High Oil level question

[nusevad]

Yet another my oil level is too high question lol

Searched but couldnt find a clear answer.

My question is, if i do not get a warning that pops up, and it only says oil level high on my oil status in idrive. Is it safe to drive it until it eventually burns down to normal levels?

[Candide13]

Originally Posted by FifthStreetz

Yet another my oil level is too high question lol

Searched but couldnt find a clear answer.

My question is, if i do not get a warning that pops up, and it only says oil level high on my oil status in idrive. Is it safe to drive it until it eventually burns down to normal levels?

That is the $25 000 question indeed, that being the price of the engine. When this happened to me I could not verify whether there is an actual warning that would flash up on the dash if the oil level is even higher than the threshold required to give the 'amber' alert in the idrive menu.

There is certainly nothing in the manual, and I could not find anything first hand on the internet. For sure there are folks who got that alert and simply drove until it disappeared.

Nevertheless, given the clear language of the amber alert, in the end I went back to the dealer and they drained half a quart. Wasted a few hours plus a weekend of anxiety.

[nusevad]

I think i added about 1/5 (perhaps less) of a L too much. Drf nothing close to some other member overfill of a full L or two.

Can anyone confirm if there is a warning that pops up in extreme overfills, like a check engine loght warning. Or is it just a passive warning in idrive if its just a marginal overfill

[nusevad]

did a bit more digging and found this post, can anyone else confirm?

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...6&postcount=33

[SilentAttack]

why not just drain it and refill it to the right spec?

[jphughan]

After a couple post-service "> MAX" indicators, I now ask the tech to a) remember to drain the secondary sump in front of the primary, and b) add only 8.25 liters of the car's 8.8 L capacity and give me the bottle with the remaining 0.75 for any required topping up. That typically results in the car showing the "Add 1 quart" lamp immediately after a change, but when I only add half, drive 5 miles, and tell it to remeasure, it says filled to the top. Go figure.

Can't answer how big an issue an overfill is, though I will say that I was a liter overfilled once and only got the "Amber alert" but had it addressed by having a liter drained. Short version: Night before my first track day in the car, it went from 3/4 oil full to add 1 ASAP. Thinking I was being proactive I added 2, THEN read the manual to learn that add 1 quart means exactly 1. Had it drained the following morning prior to driving on the track.

[Prince_of_Persia]

I would drain it

[tjsabec]

Originally Posted by FifthStreetz

Yet another my oil level is too high question lol

Searched but couldnt find a clear answer.

My question is, if i do not get a warning that pops up, and it only says oil level high on my oil status in idrive. Is it safe to drive it until it eventually burns down to normal levels?

I think you could get enough oil out with something like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oil-Change-Pump-Kit/11071257

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by tjsabec

I think you could get enough oil out with something like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oil-Change-Pump-Kit/11071257" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.walmart.c...t/11071257</a>

Nope! Because there's no dip stick shaft.

[tjsabec]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Nope! Because there's no dip stick shaft.

We'll, I realize this, but I was thinking you could siphon from the fill opening. I know it is kind of a tight fit, but if the tool fits in the dip stick shaft, it may slide down the "fill nozzle"

[pkimM3r]

Too high means too high. Take some out however you choose to.

I did an oil change and put in 8.5L plus another 1/8. My oil level was at half. Fast forward a few hundred miles and a track day. Now it reads 3/4

So i would drain and reread.

[MysticBlue]

I can't imagine 1/5th of a liter is going to cause a problem, but if it bothers you, just loosen one of the drain plugs until it's slowly dripping, catch what seems like 1/5th of a liter in a cup or whatever, tighten it back up. Whole thing should take less time than reading this thread.

[mdosu]

You can drain the front sump, which shouldn't open the flood gates

[dparm]

You can just remove the filter housing and suck some oil out of there. It tends to hold a decent amount of oil.

[Candide13]

On a practical level we all know what is right for the OP: either drain a bit from the front sump or drive on and let it burn off.

But it would be nice after the end of 5 years of production to finally get a first-hand confirmed answer (pictures!) to the question that has vexed many: is there a secondary warning that comes up in case of serious oil overfill?

The present amber alert that OP is describing is highly irritating, because on the one hand it comes with the ominous engine damage warning whilst on the other hand you'll never even notice the alert unless you check your oil level. Does not make sense for a car that otherwise complains about trivialities such as the tank being only a quarter full, or wiper fluid being low...

[dparm]

I wouldn't count on being able to burn much of it off. Mine was overfilled slightly when I got it, and even after two months of driving the level didn't change. I ended up popping open the filter housing and siphoning out a bit.

[nusevad]

Originally Posted by Candide13

On a practical level we all know what is right for the OP: either drain a bit from the front sump or drive on and let it burn off.

But it would be nice after the end of 5 years of production to finally get a first-hand confirmed answer (pictures!) to the question that has vexed many: is there a secondary warning that comes up in case of serious oil overfill?

The present amber alert that OP is describing is highly irritating, because on the one hand it comes with the ominous engine damage warning whilst on the other hand you'll never even notice the alert unless you check your oil level. Does not make sense for a car that otherwise complains about trivialities such as the tank being only a quarter full, or wiper fluid being low...

Exactly, i would like to know if there is a popup warning like check engine...imagine you overfilled by 2L. If there is no popup warning you'd be completely oblivious to it and could end up with issues.

Originally Posted by dparm

I wouldn't count on being able to burn much of it off. Mine was overfilled slightly when I got it, and even after two months of driving the level didn't change. I ended up popping open the filter housing and siphoning out a bit.

Im gonna go this route, do i need to replace the filter O ring if i open the filter housing cap?

[WM_M3]

Originally Posted by FifthStreetz

Im gonna go this route, do i need to replace the filter O ring if i open the filter housing cap?

No, given that you replaced them during your oil change.