So while turning into a parking lot last night the message came up that read something like "low oil pressure-shut off engine immediately to avoid damage" so i shut it off, and the dipstick read fine. drove it back home, roughly a 15 min trip w/o any more issues. what could this be?

 

Well if you checked the oil right after shutting the engine down it will not read right. you need to let the engine sit for a while, like 15 minutes or so then check the oil. And if it is truly low a hard sharp corner can cause this to happen.

 

Low oil pressure doesn't mean low on oil itself. Get that checked out. It may be a harmless sensor not reading correctly or could be a pump going out on you.
You did say in a parking lot, so probably not revving the engine. Low pressure can be a sign of someting devious.

Cheers

 

it means very low oil

 

Very low oil pressure

 

It could very well be a few things causing the cel,
1. sensor failing
2. low oil
3. failing oil pump
4. a fluke

 

yah i checked it 15mins after shutting it down back at my house, it was very low. do minis burn oil? it's barely been 5k miles since my last full synthetic change (1 free change from the dealer i got it from), did they just not add enough oil? I remember checking that day and saw it read fine but maybe i misread it.

 

Just to alarm you a little more...with the S model there is a vacuum pump and there are posts about the vacuum going out after low oil pressure and when they go, the whole engine goes. I would:
- get the engine checked out.
- do a search on NAM for info about the vacuum pump
- highly consider replacing the vaccum pump
- from now on, check the oil level immediately after it is changed (by anyone). The car takes 4.5 qts and most places will only put in 4 qts. It needs the full amount with the turbo.

 

Yes, Eddie is right, there have been some catastrophic results from low oil.

I check my oil every week, use about one quart per 6k miles.

Everyone's oil consumption varies, I'm not sure if your consumption is excessive or not. I would definitely keep an eye on it.