another oil change gone wrong

[mdosu]

600 miles ago the engine oil was changed in my car at the dealership. I just realized today the oil level is too high. The info in my iDrive states it.

My guess is the guy either dumped all 9 instead 8.8 in or didn't fully drain and put 9 in as the worse case scenario. Sigh, can't depend on anyone anymore for the easy tasks either.

I'm mad at myself too for not checking soon enough. I always make it a point to double check work after I've changed tire/wheels, oil, i just simply forgot this time.

How much damage do you think there was to the engine over 600 miles?

[mdosu]

You sure? There's so much hoopla and emphasis on not overfilling oil, I don't know what type and to what extent damages can occur.

[bobbyd1961]

it will drop the next day. my dealer always leaves it 3/4s of a liter low and then i add the next day

[mdosu]

^it's been 2 weeks

[Ant Man]

Originally Posted by mdosu

^it's been 2 weeks

I spoke to a master tech about this. If there is too much oil, warning lights appear etc. If just the idrive or other oil level check says it too much, it's OK.

[mdosu]

^thanks man, this sets my mind at ease. I took the car back in and they told me they'll just rechange the oil again for me, which is fine with me.

Thanks for the followup.

[Kenyon]

Originally Posted by mdosu

^thanks man, this sets my mind at ease. I took the car back in and they told me they'll just rechange the oil again for me, which is fine with me.

Thanks for the followup.

Or they could've just loosened the drain plug and let out some oil which is what I think they did. I've seen this happen before and thats what went down.

[BimmerRob08]

No worries man, I once over filled by abut 1/2 lt. No warning light but the level was topped out. In about 500 miles or so it burned off. As long as you don't have a warning light.

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by mdosu

600 miles ago the engine oil was changed in my car at the dealership. I just realized today the oil level is too high. The info in my iDrive states it.

My guess is the guy either dumped all 9 instead 8.8 in or didn't fully drain and put 9 in as the worse case scenario. Sigh, can't depend on anyone anymore for the easy tasks either.

I'm mad at myself too for not checking soon enough. I always make it a point to double check work after I've changed tire/wheels, oil, i just simply forgot this time.

How much damage do you think there was to the engine over 600 miles?

is it leaking any? if not give it 1 day of driving it should settle properly. if not bring it back let them syphon out. my dealer always leaves about a half liter low and gives it to me to put in the next day.

[elp_jc]

Originally Posted by bobbyd1961

if not bring it back let them syphon out.

Can't do that on the M3 man . But it's pretty easy to drain the front sump (about 1/2L); you can even do that in your garage without lifting the car if desired .

[sehrgut]

What are they doing at your dealer?

But when I change the oil i ALWAYS add up 8.25l, NOT 8.8l. (there is some oil left in the cooler lines etc...)

So when I add 8.25l it always shows the oil level is perfect and i keep the remaining 0.75l in my car, if it would read below mid level or read something else besides, ''OK''!

Always better to add little less then little more, you dont want oil squeezing out of your seals and gaskets.

[BimmerRob08]

So yesterday I change my oil myself. Pretty straight foreward like any other oil change. O-rings, new filter, drained both sumps, etc.

Let it drain for about 20 minutes, filled it up with 7lt of oil. A buddy there at the shop used to work at a BMW dealer not long ago so got some BMW specific pointers from him.

Let it run till it warmed up again for a reading. Showed 1qt low at the lowest point on the iDrive. Added one more qt.

Today I drive it and once it warmed up, showed still at the low mark, add 1qt it says.

I add 1qt and after it warmed up, displayed "max" with the level at the top off the scale. iDrive shows "oil level too high" No warning lights except the "max" next to the oil level.

I'm sure it'll be ok, but damn thing said to add 1qt. Next time I guess it'll be best to add 1/2 qt at a time. Can't trust the damn thing.

Any chance of seal damage?

[elp_jc]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

Any chance of seal damage?

Nah! With a 20-min drain and 9L you're probably a millimeter too high if at all, but remember to always do a manual reset at the same spot, with engine fully hot. Mine took 9.3L the first time, and 9.5L the last when I also sucked the oil filter housing dry (exactly 0.2L in there). Next time add AT LEAST 8L man, but I'd do 8.5L after a thorough drain; at 7 you were too low. Remember you don't want to be more than 1L low. And yes, it's better to go 1/2L at first when you get the '+1' message, then 1/4L at a time until full.

[bobbyd1961]

no damage unless you saw oil all over the ground foaming

[dynamite]

They put 9L in every oil service on my car. No problems..

[BimmerRob08]

Thanks fella's,

yeah, no oil leaks anywhere. I'm guessing I'm about 1/2 liter too high probebly.

[SchnellM3]

This just happened to me as well.

Glad to learn about the warning light coming on I was a little paranoid and drove the car even less that usual until I was able to get it back in.

[serge]

They put 9L. on mine this morning. Everything seems ok.

[KIS]

Found this thread after experiencing the dreaded overfill during a recent oil change. I, too, stupidly did not check my oil level for 8 days after the oil change at a local dealership. When I did, I saw the dreaded overfill message on my idrive screen. I am posting in the hope that others will read this and be more diligent than me.

[THE TECH]

Best to just change it yourself. Dealers it seem cannot be trusted for even the most minor of tasks.

[KIS]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Best to just change it yourself. Dealers it seem cannot be trusted for even the most minor of tasks.

I'm confident this sentiment has been coveyed many times, but damn this is frustrating. My concern is not the stuff you can check, it's the work that is done and you're left hoping that it was done correctly.

[MiamiPerformanceInc]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Best to just change it yourself. Dealers it seem cannot be trusted for even the most minor of tasks.

Problem is dealers will hire anyone with a body and movement(I have had to "train" these so called humans)

I actually change the oil at operating temp like you're supposed to, also drain the filter BEFORE draining the pan so the 1/4 qt in the filter goes down and drain the front sump(I see people not do this, what a shame)

After it drains(I wait till it's just long interval droplets), I fill it with about 7.5 - 8 qts and re-check, and add about 1/2 - 3/4 of the bottle. Always come up about 3/4 of the way on the iDrive or OBC.

I also leave a brand new full qt to my customers in the trunk in case they want to top off at a later time. I actually love my job as BMW Tech and do it with pride, just wish more people took their job's as serious as I do.