[00e46sedan]

The engine oil at minimum displayed todat i did oil change about 3weeks ago and checked for any leaks, i did put the 5 liter bottle i bought,will that have made it display? Since it needs more than 5? Any thoughts?

I have the 2013 328i i put 0w40 full synthetic

[sspade]

5 liters or 5.3 quarts is the capacity of N20. If you put that much in, you should not be receiving that low oil message after a few hundred miles.

Something else going on.

[sspade]

One things for sure, I would not run the motor low on oil. Add 1qt asap and re measure.

Monitor for a few days.

Have you scanned for codes recently?

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by sspade

One things for sure, I would not run the motor low on oil. Add 1qt asap and re measure.

Monitor for a few days.

Have you scanned for codes recently?

Thank u , i havent scanned for any codes, man im worried now, i did oil change myself and made sure everything was good to go, im thinking the big liter gallon they sell at oreillys was 4.9L they come in ,ive read other owners put that along with another quart. Im hoping its just that , this happened as i was going to work tonight so tomorrow morning ill head home,first put 1 quart then go home and jack the car up and make sure there isnt a leak but my garage was spotless .

[00e46sedan]

Sorry i have a n26 idk if thats a difference than n20

[upsidedownfunnel]

Did you do a measurement after you filled the engine?

The proper procedure to fill the oil is (assuming you've already drained):

1) Fill engine to capacity minus about 0.5 qt
2) Close fill cap
3) Turn on car and on level ground use iDrive to measure the oil level
4) Fill up to max line

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

Did you do a measurement after you filled the engine?

The proper procedure to fill the oil is (assuming you've already drained):

1) Fill engine to capacity minus about 0.5 qt
2) Close fill cap
3) Turn on car and on level ground use iDrive to measure the oil level
4) Fill up to max line

Tbh i refilled ,put cap back on ,turned on car and let it run for a bit,since my car was cold the whole day i never used it at all so the measurement didnt work at the time since it needed more time to warm up, also i did not have am extra quart on me just the 4.9/5.0 liter bottle from oreillys.

I did the measurement later that day when i used. It and warmed up the car and it was in the max line, should i just add a quart and go frok there,obviously i need it now so ill out some on and measure afterwards? When i get home also ill jack the car and check for leaks, i did over tighten the stupid plastic oil drain plug not by alot but it stripped on me

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by 00e46sedan

Tbh i refilled ,put cap back on ,turned on car and let it run for a bit,since my car was cold the whole day i never used it at all so the measurement didnt work at the time since it needed more time to warm up, also i did not have am extra quart on me just the 4.9/5.0 liter bottle from oreillys.

I did the measurement later that day when i used. It and warmed up the car and it was in the max line, should i just add a quart and go frok there,obviously i need it now so ill out some on and measure afterwards? When i get home also ill jack the car and check for leaks, i did over tighten the stupid plastic oil drain plug not by alot but it stripped on me

As long as you did the measurement at some point then you know you're probably losing oil.

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

As long as you did the measurement at some point then you know you're probably losing oil.

So i checked another thread and its suppose to be 5.75 liters or 6.1 quart.The bottle i got is 5 quarts and 4.73 liters. Is that a big difference to where that could've trigger the display?

[00e46sedan]

Ive always had a shop do the oil change and never had an issue,this time when i diy myself i made sure nothing was leaking and tighten up, the only negative i did was just putting in the 5 quarts/4.73 L bottle and not adding another quart like other owners suggest?

[RMachuca3d]

I've always put 5 quarts and its been reading at max, n26 too (same oil capacity though to the n20).

Check for leaks thoroughly, drain plug, head gasket, everywhere.. if none found, you're burning oil, check for smoke, check the spark plugs for evidence aswell.

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by RMachuca3d

I've always put 5 quarts and its been reading at max, n26 too (same oil capacity though to the n20).

Check for leaks thoroughly, drain plug, head gasket, everywhere.. if none found, you're burning oil, check for smoke, check the spark plugs for evidence aswell.

Thanks for the info ,I'm hoping it just need that extra quart but until then when i get home ill check the engine for any leaks from the drain plug,oil filter, head gasket and oil pan . The car also has 79k miles havent had ak issue before until now ajd since i did the oil change myself im thinking maybe something is off

[sspade]

Originally Posted by 00e46sedan

So i checked another thread and its suppose to be 5.75 liters or 6.1 quart.The bottle i got is 5 quarts and 4.73 liters. Is that a big difference to where that could've trigger the display?

Take a deep breath... the capacity of oil is 5L or 5.3qt as previously stated.

If you added 5qt from O'Reilly's then you should be very close. Not far enough off to damage engine or trigger low oil alarm.

It sounds like you may have a leak.

Check drain plug as you mentioned you may have over tightened it.

I would check oil level when engine warm and see how low you are. You may need to add a quart or half quart in the meantime (while you figure out whats up).

Report back to us.

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by sspade

Take a deep breath... the capacity of oil is 5L or 5.3qt as previously stated.

If you added 5qt from O'Reilly's then you should be very close. Not far enough off to damage engine or trigger low oil alarm.

It sounds like you may have a leak.

Check drain plug as you mentioned you may have over tightened it.

I would check oil level when engine warm and see how low you are. You may need to add a quart or half quart in the meantime (while you figure out whats up).

Report back to us.

Thanks for the help Spade much appreciated!
I did over tighten and thats what led to the stripping of the drain plug, sucks i didnt have a torque wrench that would've helped. I just checked underneath and did notice some oil residue on the under cover tray close to where the drain plug is at , i saw show wet shiny oil sitting on the tray from just looking at it without jacking it up, so im heading right now to a shop to do the oil change and see if that plug is the issue.

So by over tightening that also would cause a leak? Aside from just stripping the plastic plug? Apologies for questions im learning as i go

[14GSM]

Isn't the oil supposed to be 5w30 or 5w40? If you put 0w40 in that could be part of your issue.

Also, if you are checking for leaks under the car there's a good trick which is to place a large piece of clean cardboard under the car while parked. Come back an hour later and check if anything has dripped down onto the cardboard.

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by 14GSM

Isn't the oil supposed to be 5w30 or 5w40? If you put 0w40 in that could be part of your issue.

Also, if you are checking for leaks under the car there's a good trick which is to place a large piece of clean cardboard under the car while parked. Come back an hour later and check if anything has dripped down onto the cardboard.

Many thanks! The car is in the shop right now theyre checking it . You can use 5w30 or 0w40 as far as i know and ive read as well .

[00e46sedan]

So it turned out it was the oil drain plug i over tighten, the plug looked concaved in, smh i feel like a complete idiot ill need to get a good NM torque wrench since i tried to tighten by hand feel. The mechanic showed me and u can clearly see it leaking bad from the drain.

It's crazy how the under cover tray just hid away the oil residue.

[jh_f30]

Reading through this thread, I surmised everything you noted in your last post. You stripped the plug (hopefully no damage to the actual oil pan threads). And since there's an undertray cover, it's going to catch a good amount of leaks, so you wouldn't necessarily see it on the floor.

Also, are you using O'Reilly's branded oil? I don't think it meets BMW LL-01 (or whatever certification spec the N26 uses). Just a heads up. Probably not a huge deal if you have short OCIs, but if you're going by BMW's interval, you might have some issues.

[sspade]

Glad you got it figured out and learned a lesson in the process. I wouldnt let this deter you from DIY in the future. FWIW... I actually do not use a torque wrench. Just tighten very carefully and easily until its flush or slighty depressed compared to the raise ring around the oil pan hole. Its not under pressure so its not designed to be ultra tight, just enough to seal. You should feel it click a few times.

0W40 or 0W30 for that matter... is not an issue at all (someone else mentioned). Depends on climate.

[00e46sedan]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

Reading through this thread, I surmised everything you noted in your last post. You stripped the plug (hopefully no damage to the actual oil pan threads). And since there's an undertray cover, it's going to catch a good amount of leaks, so you wouldn't necessarily see it on the floor.

Also, are you using O'Reilly's branded oil? I don't think it meets BMW LL-01 (or whatever certification spec the N26 uses). Just a heads up. Probably not a huge deal if you have short OCIs, but if you're going by BMW's interval, you might have some issues.

Yes sir, luckily the pan threads are in tip top shape no stripping of the threads or worn per say thankgoodness.Yeah i figured the undertray collected a good amount for sure unfortunately ugh. As for the oil i was not using an oreilly brand ,that's a big no no I used the Mobil 1 SAE 0w40 but now switched to the 5w30.

Originally Posted by sspade

Glad you got it figured out and learned a lesson in the process. I wouldnt let this deter you from DIY in the future. FWIW... I actually do not use a torque wrench. Just tighten very carefully and easily until its flush or slighty depressed compared to the raise ring around the oil pan hole. Its not under pressure so its not designed to be ultra tight, just enough to seal. You should feel it click a few times.

0W40 or 0W30 for that matter... is not an issue at all (someone else mentioned). Depends on climate.

Thank u sir, Yeah i shouldnt let this bum me out i myself diy on my usr headlights and both front amd rear bumpers installed and happy to learn all this as i go being new to the f30 scene but yeah that drain plug wasmt flush it looked concaved inwards just looking at it from the top part of the plug, i think ill just feel more comfortable using a torque wrench lol.