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      04-19-2015, 05:34 PM   #1
哇靠M3
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Engine Oil Indicator is retarded!

I drove my car from Bay Area down to LAX, which was about a 800 miles drive back and forth. The car was showing the engine oil indicator at half full when I was driving back. It stayed at half full for the remaining week until i decided to top off some oil. I added half a qt and it still showed half full. At this point, I just left it as is... Today, after filling gas, I realized that the engine oil gave me a yellow warning saying it's too full. How the hell did half a qt make such a big difference?

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      04-19-2015, 05:47 PM   #2
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Welcome to the oddball word of the engine oil level sensor.
Drove 250 miles away last week, armed with a single liter of 10w60. Apparently topping off a liter was enough for the sensor to go from "I got zip" to "Whoa Mellie, my belly is full". There is some god awful calibration going on in there... I'm sure the V8s burn oil like a retreating Middle East dictator, but this really is weird especially on continuous long trips. For a high power output engine like the S65, oil consumption shouldn't be too different from its own stablemates. Have heard folks report this issue, but never found a logical explanation for the truant hardware (or software).
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      04-19-2015, 05:47 PM   #3
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Ya it is retarded sometimes, but in the future I wouldn't add oil until it tells you too.

Keep a qt in the trunk that way you always have it. Buy the like $5 BMW oil bag and put a microfiber rag in with it... good to go!
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      04-19-2015, 05:51 PM   #4
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Exclamation

You need to wait till the car is asking for oil , at that moment just add the asked amount of oil .
My BMW/Dealer said to me....You need to learn to listen what your car is asking !
Think it's the right way...
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      04-19-2015, 06:30 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium View Post
You need to wait till the car is asking for oil , at that moment just add the asked amount of oil .
My BMW/Dealer said to me....You need to learn to listen what your car is asking !
Think it's the right way...

and that's the manual directions as well. Only add oil when the car asks to add 1 qt. I guess only people who factory ordered their car read the manual not second hand buyers.

the closed system oil sensor is disliked by all. Is the F8x the same ?
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      04-19-2015, 06:38 PM   #6
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hopefully the dealer would help me drain some oil.. LOL
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      04-19-2015, 06:43 PM   #7
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Yup... only add oil when it asks you too. Driving at half is normal and nothing to be concerned about.
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      04-19-2015, 06:47 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW View Post

and that's the manual directions as well. Only add oil when the car asks to add 1 qt. I guess only people who factory ordered their car read the manual not second hand buyers.

the closed system oil sensor is disliked by all. Is the F8x the same ?
Is the F8X the same ?..I've really no idea .
Still on here ?....Congrats !
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      04-19-2015, 07:15 PM   #9
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It's pretty simple, don't add oil unless she asks for it. It's not half full, it is within operating range. Think of the indicator like the end of a dipstick.
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      04-19-2015, 08:35 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium View Post
Is the F8X the same ?..I've really no idea .
Still on here ?....Congrats !
Yes why not. The totalitarian regime is in the F8x m* section of the forum, not this side. Not only they remove *any* negative view that does not side with publicity for the car but if you make an especially good case for it, they go one step further and make you 'disappear' permanently. Very much what happens in totalitarian countries, except this is just a virtual forum.
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      04-19-2015, 08:48 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW View Post
Yes why not. The totalitarian regime is in the F8x m* section of the forum, not this side. Not only they remove *any* negative view that does not side with publicity for the car but if you make an especially good case for it, they go one step further and make you 'disappear' permanently. Very much what happens in totalitarian countries, except this is just a virtual forum.
I have noticed that actually. I think BMW pays this forum and therefore any negative comments about anything about their is not accppted
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      04-19-2015, 09:02 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e90-335i View Post
I have noticed that actually. I think BMW pays this forum and therefore any negative comments about anything about their is not accppted
Yes quite a few members have observed this. I think so too.
There is definitively a behind closed doors collusion going on. Without this site being officially backed by bmw they can make outrageously deceptive marketing statement by presenting supposedly leaked info without having to be held accountable when they distort or blatantly lie about some aspect of a new model. They've done so on too many occasions for it to be attributable to benign errors.
As such, i have become very circumspect about BMW marketing practices.
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      04-19-2015, 11:04 PM   #13
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I experienced the same thing. Went on a journey a while ago, got the 1 qt warning and added a qt. Then came back and the thing said 1/2 full. Added a 1/2 a quart, then it said too full with the yellow. Drove it like that for a month, then it dropped back down to ok. Went on a second journey, and tracked the car. The thing said 1/2 full along the way. Learned my lesson and didn't add oil. Came back, drove it today, and now it sez full/ok today! Dumb sensor!
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      04-20-2015, 03:51 AM   #14
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I always add half a quart when it asks me for a full quart; that way I can always be sure I didn't put too much.
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      04-20-2015, 07:35 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redpriest View Post
I always add half a quart when it asks me for a full quart; that way I can always be sure I didn't put too much.
+1

Essentially: never add less than half a quart and never add more than half a quart. In other words, only ever add half a quart.

If you add more it might show the overfill warning and stress you (my display raises by 3 ticks if I add half a quart).

If you add less the system cannot tell that something has been added, because it does not know you opened the oil cap. It uses software to decide whether oil has been added or whether there is some temporary increase of oil volume due to dilution with petrol. The software is calibrated such that adding anything less than half a quart is likely to be misinterpreted as a dilution effect and shows no raise in the display. However, if the perceived dilution lasts long enough, the software will decide that oil has been added after all, and that is when your display goes up unexpectedly hours of driving after you added oil.

It all makes sense and you can work with it, unless the sensor fails of course...

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      04-20-2015, 08:09 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Killerfish2012 View Post
Then came back and the thing said 1/2 full. Added a 1/2 a quart, then it said too full with the yellow.
The car never says to add anything when the marker is midway between min and max only if it s at the MIN level. You are bringing unneeded confusion to the topic. Furthermore like i already said RTFM !



it says to only add oil if the car asks for it and that would be when the marker is on MIN only, not 1/2.
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      04-20-2015, 10:42 AM   #17
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Adding oil at half. LoL. You wouldn't add oil when the dipstick is at half why would you with an electronic sensor? BMW drivers....
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      04-20-2015, 11:05 AM   #18
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FWIW, it's usually recommended to top off your oil before you go to the track, so that's one legitimate reason for wanting to not be 1/2 quart (liter) low.

But in general, I agree with the others. Wait until it says to add a quart, and then add a full quart (and then wait patiently for it to register that it's full again).
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      04-20-2015, 12:28 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Killerfish2012 View Post
I experienced the same thing. Went on a journey a while ago, got the 1 qt warning and added a qt. Then came back and the thing said 1/2 full. Added a 1/2 a quart, then it said too full with the yellow. Drove it like that for a month, then it dropped back down to ok. Went on a second journey, and tracked the car. The thing said 1/2 full along the way. Learned my lesson and didn't add oil. Came back, drove it today, and now it sez full/ok today! Dumb sensor!
should i leave it with the sensor showing it's too full? or go to the dealer and have the service guys drain some?
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      04-20-2015, 12:53 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 哇靠M3 View Post
should i leave it with the sensor showing it's too full? or go to the dealer and have the service guys drain some?
If it's yellow, then You can leave it. I think it'll be red, if it's serious. Just my two cents.
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      04-20-2015, 01:43 PM   #21
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1. Y U No only add 1/4 bottle at a time?

2. Y U No let it be and added oil when the oil indicator is in the "ok" range

3. Y U No drain it yourself and instead pay the dealer to drain the oil?

You can do it yourself. It'll be messy though b/c there's no easy way of just draining a squirt of oil out...once you unbolt the plug, it's a deluge, you have to be quick to plug it back up. Don't forget to measure out how much you've drained. It should be about less than 1/4 of a bottle.
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      04-20-2015, 01:53 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW View Post
Yes why not. The totalitarian regime is in the F8x m* section of the forum, not this side. Not only they remove *any* negative view that does not side with publicity for the car but if you make an especially good case for it, they go one step further and make you 'disappear' permanently. Very much what happens in totalitarian countries, except this is just a virtual forum.
Quote:
Originally Posted by e90-335i View Post
I have noticed that actually. I think BMW pays this forum and therefore any negative comments about anything about their is not accppted
Quote:
Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW View Post
Yes quite a few members have observed this. I think so too.
There is definitively a behind closed doors collusion going on. Without this site being officially backed by bmw they can make outrageously deceptive marketing statement by presenting supposedly leaked info without having to be held accountable when they distort or blatantly lie about some aspect of a new model. They've done so on too many occasions for it to be attributable to benign errors.
As such, i have become very circumspect about BMW marketing practices.
hey! pipe down about F80 or how this forum is run if you know what's good for ya....

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