My daughter has a 2004 Accord with apx 168,000 miles on it. Last week she had the oil changed and the mechanic told her she had a vacuum leak in one of the hoses. The oil light keeps flashing and now the Check Engine light stays on all the time. Another mechanic took a quick look at it and told her to put something like electrical tape on the hose where it's leaking which seems ridiculous to me. Does this hose need to be replaced and what might this cost. Also, would this cause the issue with the oil and Check Engine lights? Thanks so much for any help you can provide.

 

I would have your daughter stop by a parts store like autozone and have them scan for codes. They start with the letter P and have four numbers, like P1234. Post any codes on here.

I think that the electrical tape would probably work as a temporary fix. The vacuum hose may be simple to replace. That depends on the location of the vacuum hose.

Make sure that your daughter checks that the oil is full. This could be an oil pressure sensor problem, low oil, or low oil pressure.

 

I am not sure why a vacuum leak would be causing the blinking oil light. Check the oil level immediately. Then I recommend getting someone else to look at it to resolve the blinking oil light first. It makes me wonder why these mechanics would say a vacuum leak in a hose and not be able to remedy it or at least temporary do something if it really was related to the blinking oil light.

You don't really want to take a chance on the engine being damaged due to low oil pressure. Did this occur right after the oil change?

A vacuum line generally is easy to replace and not for too much; however, it is the blinking oil light that is of great concern.