Because the 200 dollar generator doesn't hold 5 or more qts of oil...
BTW, I bet you a new pu would shut itself down if it ran out of oil!
SR
I wouldn't want to bet a pu (or any other) engine on that....... I know of a late model Ford gasser destroyed by running it out of oil.
I've always viewed OIL idiot lights as more like REPLACE ENGINE NOW idiot lights.
It's a pet peeve of mine...... with all the tech/bells/whistles designed into modern pickups, the only light vehicle production engines that I trust to reliably shut down safely with a low-oil condition is a HEUI diesel.
As all engine management today is computer controlled, and most vehicles come with some type of dashboard info screen, it would be trivial to program a
Shutting down in 90 seconds Due To Low Oil warning...... with additional delay or bypassing easily accomplished.
It may be out there, but I don't know of any light-vehicle production engine the does that ^.
Do I manually check oil levels - Yes. Do many people not bother - also Yes.
Design-wise, I find it exceptionally lame that a $200 generator does a better job of protecting itself from low-oil conditions, than a $20k+++ vehicle does.
Some new vehicles have factory-deemed "acceptable" oil-consumption rates that are ridiculous, including some "premium" marques.
Excessive Oil Consumption Isn't Normal - Consumer Reports
"
Certain Audi and BMW cars standards state that a quart burned every 600 to 700 miles is reasonable."
All engines should regularly be checked for oil-level. That said, I'd gladly trade most of the bling on new vehicles, for an engine that protects itself better....
I hold no illusions that my demographic shows up on the auto marketers radar....
Rgds, D.
