get less air when it is on high you get more air. that difference can be measured in psi. most of the big 3 don't use sensative guages because then people complain because the reading is high or low at certain times. the best way to interpret your oil pressure is to think of it as a engine oil monitor. on some new engines you may see spikes once in a while because there may have been some debris in the oil passages which caused temperary resrtictions but under normal operation at consistant speeds or rpms the oil pressure should not move much at all. :D
Even my airplane engine oil gauge changes with the rpms of the engine. Your gauge is fine.
I forgot to mention that many engines have low oil pressure at idle, and that is OK. I've seen good engines that have had 10-15 PSI at idle but they quickly rise as the RPM increases.
It is normal, and useful, with a real gauge, but it also confuses the uninitiated. My F-150 has an "idiot gauge" that is not a real gauge. As long as the oil pressure is above a certain, not very high, level the "gauge" reads in the middle.
I found out my Mazda Miata has the same "feature"...:rolleyes:

My old 1990 Toyota pickup that I traded in on the Tundra had a "real" oil pressure gauge. Hooray real gauges, hooray Toyota!
So its normal when I have it down below 2000rpm for the pressure to drop a little? I was just talking to victor about this! It was freaking me out:) It will drop as I let off too. but if its normal then thats cool with me.
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