The oil your M3s lose, mine finds!!

[sameh]

You know how our M3 eats oil, ummm not So much with mine. I paid for an oil change in the middle of the cycle as usual (BTW $240 in Dallas, used to pay $140 in NC!!) anyway, the oil level was barely above the middle mark and I was pissed, it stayed like that for maybe 3 weeks and I contemplated taking it back to the dealer but i knew what they'll say, then suddenly last 2 days oil level is consistently at the topmost mark, anything more than that will likely give me the "remove quart warming". I love technology, I consider my iPhone as this little smart friend of mine who I can carry around, I kiss my microwave every time it gives me perfect popcorn but I HATE that oil level indicator POS.
Any explanation? Doubt it though!
Some stuff in our M3 we just have to accept without asking too many questions cause there are no right answers:
-Rattles
-Clunking on second gear at low speeds
-Oil level changes, I guess

[shendrick]

My experience is similar and equally frustrating. When I change my oil I only put enough back in so that the initial reading is down 1/4 liter. However, when you add small oil increments like 1/4 liter, the display will sometime not change for hundreds of miles if at all. Subsequent oil additions then typically result in the dreaded "> MAX" result necessitating that you employ the front sump drainage activity to resolve. If you are unlucky you can oscillate between these two states endlessly - much to the amusement of spousal units.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by sameh

Any explanation?

Well you may know it there are tons of posts on this frustrating issue. It is the new technology we are dealing with today. Someone at the ///M Division convinced the other engineers to get rid of the "Dip Stick"

I hate it too and started a thread way back. You can find it here ---> Click Here to Open it

If you make a forum search on "Dip Stick" you can read the rest of the story that will take hours I am sure

Bottom line it is very frustrating. One does not know if the Warning is correct or not. As you will read in my Dip Stick post I had my frustration as well, finding oil then adding it and waiting and waiting to know if okay.

I'm the kind of guy that likes to feel, see and smell things. That is so true for the oil since the three of our senses will tell us a lot about our engine when we pull a dip stick (if we had one).

My Benz has a Dip Stick why not the BMW ... I say that BMW should fire the Accountant that insisted to cancel the Dip Stick.

[jphughan]

I had my oil level drop from above the middle marker to needing 1 quart late on a Friday evening while I was on the freeway to the motel I was staying at for a track weekend! I made a thread about it a while ago because it became a pain in the neck as well, but in the course of wrangling with the electronic dipstick I learned that the most reliable way to make it update is to drive for 5 miles and then tell it to start measuring while STOPPED and idling on a level road. I know the manual says it can measure while you're driving, but after I got my oil level squared away, none of the remeasures I did while driving updated the level indicator; the remeasure I conducted while stopped worked correctly. Hopefully this helps!

[mark896]

Originally Posted by jphughan

I had my oil level drop from above the middle marker to needing 1 quart late on a Friday evening while I was on the freeway to the motel I was staying at for a track weekend! I made a thread about it a while ago because it became a pain in the neck as well, but in the course of wrangling with the electronic dipstick I learned that the most reliable way to make it update is to drive for 5 miles and then tell it to start measuring while STOPPED and idling on a level road. I know the manual says it can measure while you're driving, but after I got my oil level squared away, none of the remeasures I did while driving updated the level indicator; the remeasure I conducted while stopped worked correctly. Hopefully this helps!

I do the same thing. On a fully warmed up engine, I park it on a level surface and leave the engine running for a minute or two. Then I reset the oil reading and it takes another reading. I've been at the halfway mark since I purchased the car with 1700 miles. It currently has 4000 miles.

[Radiation Joe]

There are something like 8 quarts in there. As long as it isn't full up to the top, I don't worry about it.

Unless your oil temp is climbing up towards 275F or you're running the banking at Daytona, being a quart down is probably better than being completely full.

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by Alter Peter

Well you may know it there are tons of posts on this frustrating issue. It is the new technology we are dealing with today. Someone at the ///M Division convinced the other engineers to get rid of the "Dip Stick"

I hate it too and started a thread way back. You can find it here ---> Click Here to Open it

If you make a forum search on "Dip Stick" you can read the rest of the story that will take hours I am sure

Bottom line it is very frustrating. One does not know if the Warning is correct or not. As you will read in my Dip Stick post I had my frustration as well, finding oil then adding it and waiting and waiting to know if okay.

I'm the kind of guy that likes to feel, see and smell things. That is so true for the oil since the three of our senses will tell us a lot about our engine when we pull a dip stick (if we had one).

My Benz has a Dip Stick why not the BMW ... I say that BMW should fire the Accountant that insisted to cancel the Dip Stick.

First thing, I do agree, it is a pain not having a dip stick. It sure would be nice to be able to visually confirm the oil level.

Finding oil should not be a problem, keep 1 litre in your trunk in the oil pouch that BMW sells at any dealer...... There is one in my car, my dealer put one (with a litre of oil in it) in both my M3's before delivery.

Lastly, the deletion of the dip stick is not due to a accountant. I am sure the oil level sensor, associated wiring, programming in the DME/display cost a lot more than a dipstick. The reality is, most of the buyers of cars like the M3 and other BMW's don't check their oil or know how to read a dipstick, the forums are only a small percentage of the total ownership. I would think most owners of BMW's are doctors, lawyers, successful business types/executives.... The kind of people who don't check oil or maintain their car themselves . This way, the car tells the owner when it needs oil and expects the owner to drive to the nearest dealer for a top-off.

[mdosu]

seperately, with the marker on the half tick, it's not bad. that's my preferred sweet spot on the level marker. Yeah I know any given month it can tick to a +1 quart, but I think it's safe