“Engine Oil Pressure Fault - Stop the vehicle” is not a message any car owner wants to see. Instantly it conjures up images of your engine dying and you being stuck at the side of the road waiting for your breakdown service. However, if this is something you’ve experienced on your Peugeot 208, you could be experiencing any one of a number of faults. In this article we explore some of the possible causes of this issue, what you can do to solve them and most importantly how much you can expect to pay to fix the issue.
Note: this article looks at both generations of the Peugeot 208 - the Mk1 from 2012-2019 and the Mk2 from 2020 - present.
Which engine do you have?
The Peugeot 208 has been fitted with a variety of different engines. It’s important to know what engine you have in your car, as there are certain faults that plague different engines. Probably the most reliable units are the 1.4 and 1.6 litre diesel HDi engines, and the 1.5 litre BlueHDi engines.
The newer PureTech petrol engines are also reliable units (although less so than the diesel engines), but if you have an early (2012-2016) model, these engines had issues where the timing belt runs in oil, which over time disintegrates the belt and causes bits of it to clog the engine up, causing oil starvation.
This could be the cause of your “engine oil pressure fault - stop the vehicle” warning. If you do nothing else after reading this article - have your timing belt checked if it's over 60k miles.
Firstly let’s look at what engine your car might have.
Mk1 Peugeot 208 (2012 - 2019)
Petrol engines
Diesel engines
Mk2 Peugeot 208 (2019 - present)
Petrol engines
Diesel engines
There are also electric versions of the Mk2 208, but they don't need oil, so I've not mentioned them here.
In order to find out which engine you have, you should consult your owner’s manual.
Now, let’s look at some of the things that can cause an “engine oil pressure fault - stop the vehicle” warning on the Peugeot 208.
Low Battery
Sometimes the easiest solutions are the best ones. A low battery is unlikely culprit, but battery voltage issues can cause a variety of codes and warning lights to show up on your dashboard and can lead to confusion as there may not actually be anything wrong with the car.
I will say that you’d probably have noticed whether your battery was on the way out - in that maybe your car is a bit of a slow starter, or maybe doesn’t start on it’s own after a few days of sitting idle.
What you’ll want to do if you suspect that this is an erroneous warning and that your battery is causing the problem is to charge it up first. Then what you’ll want to do is get hold of an OBD2 reader. On the Peugeot 208 the OBD socket is next to the glove box, below the fuse box - you will need to take off a plastic cover to get to it.
Plug the OBD2 reader in and do a code read. Clear all the codes, take the car for a bit of a drive and see what comes back.
If you still get issues, you may want to try a new battery and see if this makes a difference - if your battery really is nearly dead it’s unlikely to hold a charge very well even if you charge it up fully.
Be warned that this can also be down to issues with the alternator not charging the battery as you’re driving - which then can cause low voltage which can cause strange warning messages.
I’d recommend that if swapping out or fully charging the battery didn’t solve the problem, you don’t continue down this route of investigation until you’ve ruled out an actual oil pressure fault.
Cost to fix: between £0 - £30 (depending on whether you have an OBD3 reader or a battery charger, or whether you need a new battery)
Oil pressure switch or sensor
In keeping with trying to look at the simple issues first, it could simply be that the oil pressure in your engine is absolutely fine, and that the oil pressure sensor or switch is faulty which is giving an incorrect reading.
There isn’t much to say about this one in that it’s a good first step - the oil pressure sensor isn’t an expensive part and it rules out that this might be faulty before you start getting into serious engine work.
If it’s not the fault, you’ve not spent a lot of money (the part is about £10 and you’re likely talking an hour’s labour to fit it - about £40-50 at any decent independent garage if you can’t fit it yourself) and if it is the fault, you haven’t messed around with any kind of engine work that wasn’t necessary and likely to be expensive.
The problem with this is that the oil pressure switch is difficult to get to on most models - it’s right at the back of the engine block. It is a cheap part, so if you’re confident with a spanner and a ratchet you may want to have a go at switching this out yourself. If not, book it into a garage and ask them to diagnose the issue.
Cost to fix: between £10 - £60 (depending on whether you can fit this yourself or need a mechanic to fit it)
Blocked Oil Filter
This is also a simple fix that might resolve your oil pressure warning light. If your oil filter has become blocked and this is causing your issue, simply changing the oil filter might help.
Changing the oil filter is easy - on diesel engines it’s at the front of the engine and easier accessed from the front of the car, and on the petrol versions it’s actually underneath the car screwed upwards into a recess into the sump.
If you’re changing the oil filter, you may as well also change the oil - of which there are plenty of guides available on the internet to teach you how to do this.
What you’ll want to do is upon removal of the oil filter, just have a look at it and see what it looks like - if it’s black and dirty and you can clearly see particles, it’s possible this was your issue. If it’s like new, or not obviously blocked or dirty, it’s possible that your problem lies elsewhere.
It’s very important to find out why your oil filter became blocked. If it’s because you’ve never serviced the vehicle and the cause of the blockage is lack of maintenance, then you shouldn’t run into any further issues.
However, if you’re experiencing the dreaded timing belt disintegration and bits of the belt have run all the way through to the oil filter, you need to book the car into a garage ASAP to have them look at this - as this can cause oil starvation and premature engine death.
Cost to fix: £50 (for a bottle of engine oil and new oil filter) to £150 (for a minor service - oil and filter change)
Low engine oil?
As much as this might sound silly, you’d be surprised what kind of warning messages this might throw up - particularly the oil warning light. It’s a good idea to check your oil levels at regular intervals, particularly as we mentioned if you have a petrol engined 208 as they are notorious for burning oil.
However, if you check your dipstick and it’s dry, it would definitely be worth topping up the oil and driving a few miles to see whether the fault comes back. You could even have an oil leak causing your low oil level that you're not aware of - so this is also worth you having checked.
Ensure you get the correct oil for your vehicle, which for most 208s is a standard 5W-30 engine oil; if you have a GTi it may be a different grade of oil such as a 0W-30 but ensure you check the vehicle owner’s manual or Haynes manual to tell you what kind of oil you need.
This is then a case of topping up the oil in the engine (but be very careful not to put too much in) and then going for a drive.
This is a really easy thing that almost anyone can do, but if you’re still not sure, just take it to a garage and ask them to service the car - which will involve an oil and filter change (which also eliminates a potential blocked oil filter issue.)
Cost to fix: £50 (for a bottle of engine oil and new oil filter) to £150 (for a minor service - oil and filter change)
If you’ve looked at all of the above and you’re still experiencing an “engine oil pressure fault - stop the vehicle” issue, you will want to read on - but be warned, the fixes below are likely to be expensive.
Faulty oil pump
I will preface this by saying that you’re more likely to experience this on the petrol engined 208s, and in particular the 1.2 PureTech engine. This engine is notorious for burning a little bit of oil and you will need to ensure you check the oil level regularly, as it’s been noted by Peugeot themselves that an oil consumption rate of 0.6l per 1000 miles is normal.
In my experience the diesel engines don’t burn oil until they’ve clocked 100k miles, and even then oil consumption is minimal.
An oil pump replacement is an expensive job. If you’re able to do the job yourself, budget at least a day for the job and around £150 - £200 for the part. Changing the oil pump is a messy, difficult job and isn’t something you should do unless you’ve got experience maintaining your car.
It involves draining all of the oil, removal of the sump and then switching out the oil pump. Ensure you safely raise and lower the car, including supporting it on axle stands, and do not forget to fill the car up with oil again before starting it.
If you’re not confident enough doing this yourself (which in all honesty should be most people reading this) then you’ll need to ask a garage to do this. I would expect this to be a significant job that would take at least three to six hours worth of labour.
At independent garage prices you are talking at least £150 for the part, and then worst case 6 hours labour at £50 per hour equals £450 plus VAT. If the part is more expensive, or your garage charges more for labour, expect to spend more. Taking this to a main dealer to do the work (which I wouldn’t recommend) is likely to cost you upwards of £600 - £800.
Cost to fix: £150 - £800 (depending on whether you do the work yourself, and if not, where you have the work done)
Blocked oil passages in the engine (timing belt disintegrating)
Note - this is not applicable for diesel-engined 208s. On the HDi and BlueHDi diesel engines, the timing belt does not run in oil, and this is not an issue. If you have a diesel engine, your issue lies elsewhere. It also seems that this does not affect Mk2 208s from 2020 onwards, as there were recalls associated with this issue that do not apply to the Mk2.
On the petrol engined versions of the 208, particularly the early ones, there is a tendency for the timing belt to crumble and break up. This is a very well known and common problem that affected any other car fitted with a PureTech petrol engine - which was a significant number of vehicles across the Peugeot and Citroen range.
The timing belt on these vehicles runs in oil. As a result, over time the oil breaks down the rubber belt and causes bits of the belt to crumble and break up. As the belt runs in oil, fragments of the timing belt end up in the oil system, into the sump and get picked up by the oil pickup, which then make their way into the oil passages of the engine.
If this happens for a long enough period, the oil passages become blocked and therefore oil cannot flow through the engine to lubricate the moving parts, and therefore can lead to engine failure.
A newer 1.2L PureTech engine fitted to a Peugeot 208.
Unfortunately if this is your issue, there’s no way to know to what extent your engine has been damaged until you take it into the garage and have them inspect it. You may have got lucky and none of the particles have found their way into the engine, and you might get away with a simple timing belt and oil change, or you may find that your engine is close to failure and is uneconomical to repair.
There have been stories of Peugeot funding the repairs to this problem, and if after a diagnosis you find that this is your issue, you may have some luck raising it with your local Peugeot main agent and seeing what they say. However, if your car is older and out of warranty, it’s less likely that Peugeot will pick up the tab.
The timing belt interval on these petrol engines was reduced as a result of this issue down to 64k miles and 6 years - which to me is a sensible interval to replace a timing belt anyway; modern manufacturers tend to give ridiculously long timing belt change intervals such as on the diesel 208s, which is 110k miles and 10 years.
Get it changed before then for peace of mind - a timing belt snapping will likely kill off your engine.
Cost to fix: £0 (if you get Peugeot to pay for it) to £ several thousand (depending on what damage has been done and whether the engine is salvageable)
Note - if you're not maintaining your car it's possible that this can also block up your oil passages. If you don't change oil regularly it tends to get more viscous and sludgey, and this may also be the cause of your issue. This could be an issue on diesel engined cars as well if you don't change the oil.
Conclusion
As you’ve noticed there are a number of things that might be causing this issue - from an actual low oil pressure fault to something as simple as an engine oil leak. Some of them are easy and cheap to resolve, and some of them are very expensive.
My advice would be that if you’re in any doubt, check your car into a local garage that you trust and ask them to diagnose the issue for you.
Hope this helped - stay tuned for more car maintenance guides!
Check out some more of our Peugeot 208 related articles - we have written a lot of content on common issues and guides for this car!
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About the author
Marcus Brown is editor-in-chief of The FatMech and is a mechanic with ten years' experience based in London, UK. Having worked for major dealerships for many years, Marcus now works for a local independent garage and has experience working on nearly every make and model of car. Marcus also has a passion for writing and teaching, which is where the idea for The FatMech came from. In his spare time, Marcus enjoys playing golf, doing home renovations and gardening. He lives just outside London with his wife and son.