[ENINTY]

^ so I'm not sure if you read the owner's manual or not, but you did exactly what you were supposed to do. The oil level sensor reports the quantity oil for just the "7th" quart of oil, not the entire compliment of oil in the engine. Think of it as looking at a measuring cup filled with water. If you need 7 ounces of water to cook with and you only filled the cup up with 6 ounces of water you can tell you need an additional ounce to get to seven ounces because the water level is at the 6-ounce mark.

The e-dipstick works exactly the same as a mechanical dipstick. Mechanical dipsticks do not show the level of all the oil in the engine, just the top few. Most dip sticks have a minimum level mark, a hatched area indicating "safe" oil level, and a maximum fill mark. Most BMW dipsticks on older models have just a min mark and a max mark, but it is still just for the top-most quart of oil. The e-dipstick is set to notify you when the engine is 1 quart low, rather than "not lower than max fill". When it indicates 1 quart low, you add a quart of oil. Your level sensor is working properly. You now have 7 quarts of oil in the engine.

What you need to understand is the engine will run perfectly fine on 6 quarts of oil, probably even 4 quarts. Engines will not self destruct if running 1 quart low on oil. Engines are designed with extra capacity of oil than what is really necessary to compensate for: running low on oil, high g-loads in turns where the oil pump may scavenge for oil in the sump (oil pan) if the oil level is too low to keep the proper level near the pump pickup, and keep the spread of dirt that develops in the engine over a larger quantity of oil thus allowing for an extended oil change interval.

[elfy]

hmmm, I see this thread is a little old but I have a similar issue... I got my 2006 330 with 65K miles, 400 miles after my first oil change the below minimum light came on. Per mechanic's advice I added 1/2 qt without change in warning. The next day the warning came on again after about 15 minutes of driving. I added the other 1/2 qt, still no change. Mechanic found 8 qts oil, my car holds 7... They drained the oil, cleaned everything and replaced oil. I was warning light free for 3-4 short trips and now it is on again. I've heard this is the first year they transitioned from dipstick to sensor and that sensor problems are not uncommon with this car. Also it was suggested that moisture is interfering with the sensor either because I drive it too infrequently or the previous owner didn't change the oil frequently enough.
I'm curious about other thoughts.... thanks

[grant464]

I've come to this forum with the exact same problem as the poster above...

Yesterday my low oil light came on. I put one quart in and on my 10 km drive to work today the light came on again. There are no drips of oil on the garage floor, I inspected the engine as best I could and I don't see any leaks. I am wondering if the sensor is on its way out, or if moisture is interfering with the sensor in some way?

Oddly, a friend of mine with the same model year car had the low oil light on his car turn on the very same day as mine.

My car just had its cylinder head replaced 1 month ago under warranty for the ticking issue, so the oil was changed at that time and was reading full when I checked it a week or two ago.

Any thoughts? I think I need to drain the oil to find out how much is in the engine...

[Bartman619]

...could be the electronic oil level sensor is starting to go.