Overfilled engine oil@@

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

this thread is 5 months old, i think that the OP is gone...

guess i was wrong on that...

[Gemcoska]

It was free for a top off, no appt, just a few mins.

[ihyln]

Turned out about a month or so ago in the iDrive it showed that the oil was indeed overfilled, however, in the engine compartment there was literally no leakage. Not even by the cap. It's at a normal level now but I did drive through all of winter so I guess no harm was done.

[leederek]

I was able to correct an overfill situation by draining just the dry sump which is the front screw, about .5 liter came out. Does anyone know definitively that oil overflow goes into the dry sump?

[///MSpt550xi]

Something similar happened to me.

Last week I did some highway driving the saturday and sunday after I picked up my car. I was about 30 miles from home and the car tells me to add a quart of oil. No big deal, figuring that it is a ///M motor and I am still in by break in period (~400 at this point). So I get home and I add the quart.

Yesterday I was flicking through the info that is provided by the button on the turn signal stalk, and I come across the oil level. It is way above the max. So I go into my iDrive, to vehicle info, and it is telling me that my oil level is too high, and that I need to contact my BMW center.

Well, my BMW center is on my way home from work, so I stop in. My SA tells me to bring it back in the morning and they will throw it up on the lift and drain some of the oil out.

Well, I go in this morning and they take care of it. My SA informs me that they took out about a half a quart.

I just think that it is kinda strange that last week my car needed oil, and this week it is telling me that I have too much. I hope that we are not looking at a faulty oil level sensor epidemic.

[Subw00er]

I want to revive this thread because I have a similar, but different thing happening.

I brought in my car for a normal oil change at 4000 miles - no issues before that. I was actually in the car when the tech read the oil level via idrive (after changing the oil) and I saw that it read green (OK level). I was on my way home and the oil level said high. Service asks me to bring it right back in. He drains and measures the oil and it is indeed the correct amount, so he did not overfill (Phew!). They figured it was the sensor in the pan, so they replaced it. Added oil, checked the level, reads green, I take it home and after a few miles, same thing again - read at MAX level in the idrive.

I am bringing it back in again, possibly to replace the cpu this time, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue? I am not worried about engine damage because I know the level is correct, and I definitely dont have any overfill issues (no splash oil from cap like others), but it is annoying that its not reading correctly.

Any ideas?! Possibly someone else has come across this bug?

[py0413]

I am bringing my car back to the service tomorrow. Problem is my oil level indicator shows from full to half within a day. I could see the oil leakage from the cap after I popped up the hood last night. I am pretty sure that cap is not sealing properly after seeing that a few times. Service advisor told me to bring the car in asap.

[JCtx]

Hey folks, all the above fluctuations lead me to ask: What's the best time to check oil level???? The higher the rpm, the more oil the engine needs, so must be a difference between idling and driving, no? Also oil expands, so it has to be with oil temperature at 210º, no? HATE not having a freaking dipstick; I'd have paid $100 for it.

Anyway, in my case, tech said he put the 8.8 qts called for, and I just found out on the first thread here it's 8.8 LITERS, or 9.3 qts, which explains why my gauge shows half full (between marks). Drove the car home yesterday for 20 miles, and haven't used it again. How long should I wait to add more oil? When I bought it in Vegas and drove it home, the iDrive showed full all the time, and the dash level was one line below full, possibly meaning the dash has better resolution, since there's only ONE level sensor, correct? All this crap because of a lack of dipstick; geez .

[bobbyd1961]

came through the cap gasket was off mine too. brought it in immediately and the syphoned out excess and checked for leaks. i then brought it to another dealer who said they didnt drain both pans thats why the idiots overfilled. they said no damage cleaned it all up (oil everywhere) and test drove put back on lift and all is well. i will never go back to old dealer again,

[JCtx]

Just want to make a few comments after personal experience with an oil change (and playing a lot with the level):

-Oil cap leaking and overfilled crankcase are INDEPENDENT events folks. The intake cam gear (driving the exhaust cam) throws oil right at the cap ALL THE TIME. If it's not sealing well, it's going to leak oil regardless of your oil level. Excess oil is not sent to the oil cap, period.

- On the overfill issue, 1/2-qt is not going to truly overfill a 9L crankcase gentmemen (about 5%). An overfill in my book is when the crankshaft hits the oil, frothing it (air bubbles inside). That's why I think the ultra great majority of 'overfilled' messages are errors, as most techs don't pour more than 9L. My tech left my car draining while at lunch, and I ended up at 9.25L before the gauge jumped to full. But I did this over many days, to make sure the stupid gauge wasn't playing games with me . Bottom line is NEVER add more than 1/2L after the 8.8L supposed capacity, and you'd never be overfilled. If not full by then, something's wrong with the gauge. I got the hang of mine, and it's been pretty consistent. But use the one on the dash, not the iDrive, since the former measures the last liter, vs the whole sump on iDrive.

- The front sump is connected to the rear one folks; it's one big piece. Once the small, front sump is full, it overflows to the main sump. I assume this is why BMW instructs car to be driven 10 miles after an oil change, for front sump to fill up (level on main sump drops a little, as a result).

Feel free to add fuel to the fire .

[spectrumphoto]

This is what 2 SA's and one Tech told me... Oil indicator at MAX is showing a completely full oil level and is ok. Then it goes down to the OK markers and finally to the +1QT indicator. An Overfill situation will bring up a triangle alarm on your console and iDrive message.

My Car delivered (6 mi ODO) was one marker below top OK point. Then 1200 service started it off at top OK point (After driving it 12 mi and getting a +2QT alarm taking it back and adding more) Then I changed it once again at 7500 and it came back to me with MAX indicator which I triple checked with my service dept as being fine. I am now at 10500 and it has just dropped to top OK Level.

[Guy Wilson]

I took my E93 in for an oil change at 2,000 miles and they said they changed the oil, but I was called later, to bring the car back, because they didn't have the right filter the first time. Now I notice an OIL LEAK! I just called the dealer today and I will take the car in tomorrow.

Does anybody have any advice / experience that you can share with me about this?

Thanks, Guy.

[foosh]

It's pretty tough to give you any advice unless you tell us where the leak is.

It's not uncommon for the oil fill cap to not be installed/seated properly. Many of the reported leaks have been in that area.

[SS32]

Same thing happened to me. That was 6 months ago and she's running fine. Oddly enough, after this happened, it quit burning oil like it used to.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ght=oil+dealer

Originally Posted by SS32

Took the car in a couple days ago for scheduled service, have a window regulator fixed, and have the ticking noise under turning fixed (which they attributed to gravel, but it still isn't fixed). I took it to Performance BMW in Chapel Hill because they have much better service than the dealer here in Raleigh, or so I thought. They kept the car overnight on Thursday because of the window regulator. I picked it up yesterday afternoon and drove it home; everything seemed fine except the oil indicator was telling me it was above the max. I didn't think too much of it and parked it last night, figuring the sensor just needed to adjust; it's given me faulty readings before. I get up this morning, walk outside, and I'm greeted with oil leaking on the driveway. So, I open the hood and see evidence of my engine hemmoraging oil. I called the service dept and of course no one is working today except the receptionist. I'm scheduled to bring it in tuesday morning.

Originally Posted by SS32

Same thing happened to me. That was 6 months ago and she's running fine. Oddly enough, after this happened, it quit burning oil like it used to.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ght=oil+dealer

That is a sign that your oil filter cap isn't torque to 25Nm. under the high pressure, your oil is being sprayed.

if your oil filter cap is indeed torqued at 25NM then you need to take a look at our oil filter cap seal. is the seal properly installed? did the tech removed the old seal before installing the new seal?

Originally Posted by leederek

I was able to correct an overfill situation by draining just the dry sump which is the front screw, about .5 liter came out. Does anyone know definitively that oil overflow goes into the dry sump?

the front oil slump is around .5L and it is perfect for draining your oil in the event that your car has way too much oil.

just drained until your oil sensor shows the correct reading

[CalOski]

Just got my car back from ED and I'm running into similar problems. This morning when I started the car (second day of ownership), it said that I needed +1 quart. I figure its no biggie, drive down to the dealership on my way to work and get it figured out.

About 20 miles down the road, get another alarm message saying that the oil level is now at "below the minimum level" and that I should not continue driving. Panicking, I get off the freeway and try to find the nearest dealership.

Turns out 1) my CA didn't activate my BMW assist, which was a PITA, so they can't tow me until the contract is activated and 2) the closest BMW dealership's service department (not the one I bought the car at) doesn't open on the weekends. I think the local KIA dealership has a service department open weekends, just saying.

With no other reasonable alternative, I drive around for a bit and just by sheer chance, find a random independent BMW repair shop. Luckily, they carry the M engine oil from Castrol with the matching specs from the manual (I think its the same kind BMW uses). Buy 2 quarts, put about 1 in the engine.

After the sensor readjusts, its now reading too full! The service department at the dealership I bought the car from says that's not a huge deal and the excess will probably "burn off". Not a very reassuring answer to say the least. How does my engine get from "below the minimum level" to "over filled" with one quart?

Love the car, getting a little wary about the service levels going forward as well as the longevity of the car....

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by CalOski

How does my engine get from "below the minimum level" to "over filled" with one quart?

It doesn't. Sensor can take a reading when cornering, etc., and it's NOT going to be accurate. Sensor DOES NOT take another reading until you cycle the ignition again (do a search to understand how it works). From now on, monitor your oil level, but DON'T pay attention to it unless you do it right, which is on a level surface (always use the same, like your garage), at idle, when you have used car for at least 15 miles, and after doing a 'reset', which is pressing the turn-signal stalk button at the end for a few seconds while on oil-level mode. You can also turn engine off and back on again, but when engine is fully hot, the 'reset' works equally well. Do it every few weeks, and you can detect if oil level starts going down. I'll always top-off mine if it goes down (still reading full here), since it's easy to do once you know how this thing works, but if you're loyal to the manual and want to wait until you need a quart, and having to do what you did (or carry a liter in your trunk), it's up to you. Hope this helps.

[CalOski]

Thanks man, that was helpful! After driving around for a week or so, it seems like the excess has burned off. I don't know if I should be relieved or worried that the engine burns oil.

Guess that's normal for this engine.

Still love this car.

[Grail05]

Remeber guys its better to have a little less oil than over filling oil in any car or engine

EDIT: never realized thus is so old thread second we have a stupid oil sensor that dont read accurately... Stupid bimmer cant put a damn dips stick