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      07-15-2018, 10:36 AM   #1
cjpavao
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Oil light comes on once again...

I purchased my ‘09 E90 M3 just over a year ago with 41k, I’ve put about 4-5k on it since. A few months ago after I got the car out of storage, I noticed the oil light came on when I shut the car off so I checked the level and the “add 1qt of oil” message came up. I added some oil and it was fine.

Then, about a month later, it comes on again. I was getting an oil change anyways so I told my good friend/technician who I bring it to and he did a quick check while changing the oil and everything appears to be okay. I got the oil change, level was perfect and we’re good.

I took the car to work yesterday and when I got home and shut the car off, the light came on again. It runs absolutely fine and I don’t see any psychical leaks as far as I can tell.

I’m going to bring it back in for a leak down test, but I wanted to get some insight from you guys. Hoping it’s just an oil level sensor, but I’d like to know what the possibilities could be. Thanks in advance.
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      07-15-2018, 11:41 AM   #2
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You do mostly of highway cruising? I see consumption when I drive a lot of freeway vs city.
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      07-15-2018, 12:25 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msan View Post
You do mostly of highway cruising? I see consumption when I drive a lot of freeway vs city.
I want to say every time the light has come on, it’s been after a highway drive. I know at least 2 out of the 3 times it was right after a drive to work on the highway. how often have you had to add oil?
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      07-15-2018, 02:22 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ayocpavao View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by msan View Post
You do mostly of highway cruising? I see consumption when I drive a lot of freeway vs city.
I want to say every time the light has come on, it’s been after a highway drive. I know at least 2 out of the 3 times it was right after a drive to work on the highway. how often have you had to add oil?
I need to add one quart every 5k or so. Long trips highway driving definitely consumes more oil. My driving habits are typically city and short highway. If my oil level is at the bottom of the gaugeand I do a couple of hours on the highway it's a guarantee I'll need to pull over and add a quart soon enough.
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      07-15-2018, 02:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4130 View Post
I need to add one quart every 5k or so. Long trips highway driving definitely consumes more oil. My driving habits are typically city and short highway. If my oil level is at the bottom of the gaugeand I do a couple of hours on the highway it's a guarantee I'll need to pull over and add a quart soon enough.
if it was every 5k it wouldn’t really bother me. this is in a 1k span, if that. when I take it to work, it’s about 103 miles round trip/hour each way. I’m pretty sure this started happening when I take it to work once and a while.
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      07-15-2018, 06:04 PM   #6
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does your oil level drop slowly?
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      07-15-2018, 07:33 PM   #7
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does your oil level drop slowly?
I didn’t monitor it like I should’ve since I got the oil change, however I believe it did drop slowly, and was towards the lower end.
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      07-15-2018, 10:05 PM   #8
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I replaced a faulty sensor at around 40k miles. The dash indicator was showing no oil and the warning light came on, but the oil level was fine. The tech could only verify the oil level by draining and measuring. Why in the hell is there no dipstick?!
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      07-15-2018, 11:21 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ayocpavao View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4130 View Post
I need to add one quart every 5k or so. Long trips highway driving definitely consumes more oil. My driving habits are typically city and short highway. If my oil level is at the bottom of the gaugeand I do a couple of hours on the highway it's a guarantee I'll need to pull over and add a quart soon enough.
if it was every 5k it wouldn’t really bother me. this is in a 1k span, if that. when I take it to work, it’s about 103 miles round trip/hour each way. I’m pretty sure this started happening when I take it to work once and a while.
Yeah, my point was that for me it takes 5k miles because I don't do long drives at 50-70mph. It sounds like you are or have started to with that commute, so it may not be all that out of the ordinary for you to consume more oil than me.
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      07-16-2018, 06:13 AM   #10
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I would check for leaks. The fact that you don't see drips under the car does not mean that oil isn't leaking slowly. Remove the undertray covering the bottom of the engine/oil pan and look at it. If it is splattered with oil drips you have a leak.
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      07-16-2018, 07:23 AM   #11
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How often do you drive your car hard? Maybe not enough...

Check out this thread: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1508552
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      07-16-2018, 07:42 AM   #12
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Not saying this is your problem but the gauge is weird.

I had a shop overfill my car by about a quart after which I drove and was convinced I had caused my car to start consuming oil.

I drove across the entire US and the oil indicator went from half to 1/4 over 3000 miles of highway driving

Overfill occurred, drove like that for about 50 miles, then fixed it myself to max and I then saw 1 quart consumed in city driving over 1000 miles.

Sweat bullets and then figured it was my fate. Put an extra quart in the trunk and called it a day.

Did some spirited driving and it's been at max for another 1k.

Went for a 300 mile highway drive starting at max and then stopped for gas and it was half. Had lunch and it was full again. Figured it was oil seeping back down into the pan causing the mis-measure. This happened both on the way out and back.

This all on what was originally a 17k 5 year old car.

I would start with the easier approaches. Add a quart in your trunk for safety. Do some true spirited driving. Go for a longer highway trip. Monitor. If it's definitely consuming then lift the car and see if you have a leak and go from there.
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      07-16-2018, 08:25 AM   #13
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Every engine consumes a different amount of oil. Some burn more than others depending on how it was broken in and how it's driven. The quality of the piston ring seal against the cylinders is the biggest contributor to oil usage. That was determined during the first few hundred miles of use when new. If you have no leaks then it is what it is.

Although higher than what's usually seen in the average M3, BMW TSB SI B11 0313 officially states that up to 2.5 qts per 1000 miles is acceptable in Motorsports engines.
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      07-16-2018, 03:16 PM   #14
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thanks for the good info guys. I will take a further look and see if there is any evidence of an actual leak. I know the s65 is thirsty and I have been taking it on longer drives when I do drive it (103mi highway commute) so I hope I don’t have to be too concerned about this. I will check in with an update once I bring it by the shop.
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      07-16-2018, 10:16 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Histrionix View Post
I replaced a faulty sensor at around 40k miles. The dash indicator was showing no oil and the warning light came on, but the oil level was fine. The tech could only verify the oil level by draining and measuring. Why in the hell is there no dipstick?!
You were not able to get a level to show with a faulty sensor though right? Seems like the sensor either works but can vary oil level time to time or it doesn't read at all.
OP I basically have the same issue currently. I suspect it could be my oil filler cap since I am noticing a lot more black discoloration outside of it. Not sure how much oil that can really consume though.
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      07-17-2018, 11:46 AM   #16
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this just really has me thinking now. I’ve had the car for a year and this happened until I started taking it to my new job location which is all highway. other than that, it’s pretty much a driveway queen. I just can’t see it consuming THAT much oil THAT often just because I drive it on the highway 100 miles each trip, I’ve only taken the car to work maybe 5 times if that.
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      07-17-2018, 11:47 AM   #17
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I do have a theory that driving on highway consistently at the natural frequency of our engines (~3850rpm) may contribute to more oil usage vs keeping out of this range.

I tried two drives, one stuck at this RPM for 1.5 hours, and on the way back avoiding around this frequency. On the way there I burned half a quart. In the way back, none.

Not sure if it was conincidence or not, but curious if hitting the natural frequency of the engine for extended periods allows oil blowby / burn due to vibration.

Probably pie in sky, but interesting results.
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      07-22-2018, 08:25 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anerbe View Post
I do have a theory that driving on highway consistently at the natural frequency of our engines (~3850rpm) may contribute to more oil usage vs keeping out of this range.

I tried two drives, one stuck at this RPM for 1.5 hours, and on the way back avoiding around this frequency. On the way there I burned half a quart. In the way back, none.

Not sure if it was conincidence or not, but curious if hitting the natural frequency of the engine for extended periods allows oil blowby / burn due to vibration.

Probably pie in sky, but interesting results.


I guess I’m just not used to an engine burning that much oil, that quickly. I haven’t driven the car in a week, I’ll throw another quart in on my next day off, do a check for any noticeable leaks, and I’ll probably just drive it around town for a while and keep an eye on it and see what happens.
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      07-22-2018, 11:08 AM   #19
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As deansbimmer said, some cars consume oil and some do not. If the rate of consumption is steady, I would not worry. If the consumption goes up, you need to do some detective work.

Consumption in itself is not always a bad thing. When you top off the oil, you are replenishing the additive pack and bringing the viscosity back up. You are also replenishing the acid fighting capabilities and watering-down any contaminants like fuel, coolant, wear particles, and water.
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      07-22-2018, 11:53 AM   #20
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Quote:
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As deansbimmer said, some cars consume oil and some do not. If the rate of consumption is steady, I would not worry. If the consumption goes up, you need to do some detective work.

Consumption in itself is not always a bad thing. When you top off the oil, you are replenishing the additive pack and bringing the viscosity back up. You are also replenishing the acid fighting capabilities and watering-down any contaminants like fuel, coolant, wear particles, and water.
well said. well I won’t sweat it this time around, I’ll throw a quart in and keep one in the trunk. I’ll probably stick to around-town driving and take it on the highway to work less, and see what happens. thanks man.
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