Dealer overfilled oil - question

[photogS]

My wife took the car to the dealer last Friday to change the oil.

I drove it last night and noticed that the display shows the level being too high (>max)
Thanks to no dipstick I have no idea how much over it is.

Obviously I'm taking the car to them tomorrow, but here is the question:

should I drive it or have them flatbed the M3 to the dealer? What damage can it cause if I drive it? Any possible damage to the engine or am I just risking oil pan to get busted? Any long term damage that may surface later?

I'm so fu.king pissed - they cannot perform a simple task on the car they suppose to know. WTF?!?

[JCtx]

Don't panic. First of all, you can use the car. Before wasting time at dealer, do a manual 'reset' with the car at full operating temperature on a level surface while idling; that's going to give you a proper reading, not the one the car gets on its own about 10 miles into your trip. And even if the reading is high, it's probably going to be 1/4-qt at most, which does nothing to your engine. And it's easily remedied by draining the front oil sump. The TWS oil is very expensiive, and it's not like a tech is going to throw 10 quarts in there. If it's indeed 'overfilled', it happens when oil is not allow to drain sufficiently, so tech puts the 8.8 liters called out on the manual, and ends up a bit overfilled. Nothing to worry about, but it's a sensor, and if it gets to that level it'll throw that message. It's not like a 1/4 of a quart is going to fry your engine, but BMW does a good job of scaring you into that . Just take it in when you have a chance if it reads high when reset like explained above. Or drain the front sump and be done with it .

If you want to better understand how the darn sensor works, do a search. Take care.

[photogS]

Thanks, I feel a little better.
The receipt says they put 9qt so if it's accurate I should have nothing to worry about.

I actually did search to about the sensor, I have a fairly good understanding how it works - it still shows the level to be too high.

I think it's BS that the car doesn't have the dipstick though, but what can one do.

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Don't panic. First of all, you can use the car. Before wasting time at dealer, do a manual 'reset' with the car at full operating temperature on a level surface while idling; that's going to give you a proper reading, not the one the car gets on its own about 10 miles into your trip. And even if the reading is high, it's probably going to be 1/4-qt at most, which does nothing to your engine. And it's easily remedied by draining the front oil sump. The TWS oil is very expensiive, and it's not like a tech is going to throw 10 quarts in there. If it's indeed 'overfilled', it happens when oil is not allow to drain sufficiently, so tech puts the 8.8 liters called out on the manual, and ends up a bit overfilled. Nothing to worry about, but it's a sensor, and if it gets to that level it'll throw that message. It's not like a 1/4 of a quart is going to fry your engine, but BMW does a good job of scaring you into that . Just take it in when you have a chance if it reads high when reset like explained above. Or drain the front sump and be done with it .

If you want to better understand how the darn sensor works, do a search. Take care.

[photogS]

Thanks for the response. You guys made me feel better.
I hope they put only slightly more then needed and there's nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by TrackRat

The excess oil won't damage the engine at all but it could end up as part of the exhaust vapor and damage the CAT muffler if you over filled frequently. It would take quite a bit of oil over fill to do this however. I wouldn't panic as the car is still fully driveable. You may want to make the dealer aware of the issue and see what they suggest. As long as you document the situation, you have nothing to worry about.

[anwarghader]

Hi, I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM..ist okay if i drive it? i think theres 1/4 extra..