Could be a leaky valve cover gasket gooping up the plug. I wouldn't be expecting 1 qt low to trip the oil light at idle, even on a hill. Not to say it absolutely wouldn't though. Top it up and try it on a hill again, with a hot engine, and see what happens.

 

No they don't. The plugs are external on the front side of the head, not through the top cover.

 

I'll run snap a picture. I'm sure when my husband gets home he'll make such a small deal of this. Always does....

 

lol....is that a good thing or a bad thing?

 

In other words... "he doesn't give a f@@@. Keep driving it. (eye roll) The one on the far right is where I see oil. Doesn't it all not look nasty though?

 

Oh and those looking at this, dont get all jealous over my 2.2 engine. I like the mpg it gets.

 

When the light flashes and you rev it a tiny bit, it would go off. On the way home, it never came back on until the last red light. I'd say 16 miles after starting. It would ONLY come on when I was sitting and did it twice on way home and then once I stopped in the driveway.

 

Since you can see the plugs I will assume this is the 2.2 not the 2.4. Small seepage is not uncommon at the valve cover on the 2.2. The only oil going thru the head is returning (no pressure) so valve cover is the most likely spot. How well has the car been maintained? Like Camaro 69 I would not think one quarter would set the low oil light on but if the oil is having trouble getting back to the pan due to sludge it could be an issue. Assuming you are on a flat with one quart low it may be worth it to pop off the valve cover and have a look see how clean it is. The sludge build up can also cause the valve cover to leak even more than normal. It would be a good idea to do the plug wires if they have been soaking in oil.

IMO the 2.2 is a very dependable motor. I have owned 2, both slid right passed 200K with no major issues. The 98 Sunfire drove to the junk yard with 220K on her. The frame had a nice size rust hole in it and my daughter did not want to mess with fixing it. I did throttle position sensor at 91K and a water pump at 125k. Everything else was routine maintenance. She never broke down or left me (or my daughter) sit.
It is a good idea to check your fluids every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes and if you are going to drive older cars it is well worth the effort. You never know when a leak might start and some leak only happen when the car is moving so you may not get a puddle.

I cannot tell you how many cars I sent to the junk yard because the owners just drove them and had the oil changed every 3000 miles. Then a $90 repair costs them a motor because they did not check the oil. I most cases by the time the light comes on the damage is done. In your case the light coming on just as you shut down it is a lot less likely anything got damaged.

 

If that was after topping up the oil, then you want to look into it before driving the car more. It may just be a bad oil pressure switch, ours went bad (not that that means anything for yours). It's in the back, and kinda hard to get to. Skinny arms and moving aside that wiring harness that runs down between the power steering reservoir and engine will help. Pull the plug and see if it's coated with oil. If it is, it's bad, but it still could be bad if it isn't gooped up.
And yeah, it looks like you have an accumulation of oil buildup from a slow leak, likely from the valve cover gasket.

 

Yes it's 2.2. It's been a while since we've had it tuned up but the oil gets changed often. The only thing we've done to this car, as in repairs in 15 years is alternator, battery and starter. As far as I can remember anyway. It's been a real good car. It needs painted (clear coat) and a window motor replaced. Is valve cover hard to get to? I know my son changed them on a 93 probe GT once but that's all the experience we've had with that. I guess I could call the shop too.