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      09-01-2018, 03:54 PM   #1
Not Sure
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Help! Added 8.8l and car still wants more.

I changed the engine oil myself for the first time today. Allowed the old oil to drain completely and sucked out the filter housing with a syringe. Refilled with 8 1/4 liters and then started the car.

After taking what seemed like forever to get an oil reading (usually reads much faster), iDrive reported “Oil at minimum level. Add 1 qt.” So I added another ~1/2 l, but the iDrive message hasn’t changed. Super paranoid about overfilling.

Should I add more? Ignore the warning and see if the reading changes on its own?
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      09-01-2018, 03:55 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not Sure View Post
I changed the engine oil myself for the first time today. Allowed the old oil to drain completely and sucked out the filter housing with a syringe. Refilled with 8 1/4 liters and then started the car.

After taking what seemed like forever to get an oil reading (usually reads much faster), iDrive reported “Oil at minimum level. Add 1 qt.” So I added another ~1/2 l, but the iDrive message hasn’t changed. Super paranoid about overfilling.

Should I add more? Ignore the warning and see if the reading changes on its own?
I had issue like this. Ended up being the level sensor.
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      09-01-2018, 04:05 PM   #3
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You know how much you put in, so stop and give it time.
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      09-01-2018, 04:19 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
You know how much you put in, so stop and give it time.
Yeah I think I will drive it easy for a couple days and see if the sensor catches up. Thx.
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      09-01-2018, 05:15 PM   #5
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Don't worry too much. The S65 will drink 8.8L easy. And if you emptied the filter housing and let it drain well, 9L is still fine. I would rather have too much oil rather than not enough!! Overfill will not cause your engine to blow up, it may cause some oil blow-by and "could" foul your CATs if you overfill it by a lot. Now, if you filled it with 12L, then you should be afraid - very afraid

With the S65 having an 8.8L capacity, an overfill of 1/2L is only 5%.

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      09-01-2018, 05:47 PM   #6
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That’s exactly how I change oil. I put in 9l and it’s perfect.
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      09-01-2018, 06:35 PM   #7
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Definitely give the car time to calculate the right oil reading before adding any more oil. After a few DIY oil changes you’ll get the hang of oil measurements.
8.5-9 liters should be fine for the M3
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      09-01-2018, 08:12 PM   #8
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If you put 8.5L in, you have no worries driving and can wait a day or two of driving for an updated measurement
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      09-02-2018, 06:45 AM   #9
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I typically let the oil drain over night and vacuum the oil from the oil filter housing. Adding a full 9L consistently reads 3/4 full. Just an FYI... the car seems to be much happier when I pour 2 of the 9L straight into the oil filter housing. For some reason this seems to prevent that awful metallic noise upon start up, and the oil level sensor resets almost immediately. This could be a coincidence, but I don’t think it hurts anything.
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      09-02-2018, 02:42 PM   #10
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Maybe stupid question, but does holding the button down on the stalk to reset the oil level reading not actually reset the oil level reading?
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      09-02-2018, 03:01 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aktavate View Post
Maybe stupid question, but does holding the button down on the stalk to reset the oil level reading not actually reset the oil level reading?
It recalculates the oil measurement. OP try this if you haven't. Those damn things are so temperamental.
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      09-07-2018, 02:47 PM   #12
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update: today the sensor finally woke up, and the oil fill level is now perfect (3/4 full). i did not add any additional oil after i started the thread.

incredible that BMW relies on a system as neurotic as this to monitor something as important as this. anyway, thx for the replies everyone.
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      09-07-2018, 08:22 PM   #13
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Actually I have the exact same thing going on as you, as I just put in 8.75 quarts and after the first calculation its telling me to add 1 quart. Im just going to give the sensor another few days to stabilize and average the readings. I had the same thing happen when I purchased the car and after a few hundred miles of driving it stabilized.

Last edited by sibhusz06; 09-07-2018 at 09:24 PM..
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