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      06-27-2012, 06:50 PM   #1
gan1hck
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Oil Level

I know there are other oil level threads, but they don't answer my question.

Anyways, I just had my 1200 mile service done.

After the service, my dash board oil level indicator went from half filled to about a quarter filled ...even though still "ok".

Being an obsessive kind of guy, I went and bought some Castrol 10w60 and added 0.4 liters to my car...less than half a quart.

Now the dash indicator shows it completely up to the top line, but still "ok".

On the iDrive, it shows filled up to the max...but "ok"

So here is my question....

Will the computer system indicate to me if there is TOO MUCH oil? So that I know to have some drained?
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      06-27-2012, 06:52 PM   #2
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I would have taken it back to the dealer to check it out.
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      06-27-2012, 06:55 PM   #3
gan1hck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 808@702 View Post
I would have taken it back to the dealer to check it out.
I mean the car was fine....I was just being OCD about getting the oil indicator to show what it was before...

Wife says that I like to tinker too much...

Anyways...Answer to my question?
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      06-27-2012, 06:57 PM   #4
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Dealer will top it off for you free of charge.. let them do it. That way if you overfill... it's not on you
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      06-27-2012, 07:00 PM   #5
gan1hck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3alabama View Post
The car will tell you if you are over the max level and tell you that your oil is too high. As long as that is not happening you are good.
Cool!
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      06-28-2012, 03:58 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3alabama View Post
The car will tell you if you are over the max level and tell you that your oil is too high. As long as that is not happening you are good.
This is true but why immediately after the 1200 mile service was it low? That's what would concern me. Seems like they didn't do it or didn't put enough in.
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      06-28-2012, 05:05 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dom_cmh View Post
This is true but why immediately after the 1200 mile service was it low? That's what would concern me. Seems like they didn't do it or didn't put enough in.
it wasn't low...just lower than before the service
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      06-28-2012, 09:38 AM   #8
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if the oil is max and too high, you know there's an issue because the car will show service lights. I've seen Max Level / Oil Too High before where the car service lights aren't lighting up.
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      06-28-2012, 09:51 AM   #9
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Arrow oil condition sensor pdf...

Quote:
Originally Posted by gan1hck View Post

Anyways...Answer to my question?

I think this pdf on the "oil condition sensor" will help you understand how the oil level electronic dip stick works and what the various icons/pictures mean.



Go to page #5, picture #7 "oil level above max, oil over filled", it lights up in orange...


BMW_oil_condition_sensor.pdf
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      06-28-2012, 10:35 AM   #10
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After my 1200 mile svc, my oil level was reading below half. I just pulled up to the dealer, told them it looks like I'm 3/4 of a quart low and they topped me off. The oil level indicator didn't register the top off until the next day though. I wish there was a dipstick in conjunction with the onboard lvl indicator...just to be safe.
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      06-28-2012, 11:09 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gan1hck View Post
I mean the car was fine....I was just being OCD about getting the oil indicator to show what it was before...

Wife says that I like to tinker too much...

Anyways...Answer to my question?
The answer to your question is that the oil level indicator is very slow responding to changes in level. It needs a day or two of driving to assess what the actual level is. You can do a "quick read" but that won't be particularly accurate.

The way to think about the M3 oil level is that the bottom of the indicator is the "OK" line, and anything above that is "Extra". You don't need any "Extra" to be OK. The dashboard light indicator will tell you if the level is not OK, and until then, don't spend any time thinking about how much "Extra" you should be carrying around.
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      06-28-2012, 11:27 AM   #12
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& when topping off, I'd only do it a 1/4 liters at a time and drive a day or two....it's easy to overfill.
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      06-28-2012, 12:06 PM   #13
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i-drive will tell you if it's overfilled. If it says "ok", then it's okay, nothing wrong with it being on the top level.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408366
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      07-06-2012, 09:14 AM   #14
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I had similar problem today, a few days ago got the +1 quart, oil at minimum warning so took it today to dealer, now its says OK and oil level is fine. They gave me a qt of oil to keep just in case. Hopefully sensor isn't faulty. Car has only 1500 miles and got the 1200 service just last week
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